# DetailMyCar Presents - BMW 530D Touring, correction + wet sanding



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

I was contacted about doing this as a Birthday present for my customers Father. The car is a Year 2000 BMW E39 530d Touring which he has owned from brand new so really is his pride and joy.

The car has had a few scuffs and knocks over the years but he really loves it so wanted it restored back to its former glory.

It was a lot of work but really enjoyable, with some great results in the end. The process involved the usual full deep clean, de-tar, Iron-X, wash, but when it got to polishing there were a couple of areas that needed some wet sanding to improve as much as possible

On to the car, as it started:













































































































1st step Snow Foam using some shampoo





































G101 and a Meg's Slide-Lock brush were used around all the badges, vents, grills etc























































Wheels were then dealt with by Smart Wheels and a few brushes




























Looking better









Still some Tar and Brake dust that hasn't been broken down









Tardis used









Melting the Tar



























IronX was then used to remove any last bits of fallout, brake dust etc























































The car was then hand washed, two buckets, lambswool mitt and some Gliptone shampoo









Suds









After this Tardis and IronX were used all over the car to remove Tar and all fallout










The car was then finally clayed to remove anything else that remained









Rinsed away then sprayed with Last Touch before drying









Towel dried









After drying all the areas that needed it were taped up









There were a few defects spotted, one of which were these sanding marks where I can only assume it's had some work done



























There were quite a few other little scratches









The drivers door and passenger door were pretty bad, having been scraped in a supermarket




































Few other scratches








































































First step was to polish the bonnet, S17+ and a Hex Logic White pad









Healthy paint readings









50/50's








































































Wing before



























After




































Door before polishing









Rear door before polishing









After


























































































On to the wet sanding on the drivers side, here's what I was dealing with













































After sanding with Meg's Unigrit 2000 paper 













































Plenty of paint to work with


















This was then polished up with Sholl Concepts S20 Orange and an Orange Hex Logic pad































































Drivers door sanded



























After polishing up































































The car was then completely refined with Menz final finish and a 3M yellow pad









After polishing the car was then snow foamed to remove all dust - There's always bits of dust that get trapped down the window rubbers, and in places that removing any other way just take too long or aren't that effective in my opinion so I like to snow foam and rinse to remove all the dust










After drying off













































Protection was FK1000p









Interior before




































Interior was vac'd, cleaned with Meg's APC, Carpets with Brisk, Leather with Gliptone 



























After doing interior and dressing tyres etc the final step was a wipedown with Zaino Z8









Final pics

























































































































































































































Thanks so much for reading, always appreciate any comments and feedback but the owner was over the moon when he collected it today, as I said at the top it really was his pride and joy so it's always nice to see a great reaction - especially as he's owned it from new! Sure he will continue to enjoy it for years to come now.


----------



## Michael_McL (Aug 25, 2011)

fantastic work there, I'm sure the owner is delighted! He might not give it away as a present now


----------



## fulcrumer (Feb 25, 2012)

I should think he was!
That wet sanding outcome is out of this world.


----------



## Bowler (Jan 23, 2011)

Nice one


----------



## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Looks better than new now Nick.


----------



## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Hi Nick, nice work fella, some beautiful correction. 

What hardware have you got these days. Rotary / DA ? 

See you soon, I need to find the secret to the hose pipe ban :lol: Been doing mine in the B rain


----------



## _daveR (Jun 3, 2008)

Awesome Nick! Can't wait for you to do my 650 next weekend (it will be a similar job to this!)


----------



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Mr Face said:


> Hi Nick, nice work fella, some beautiful correction.
> 
> What hardware have you got these days. Rotary / DA ?
> 
> See you soon, I need to find the secret to the hose pipe ban :lol: Been doing mine in the B rain


Hey Mike, thanks for that  Still using my trusty 3M Rotary.... there's nothing wrong with it but I do keep looking at a Flex / Festool.... no reason really just can't help but look haha. I've got a suction hose for my Karcher, I believe any K3 series onwards will draw water using a hose so just stick the end in a bucket and you're good to go! One large bucket can be enough to snow foam and rinse off most cars. Hope to catch up soon though, give me a bell when you're next in the area!



_daveR said:


> Awesome Nick! Can't wait for you to do my 650 next weekend (it will be a similar job to this!)


Thanks mate, looking forward to it - Hopefully the weather will be good too but I'm in the process of securing a Unit which is going to be awesome if it works out, I'll have a ramp so can take wheels off and loads of space too!


----------



## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great job there mate :thumb:


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Looks awesome mate, great results from repairing the drivers door! To think, most owners would send that to the bodyshop for a respray and all it really needs is some careful attention from a detailer!


----------



## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

Outstanding work!


----------



## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great job..very nice finish:thumb:


----------



## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Great turn around on the 5 Series some great correction you have got there, looks great now owner must be very happy


----------



## simon burns (Nov 1, 2011)

Looking good mate great job:thumb::thumb::thumb:


----------



## 123quackers (Jan 29, 2009)

that is stonking work Nick an always such a great feeling of satisfaction when done ( owner smiles is icing on the cake) top work looks awesome...:thumb:


----------



## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Great job there really stunning


----------



## georgeandpeppa (May 25, 2009)

Great job! Got a soft spot for these, no idea why.


----------



## Sportspack Mark (May 24, 2007)

that looks fantastic!


----------



## Mr_Hanky (Mar 21, 2012)

Very Good! Makes me want to do the same to my 530d (which is in a real state)


----------



## DetailMyCar (Apr 19, 2010)

Mr_Hanky said:


> Very Good! Makes me want to do the same to my 530d (which is in a real state)


Get it done!!! Give me a shout if you have any queries on what to use or anything, happy to help out :driver:


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Cracking job indeed Nick!


----------



## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Great write up with no hiding there.
Good level of correction achieved as see in every shot.
With a lovely transformation.
Gordon.


----------



## lisaclio (Sep 6, 2008)

stunning job there mate, real improvement


----------



## steview (Sep 23, 2010)

Great turn around :thumb:


----------



## Black Magic Detail (Aug 17, 2010)

nice work, looks great now


----------



## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

A super turn round, simple and informative write up with pictures to match, a result of outstanding skill and quality, where we can see the passion and commitment in your work. Thank-you.


----------



## Nanolex (Jun 8, 2008)

Looking very well again! Great work!


----------

