# Refined Detail | BMW 840 Concours Prep | First detail at the new unit!



## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

:wave:

Hi everybody, apologies for being a little quiet on here of late, work as ever has been manic, and as the thread title suggests, I've also finally taken the plunge and taken on a unit too which I've been spending my spare time getting ready!

As ever you can keep up to date with my day to day movements on Facebook and Twitter.

So first up, I'm pleased to announce that along side my fully mobile operation, I now also have secure, fully insured premises in Billingshurst (RH14), West Sussex. I am fully insured to collect & deliver your vehicle (up to £100,000) and for overnight storage, along with all the usual public liability and indemnity insurance you can expect from a reputable company :thumb:

On to the car...

I was contacted by the owner of this very tidy BMW 840 around 2 months ago, the car was previously prepared soon after purchase by another detailer and has had numerous parts refurbished, replaced and restored. It won it's category at the BMW National Concours at Gaydon last year, and came 3rd overall. The car is used regularly though, so isn't a garage queen. Therefore I was appointed to prepare the car ahead of this year's concours event. The car was left with me for 9 days at the unit and a total of 31 hours was spent detailing this wonderful example of a BMW 840.

No before photos as such, as there wasn't a great deal to show. Once the car was washed and fully decontaminated, it was bought inside and put on axle stands, so the wheels could be removed and cleaned properly.

Before:










Iron-X on the wheels and Surfex on the tyres:










Tardis on some large tar spots:










and no after!!  Polished with Auto Finesse Rejuvenate and sealed with FK1000P though.

Not forgetting the spare wheel (whole compartment cleaned and hand polished etc)










Brake hubs were also refurbished as requested by my client (calipers previously restored elsewhere):










On to the paint correction. As we all know, silver is pretty tricky to capture defects on camera, but with a combination of the fluorescent tubes in the unit and metal halides, I was able to capture the following before /after shots. Please note all after's are pre refinement, but post CarPro eraser wipedown (to ensure polishing oils are not masking the true level of correction). Correction was largely carried out using Scholl S17+ and refined with 3M Ultrafina.

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After:










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It's fair to say that some defects remain, the client wasn't too concerned about correction as such, but was looking more for a decent level of gloss and clarity. I was pretty happy with the levels of correction achieved, especially on a car that's had a fair bit of paintwork in the past.

Once corrected, the car was re-rinsed to remove dust and dried / blown dry. Areas such as the fuel filler and sunroof channels were cleaned:



















And the underside of the skirts and the spare wheel well cleaned (spare wheel well had a fair bit of waxoyl which appears to have stained the paint in a lot of places)










Rear lights had a fair bit of polish residue from previous cleans, after around an hour of toothpickery on all 4 clusters they were looking a little bit tidier!

Before:










After:










Exhausts are a little corroded in places, but still benefited from the Britemax twins:

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After:










Paintwork was cleansed with Werkstat Prime, before 4 coats of Jet topped with a final Gloss wipedown. 
Tyres dressed with CarPro Perl, along with wheel arches. 
Glass sealed with Wolfs Glass Sealant. 
Rubber seals fed with Gummi Pfledge.
Black trim dressed with ValetPro Dionysus Trim Glitz.

On to the interior, again very tidy to begin with. Full leather clean / condition, carpets shampooed, all surfaces thoroughly vacuumed:










Air vents and switchgear detailed to remove previous grime build up:

Before:










After:










A final Jet wipedown and we were complete. First of all, some indoor shots:














































Followed by some outdoor shots the next day prior to collection:





































Engine bay was also fully detailed:



















Best of luck to my client at the concours this year - hopefully it doesn't accumulate too much dirt between now and mid-August!

Thanks for looking,
Rich @ Refined Detail


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## Leopold (Jun 27, 2007)

That's gorgeous, i do like the 8 series beemers..:thumb:


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## ckeir.02mh (Jan 5, 2012)

Very nicely done mate!

Fantastic work on a lovely car, love the 8 series also. :thumb:

Chris.


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## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

Top work.. I can't remember the last time I saw one of those... :argie:


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Cracking job there mate :thumb:


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

Very nice! :thumb:

Dom't see too many of these anymore

Gotta love the werkstat acrylic kit :argie: looks lovely on a silver car!


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## -Simon- (Oct 29, 2010)

Superb result....


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## Nally (May 30, 2012)

One of my child hood poster cars


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## ted11 (Jul 8, 2011)

Cracking job, lovely car.


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## deni2 (May 4, 2011)

Car looks beautiful, great job :thumb:.


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Very sweet indeed good sir. Nice job, beautiful motor, could be my next garage queen.


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Lovely work and lots of it by the seems of things Rich.


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## richtea78 (Apr 16, 2011)

Great work Richard!

Have to say I have a love hate relationship with Silver, when its clean I love it, but hate it when its dirty. At least the swirls dont show too much on it though


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Stunning:thumb:


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## macmaw (Mar 5, 2007)

Nice work, Wekstat Acrylic Kit is one of the best for that colour, love the throwing stars too, they suit the car right down to the ground (pun intended)


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thank you everybody for taking the time to read my thread and comment, much appreciated


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

very nice mate....love these cars there is just something about them....especially when they are looking special....

good work mate and good luck with the unit....


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## alexj (Apr 12, 2012)

wicked results, crazy lights !


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## 888-Dave (Jul 30, 2010)

As always, great work Rich. Congrats on the new unit mate looks really nice.

PM on it's way :thumb:


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## alfajim (May 4, 2011)

never seen a silver one. doubt i'll see one that clean either. cracking job.


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## nick.s (Dec 21, 2009)

Lovely motor with lovely results!


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## david_pupu (Sep 19, 2011)

sweet ride


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Looks great !


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Awesome job.


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## lisaclio (Sep 6, 2008)

fantastic work mate


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks everybody!


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

What a car! Love that, looks amazing!

My good friends Mum has had 3 of these many years ago, and they still have the last one which was an individual model in technoviolet with individual interior and it's sat doing nothing in the back of a workshop in crap condition. It would make the most amazing renovation project!


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## Matt1982 (Apr 24, 2012)

Awesome Job on an Awesome Car!


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

unit build thread?  

if im ever down that way, ill pop in for a look


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## Phil_P (Dec 6, 2011)

JBirchy said:


> My good friends Mum has had 3 of these many years ago, and they still have the last one which was an individual model in technoviolet with individual interior and it's sat doing nothing in the back of a workshop in crap condition. It would make the most amazing renovation project!


Do tell us more. What's the story with it. Are they planning on a restore or selling?


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Thank you for all your kind words :thumb:



JBirchy said:


> My good friends Mum has had 3 of these many years ago, and they still have the last one which was an individual model in technoviolet with individual interior and it's sat doing nothing in the back of a workshop in crap condition. It would make the most amazing renovation project!


Bet that looked stunning back in the day! Such a shame to hear it's now left festering. If she ever wants to get it back on the road, send it my way please I'd enjoy that one :lol:



ianFRST said:


> unit build thread?
> 
> if im ever down that way, ill pop in for a look


No unit build thread mate, it was a new build when I moved into it. Had the flooring, lighting and sink etc fitted at my request, but didn't deem it worth taking photos of! But yes if you're ever down this way, give me a shout!


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Very nice Rich:thumb:


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## Old-scool- m3 (Nov 29, 2010)

What a beautiful car and a stunning job. It looks amazing.

I love the 8 series BMW's They still look modern and fresh today.
If I was brave enough, I'd buy one.

Excellent work guys.


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