# BMW 535d Exterior Paint Correction



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

From this...










to this... (photograph taken by owner the day after the detail, after a drive home through the snow - many thanks for getting us daylight shots, as we finished the detail when it was dark!)










Its been a wee while since I last put a writeup in the Studio - upcoming interviews have been taking up a lot of my spare evening time of late so I haven't had much time to writeup our recent details. This detail was carried out in early January, the first of the year for Gordon and myself and a really nice car to kick off 2010 with  Metallic blue E60 535d... The car had recently been purchased by the owner and the supplying dealer appeared to have already polished the car - more on that a little late. First up we had to wrap up nice and warm and set about defrosting the washing the car, which was suffering from the winter salt and snow...










Our standard washing techniques were adopted once the car had been defrosted a little, and the car was readied for claying. Using Chemical Guys White clay and Last Touch as the clay lube, we worked round the car... Once fully clayed it allowed us to see the extent of the damage that had been caused to the paint by the previous polishing efforts!

One of the good things about working in a team is that throughout the detail, Gordon and I fall into working on our own sections of the car and its pretty much the same every detail! I kick off on the bonnet and head down driver's side, Gordon starts on passenger side and heads round onto the boot... Kicking off on the bonnet, we can see where the previous machine polishing efforts had been taking place...














































Gordon started off on the passenger side, and the hologramming was pretty bad round there too...




























Looking further down the passenger side it was evident this whole car had been machine polished already, with moderate to severe hologramming across the board. Worse were regions where it appeared the buffing mop/pad had picked up grit and had left deep circular pigtail like RDS which were going to proove much tougher to remove. More befores from passenger side...









































































As is traditional (an imo essential) on all our details, we start by assessing the paint we have in front of us with no prior assumptions about hardness or type... treat every car as an individual and learn the paint type in front of you. To assess the hardness and how much correction is required we work on a test spot starting with the lightest combination we have first and building up through the levels till the desired correction is reached. Removal rates are checked for every combo and used as a guide to what is safe and what is not.

On the bonnet, owing to the deep pigtail RDS consistently across the panel, I opted for 3M Fast Cut Plus following the paint assessment using a Chemical Guys Yellow Cutting Pad. One or two sets were used, as required, to give the results required. Application was as follows:


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm, light pressure and fast machine movements to spread residue and begin working
Work at 2000rpm, moderate pressure, with steady machine movements until residue clear or marks removed

At this stage, no refinement of the finish was carried out... The Fast Cut was simply used as a correction compound to remove the marks, so the sets were continuously adjusted to suit the paint in front of me. The odd deeper pigtail remained but with between 7 and 10um of paint removed from two hits of FC+, I decided that the best option following the compounding was an intermediate stage with Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish on a 3M Yellow polishing pad. The little extra bite here helped to "round off" the deeper RDS a bit more to make them less noticeable where full removal was not possible owing to paint thickness considerations. Sometimes it is necessary to box a little clever to get the result you are after as blindly removing paint until all the marks are gone can leave critically thin regions which preclude further polishing and can adversely affect the life of the clearcoat. Intensive Polish was applied as follows...


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm slow passes with light pressure until residue evenly spread building a little heat in the panel
Work at 1800rpm until residue clear, moderate pressure lightening at end of the set with steady machine movements

Again, no refining stage was carried out here as this was saved for the finishing polish stage. Finishing polish of choice was, as always for us owing to its felxibility, Meguiars #205 Ultra Finishing Polish. This time applied using a Chemical Guys Black Hexlogic pad as follows...


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm with light pressure and slow machine movements
Work at 1500rpm with moderate pressure and steady machine movements
Refine at 1200rpm, light pressure and slow machine movements
Burnish at 900rpm, light pressure (supporting weight of the machine) and very slow machine movements

The end result of this (and a good three hours behind the rotary!) on the bonnet was:



















Checked for finish quality under the Sun Gun - no holograms here :























































With the hologramming and marring removed, a new depth had been restored to the finish and the colour turned out to be a really lovely deep blue - one of BMW's best? I reckon so. 

