# Sapphire Black BMW Z4M- Gleammachine.



## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

A recent Sapphire Black BMW Z4M booked in for a 4 day (36 hr) paint correctional detail and free engine bay treatment as per our current seasonal offer.

*Upon arrival*




























Starting of in the usual manner with the alloys, arches and tyres.










Pre-sprayed with smartwheels and pressure rinsed.



















Re-sprayed and washed using various brushes, tyres and arches cleansed with Meguiars SD.










The engine bay was de-greased and rinsed, then treated at a later time with 303 aerospace protectant.




























Exterior panels sprayed with warm citrus pre-wash.










Pressure rinsed and then an application of citrus apc applied through the foam lance.










Exterior trim cleansed with soft detailing brushes.





































Rinsed and washed using the typical safe wash practices with shampoo+ and 0 PPM filtered water.
Quickly moved back undercover and out of the lousy weather, once inside the vehicle was dried using i4detailing uber plush towels.

Paintwork was then de-tarred, followed by claying to remove contaminents.










Some paint splatters on the top half of the bonnet and windscreen.










Standard clay wasn't having any affect on the splatters, so out with the aggressive clay.










Despite being effective in removing deposits, it does have it's pitfalls.










Trying out a few different pad and polish combinations, the rock hard ceramic clearcoat gave me no option other than to release the sheepskin pads with 
3m FCP and a drop of UF, test panel.










Each panel was machined using the above wool pad and then directly followed up with #105 on a light cut pad.




























*Bonnet before & after.*



















*Roof*



















*Rear n/side qtr.*



















*Bumper side n/s.*





































Some severe scratching on the rear bumper, the plan was to remove as much of the defect as possible, and as always to a safe level.



















*Bumper side o/side.*



















Couple of nasty scratches visibly removed/lessened on the eye.



















*Drivers door.*























































At some point the o/side front wing had been resprayed, at the time I can only think that they overlapped onto the drivers door when using a DA sander disc, because the readings were very low 1-2" across from the edge??



















Keeping with a sheepskin pad but reducing the polish to IP3.02, the desired results were achieved.

















Paintwork then refined using Menzerna 85rd on a finishing pad.

With all the machine polishing complete the vehicle was pulled outside and rinsed down with 0ppm filtered water to remove all the polishing dust.



















Exhausts polished using fine wirewool and Megs metal polish.










Finally sealed in with Blackfire metal sealant.










*** Britemax #4 blackmax pad glaze applied via da to the entire car, then removed.
*** 2x layers of Zymol Concours applied to paintwork.
*** Alloys & britework sealed using Blackfire Wet Diamond metal sealant.
*** Glass cleaned and then sealed with Nanolex professional.
*** Tyres & arches dressed with Swissvax Pneu.
*** Rubber and plastic trim protected using Gloss it TRV.
*** Door shuts polished and protected with Werkstat Strong.
*** Rubber seals nourished with Swissvax Seal Feed.
*** Final wipedown using Britemax detailing spray.

A brief break in the miserable weather for a few final pictures.

*Results. *
































































Thanks for looking, comments welcomed and appreciated.


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## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

Stunning, first class work as always :thumb:
I bet that clear coat put up a bit of a fight. [ Unlike audley harrison] lol


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

awesome work Rob :thumb:


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## FrazzleTC (Jul 4, 2009)

Amazing work on those marks. Looks excellent now and a very nice car too!


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

dennis said:


> Stunning, first class work as always :thumb:
> I bet that clear coat put up a bit of a fight.


Cheers Dennis, I described it to Paul at Ultimate shine when we spoke in the week as "like polishing a granite worktop" a very apt description.


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Looks very nice fella.


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

Rob as all ways your work is stunning :argie: regards the bmw side indicators did you remove them to give better cleaning?


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Looks awesome Rob, like the boot keepy up thingy you've got ! Lovely cars to work on these love it when I've got one booked in 

Hope you are keeping well,

Baz


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

stunner! love your work


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Hi Rob, epic work as always :thumb: great correction and stunning finish with some beautiful finished pics 

Thanks for posting up 

Mike ( & team ) :wave: :wave: :wave:


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## markd (Aug 11, 2006)

what make of pre wash and apc do you use rob .


