# Refined Detail - 'Schwarz 2 / Jet Black' BMW Z8



## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

:wave:

Finally one from the archives that I've been meaning to post for ages now! Originally quoted way back in April and booked in for July. The client contacted me after watching my YouTube timelapse video of a silver Z8 I have previously worked on and asked me to take a look at his low mileage example of a black Z8 which was suffering from haziness and scratching. Schwarz 2 / Jet Black is straight black and marks very easily! So needless to say despite the car being a very tidy example, the paintwork was looking a little worse for wear. After the initial inspection it was decided to book the car in for 4 (very long!) days.

With temperatures rising quickly despite early starts, I didn't document a great deal of the before / wash stages (we all know the wash regime by now anyway right?!)









Nothing too horrendous as the owner is fastidious about his cars and they are washed pretty much after every use.

Greasy fingerprints and what appeared to be silicone overspray pre-soaked with Auto Finesse Citrus Power



Wheels, tyres, arches etc cleaned, then snowfoamed with ValetPro PH Neutral:



Washed via the 2 bucket method etc, dried and a 3 stage decontamination process carried out (tar, metallic fallout, clay bar treatment)

With the temperatures at the time I was finding it fairly common to find a fair bit of tar on cars where the roads were partially melting. This car was no exception!





Carefully dealt with via Autosmart Tardis.

Decontamination complete the car was re-rinsed and towel dried. By now the sun was well and truly out which gave me a reminder of what I was up against:











I've got to be honest, as it was a while ago now my recollection of exact products used during the correction stages isn't great! I know I ended up chopping & changing between the Rupes Bigfoot, Makita Rotary & Meguiars G220 DA for different stages & panels though.





Ambient light 50/50



With the sun out I was using this on a regular basis to check on correction levels:













There were also a couple of specific marks that the client had hilighted he wanted to see improved upon / removed:









Got to love reflection shots on dark colours (all post polishing I hasten to add!)











The hardtop was also corrected (off of the car)



On the final day the correction was complete so the first job of the day was to re-rinse the car to remove a copious amount of polish dust. Carefully patted & blown dry, then the engine bay was tidied & dressed (Autosmart Finish)



Painted areas carefully hand polished with Auto Finesse Tripple:



Interior next. Thorough vacuum followed by shampoo carpets / overmats with Autosmart Brisk. Leather cleaned & conditioned with the Zaino Twins. Gloss black trim & door shuts hand polished with Auto Finesse Tripple.













Paintwork then protected with 2 coats of Swissvax Shield & an Auto Finesse Finale wipedown. Tyres dressed with Auto Finesse Satin. Wheels sealed with G-Techniq C1.5 Silo Seal. Exhausts polished with Autosol. Glass polished & sealed with G-Techniq G4 / G1. Finito...

























A very challenging detail as temperatures were up to high 20's / low 30's every day even in the shade, and the paintwork was not the easiest to work with as it marked very easily and was a pig to finish down properly. All that said, it's always an immense privilege and pleasure to work on a Z8 - one of my all time favourite cars! :argie:

I shall leave you with a brief 'walkround' video too:






As ever don't forget you can follow me on:

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Thanks for looking,

Rich @ Refined Detail


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## Guru (Aug 28, 2013)

Lovely, lovely, lovely.....

I could keep saying that about fifty times at least.


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Great work :thumb:

Looks very nice


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## s29nta (Mar 9, 2013)

Looking great, stunning interior. Too work:thumb:


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## Audriulis (Dec 17, 2009)

Rear cars are these and prices are going up on them, great work on a nice motor


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

Very nice work!


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## StamGreek (Oct 11, 2012)

Stunning reflections and great work Rich


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## V3nom (Oct 31, 2012)

Beautiful car! Nice work


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## rkelly113 (Oct 12, 2013)

Looks amazing! Im sure it was a pleasure to work on a Z8!


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## Luke M (Jul 1, 2013)

Oh man that's an awesome car! Great work it looks tremendous.


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## 20vKarlos (Aug 8, 2009)

This is the one you were telling me about!