Meanwhile, round at Gordon's side, Gordon was enjoying a similar process of heavy compounding, middle polish and finishing polish as described above, turning the previosuly hologrammed and marred paint into the following...



























































































As Gordon was working down the side and round onto the boot, I started off on the driver's side, befores:


















































































Working away on the sides of the car is where I found the baby Festool rotary to really come into its own... The RAP-80. I know its the RAP-150 that is being raved about currently, but I'll be the first to admit that I personally simply cannot justify its cost - we have one, have had one for months, but I cannot find the extra £200 in it over a Makita 9227CB, bearing in mind that in most situation weight doesn't bother me, its size and ergonomics which are important. Indeed, I find the RAP-150 motor to feel a bit weak compared to the Makita's, bogging slightly under heavy pressue high speed compounding. The RAP-80 however, is a different kettle of fish - like a DA in design, small and very easily manoeverable it is a real joy to use on little sections. Very smooth in use too...



















After's from down the side...



























































































Following the correction stages, the car was wiped down with IPA (panel by panel during the machine polishing) and then a full IPA wipedown at the end to ensure the finish is completely free from hologramming and marring and no filling has taken place (mild filling can occur from oils and waxes in polishes _if the polishes are not properly worked to their completion_).

LSP of choice on this car was to be something durable - Collinite 476S. Call it a wax, sealant, hybrid, alien, however you want to market it... simple fact of the matter is that this is a mighty durable product that we can rely on to last well on a customer's car, and that is what counts for an LSP  Thin layers to apply and then swipe test to check for removal, buffed with a Sasquatch towel.

Glass was cleaned with Stoner Invisible Glass. Trim with Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel, applied lightly and left before being buffed as a final job before car is ready to ensure no streaking. Tyres dressed with Espuma RD-50, wheels with Finish Kare 1000P.

The end results, inside the unit I'm afraid as we finished rather late on this one and had no chance of daylight afters...




































































































And with big thanks to the owner for sending these pics over as daylight after shots (taken after a drive home in the snow):





































First detail of 2010 for us :thumb:


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## kei169 (Feb 16, 2009)

Nice!


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## Ben H (Jan 17, 2006)

those after shots are fantastic. great work


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

The 'gruesome-two-some' strike again :lol:

Fantastic job guys, are you Vampires by any chance, you 2 never sleep .

And Dave what sort of impression are you trying to create at your interviews with that shaggy dog look :lol:..... Hope you find something soon.


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## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

Dave as always a great read. I thouroughly enjoyed reading that. I've got a 535d booked in on Friday in a similar condition. It's silver though so probably not as fun to work on than that. It's also nice to see a BMW in after shots that isn't terribly plagued by orange peel. 

Good luck for the rest of '10


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Superb work as ever. :thumb:


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## ross-1888 (Feb 22, 2009)

5* details again. car looks minted.


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

ads2k said:


> The 'gruesome-two-some' strike again :lol:
> 
> Fantastic job guys, are you Vampires by any chance, you 2 never sleep .
> 
> And Dave what sort of impression are you trying to create at your interviews with that shaggy dog look :lol:..... Hope you find something soon.


:lol:
This one was 4 weeks ago now. If you think the flowing locks are bad in these photo's you should see him now. 

Its his Birthday soon. So a nice little ribbon with bows will go down well I think. Any ideas on colours lads will be a help.??? :doublesho

P.S. Not that I am jealous or anything. :lol:Sayes the bald guy in the corner.


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## dbaillie (Apr 6, 2009)

:lol: as always superb detail love the after shots:thumb:


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## Saqib200 (May 13, 2008)

Great write up, and the car looks superb.

How are you finding the Hexlogic pads out of curiosity?


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## Yoghurtman (Dec 9, 2008)

Lovely results as usual

I agree on the colour, one of BM's best....:thumb:


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## Dunkwho (Jan 23, 2009)

inspirational stuff, great results. the street after shots really show why a paint corrected car is noticeable against a "clean" car


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## matt_83 (Apr 28, 2009)

Superb and informative detail once again. Great work Dave and Gordon! :thumb:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Looks superb Dave and co, beautiful cars these with the best wheels very nice indeed.

Gav


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## Caped Crusader (Sep 27, 2009)

Another fantastic detail Dave and Gordon. :wave:

Lovely car.


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## -Ally- (Mar 6, 2009)

Cracking detail again guys. 
Love the 5 series, still trying to convince my dad to bring his 5 to you for some TLC.


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## Alfa GTV (Apr 18, 2007)

Great turnaround on a superb car :thumb:


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

simply stunning as normal


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## GSVHammer (Feb 7, 2009)

Superb results. Lovely colour.


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## Ashtra (Oct 17, 2007)

looks great dave superb job as usual


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

very good job lads. looking forward to my visit!!!


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Sure you got enough photos?!! :lol:

Great work, love the colour

:thumb:


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## big shamone (Oct 9, 2009)

Great work as always guys,very nice car to start the year off aswell


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## Edward101 (Jun 5, 2009)

Great write up and work like usual. Well done guys and looking forward to many more write ups from you over 2010 :thumb:


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

cracking work as always


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## Leodhasach (Sep 15, 2008)

Great job that, love the 535d's too


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Good work :thumb:


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## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Stunning work as ever Gents 

Why FCP/3.02 over #105 out of interest?


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Masters at work again - just superb :thumb:


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## Evoboy409 (Feb 2, 2010)

*gleemer  lol*

Hello Gordon and Dave thanks for all the hard work you guys put into the bmw
hope to see you two soon at the unit bye the waaay them wheels look real nice who did them lol cheers Brian:thumb:


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

superb as always Dave and Gordon :thumb:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

AllyRS said:


> Cracking detail again guys.
> Love the 5 series, still trying to convince my dad to bring his 5 to you for some TLC.


We you know the number Ally. Would be good to see you again.:thumb:
As long as he is not in a hurry. Well you know what its like.



Ronnie said:


> very good job lads. looking forward to my visit!!!


Nice one Ronnie. Looking forward to it also. Nice to put a face to the name at long last. 



RussZS said:


> Stunning work as ever Gents
> 
> Why FCP/3.02 over #105 out of interest?


Nothing in particular Russ. Just sometime paint responds better to certain polishes than others. We did not try 105 on the day to be fair. But FC+ Is very good at knocking out, most defects and the chemical agents in the product aids in the process as well as the abrasives.



Evoboy409 said:


> Hello Gordon and Dave thanks for all the hard work you guys put into the bmw
> hope to see you two soon at the unit bye the waaay them wheels look real nice who did them lol cheers Brian:thumb:


Ok credit where credits due. You can do our wheels anytime young man.
Glad your happy with the results and eventually signed up. Just lock the bank card away thou. :lol:

Thanks for all the kind comments Guys also.
Gordon.


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## Deeg (Mar 30, 2009)

Superb results again guys!


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## frank520 (Apr 9, 2008)

Great job once again. Would really like you guys to give my 5 series a good seeing to (I don't look after it properly) - will wait until the winter weather finally goes before contacting you. Is 3-4 weeks notice enough?


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## Miguelgomes (Apr 9, 2009)

Good job as always.

Miguel Gomes


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Thanks guys for all the kind words.  I'm trying to get through the writeups we have ready as well, but interview preparation has to come first for the time being... more writeups to follow soon though 



frank520 said:


> Great job once again. Would really like you guys to give my 5 series a good seeing to (I don't look after it properly) - will wait until the winter weather finally goes before contacting you. Is 3-4 weeks notice enough?


Just give us a bell when you are looking to have the car done and we'll be able to find a good time for you... we're pretty busy into spring now as it stands, but just when you feel the weather is improving, give us a bell


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## Stallion (Mar 21, 2009)

great work indeed


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## Stuhil (Jun 5, 2009)

Howdy Caledonia and Dave KG..long time no see post...thought you guys must have retired to Guadalajara!!! 

Anyhoo...as always, excellent write up Dave, oh and Gordon too...I'm sure they wouldn't be to the standard they are if Gordon didn't proof read them and correct your grammar!!! 

Well it was a sad day in Ayr on Sunday...sold the A4 S-Line...sold within days which I wasn't expecting...I was planning to change it in the early Autumn but as the good lady is about to go off on maternity leave it made sense to try and sell it early and give me extra time to save up for the new red rocket!!!...What do you fancy working on next?...keep it Audi mind!

Oh well the OH's A3 won't know what's hit it now I've got the keys...

Hope you guys are well...

PS...the buyer came back with a bottle of vino as he couldn't believe how clean the car was!!!

PPS...sorry for hi-jacking your thread

PPPS...did I say the 5 looked well? :wave:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

No Stuart still working away.
We are a good few write up behind again. 
Dave has been busy finishing of his PhD and job applications for teacher training.

But still doing what we do.
Sorry to hear you have sold up. But again needs must and the family is alway priority. All the best for the new arrival when it come too.:thumb:

We will leave you to choose the next one and you can surprise us. But agree something Red would be sweet.
All the best for now Stu and chat soon.
Gordon.


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## kings.. (Aug 28, 2007)

top work fella... the finish looks spot on.


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## Sonic (Jun 28, 2007)

Brilliant write up and result, as expected  :thumb:


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## ALANSHR (Jun 29, 2007)

Lovely job as always Dave and the boys, well done.


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