Rich, as per norm, the car has come up well but in this case it looks impeccable!

That black looks so glossy it's truly stunning.

I've watched all the videos on YouTube recently and It's great watching the time lapse vids.

Great stuff bud. All the best


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great work:thumb:


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## GarveyVW (Jun 28, 2013)

:argie: Wow!! Fantastic job, the gloss and reflections are superb.


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## Bowler (Jan 23, 2011)

Top job, thanks for sharing.


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Cracking work, and a classic car!! Stunning


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## Favorito (Jul 11, 2012)

Great work!


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Amazing job there, really brought back a flawless finish to the black! Looks fabulous, great job!


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

Oh my.. Oh my.... Just... simply.... stunning.... Thank you so much for sharing that... :argie:


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Lovely Rich. Great finish.


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## jdquinn (May 19, 2010)

I always wondered why these cars are so expensive...


...until now that is! They have a beautifully finished interior with concept car styling and a really slick body which suits the straight black colour perfectly. I'd love to see one in the flesh. Would be a pig to keep though, much better to look at someone else's.

Great work lad!:thumb:


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## Prestige Detail (Aug 27, 2012)

Stunning motor, with an interior to die for , top work fella


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## Chrissyronald (Jan 15, 2012)

Beautiful!


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## deni2 (May 4, 2011)

That is one sexy car, great work on that beauty :thumb:.


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## dekerf1996 (Sep 9, 2008)

That is stunning finish on a lovely car

thanks for sharing


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks all - as many of you have mentioned, the interior certainly is pretty special! Whole car is full of very neat little touches once you start getting up close :argie:


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## Bmpaul (Apr 12, 2010)

Want, need, cant belive i dont have, why am i so poor, bugger! These are some of the things i think of when i see these, great job btw!


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## snoopin (Jul 26, 2009)

Not sure I have ever seen one of these on the road, awesome work mate


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

Nice work and stunning car, always had a spot for one of those.... :argie:


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## steviebabe0 (May 14, 2013)

Never seen one either, probably spot half a dozen tomorrow now I've said that :lol:


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## Wallyb (Mar 15, 2012)

What a gorgeous interior. You can't beat black with a finish like that. Welldone!


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks all for your kind words, glad you all enjoyed it! 



snoopin said:


> Not sure I have ever seen one of these on the road, awesome work mate





steviebabe0 said:


> Never seen one either, probably spot half a dozen tomorrow now I've said that :lol:


There were just under 6,000 produced worldwide but as they are rocketing up in value you'll probably see less & less of them on the road! I've worked on 3 now but never seen one on the road :lol:


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## Pedro92 (May 5, 2011)

pooooooooorn !!!! :argie::argie::argie:


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## cheffi (Apr 12, 2008)

painted lower door panels.. that's my idea of hell including.. let's say people getting in and out ^^


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## Ebbe J (Jun 18, 2008)

Looking superb in the afters, quality work! I've always liked the look of the Z8, and the darker colours really does suit it well, I've seen one in TitanSilb.Met. at a local BMW meet.


Kind regards,

Ebbe


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## unique detail (Jan 26, 2012)

Stunning work Rich:thumb:


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## taz007 (Dec 31, 2007)

brilliant work. I love z8's and they are so rare.


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## Matty77 (Nov 7, 2012)

Awesome!


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## Danny B (Apr 14, 2010)

Fantastic work Rich, on a really nice rare car!


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## DanN92 (Nov 16, 2010)

Excellent work on a superb looking car! :thumb:


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## Richard. (May 3, 2011)

I love these things, but I've never seen the interior on one!
And it's beautiful. So different to any other BMW. 

Well done!


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## Andrew Goacher (Dec 27, 2012)

Excellent work, Interior is pretty smart too :thumb:


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## Ojai (Feb 24, 2008)

Incredible results!


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## Sparky160 (Aug 12, 2011)

:argie: What an absolutely gorgeous car. One of the best looking cars ever IMO. Interior is something special also. Great job and looks the way it should now. Stunning


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