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## Deanvtec (Mar 3, 2008)

Spot on as usual Rob, always a very impressive finish. From grey and returned back to black. Superb finished shots.:thumb:


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## Nanolex (Jun 8, 2008)

Excellent job Rob! :thumb:


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## PK001 (May 8, 2008)

What a state! (before)

But that is some turn around!:thumb:


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## gb270 (Aug 22, 2008)

Stunning work


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## Paul JC (Apr 15, 2007)

great work!


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Incredible transformation, looks absolutely awesome. I love these cars, particularly in black.

:thumb:


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## Jorge (Oct 12, 2009)

Fantastic work Rob! :thumb:

Best regards,

Jorge


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Cheers for the comments guys.



-tom- said:


> Rob as all ways your work is stunning :argie: regards the bmw side indicators did you remove them to give better cleaning?


Cheers Tom, yes removed for better cleaning and also so they don't get in the way whilst machining.



Auto Detox said:


> Looks awesome Rob, like the boot keepy up thingy you've got ! Lovely cars to work on these love it when I've got one booked in
> 
> Hope you are keeping well,
> 
> Baz


Cheers Baz, my Taylor Made driver has it's uses.



markd said:


> what make of pre wash and apc do you use rob .


The pre-wash is by Valetpro, wax friendly but very effective in removing soiling, the apc is simply Stardrops from tesco's.


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## 3976 (Nov 20, 2006)

Just lovely! What a turn around!


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Fantastic transformation Rob, the usual high quality write up & pics:thumb:

What ratio do you use the citrus pre wash at?


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## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

Thats a proper Write up!

Congrats rob! keep it coming


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Fantastic Work :thumb:


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

slrestoration said:


> Fantastic transformation Rob, the usual high quality write up & pics:thumb:
> 
> What ratio do you use the citrus pre wash at?


cheers bud, ratio is roughly about 5 parts warm water to 1 pre wash.


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Thanks for taking the time to reply Rob, alway enjoy your write ups & the high standard of work:thumb:


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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

Great work Rob as usual.

Guess they make the paint that hard to stop stone chips?


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Lovely - car and finish :argie:


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Quality as ever. Final shots are stunning!


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Nice work Rob they certainly are tough cookies, looks stunning in the afters mate :thumb:

Neil


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## Eddy (Apr 13, 2008)

That is some great work on a nice car!!

Can I ask exactly which sheepskin pads you were using for cutting, which brand?


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## liam99 (Dec 29, 2009)

Awesome result and work.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Eddy said:


> That is some great work on a nice car!!
> 
> Can I ask exactly which sheepskin pads you were using for cutting, which brand?


Thanks, Festool sheepskin pads. 
http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Festool_150mm_Pads.html


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## CJR (Nov 4, 2010)

Amazing job! Can't believe the state of it at the start! Looked fantastic at the end. Something to be proud of, a job like that!


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

cracking work as always mate:thumb:


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## gotamintvtr (Sep 25, 2006)

superb work rob. excellent as always


jamie


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

very nice work :thumb:

Love the reflections


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## CK888 (Apr 23, 2006)

Super turnaround there Rob:thumb:


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## Black Magic Detail (Aug 17, 2010)

very nice work ,looks great !!


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Amazing turnaround - especially love the use of the golf club grip to keep the boot off its catch while polishing;










Top job


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Had to bring this one back from the archives as I have one almost identical in now. The paint truly is hard, :buffer: a real PITA


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

Very nice indeed Rob :thumb:

Glad you found the indicators ..


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## borinous (Mar 25, 2010)

Mr Face said:


> Had to bring this one back from the archives as I have one almost identical in now. The paint truly is hard, :buffer: a real PITA


Same here not a Z4 but a black 1 series just building myself up to having a go at the paint work


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## Nally (May 30, 2012)

great work on black 

what mix do you use in the pup spray of the citrus pre wash


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Mr Face said:


> Had to bring this one back from the archives as I have one almost identical in now. The paint truly is hard, :buffer: a real PITA


Seems like years ago, oh it was.:lol: You still having fun and games Mike?



Nally said:


> great work on black
> 
> what mix do you use in the pup spray of the citrus pre wash


Valet Pro Citrus pre-wash and water ratio 1-5.


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## 3R10 (Apr 14, 2010)

Lovely job!


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

3R10 said:


> Lovely job!


Thanks mate.:thumb:


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## Socal Brian (Dec 4, 2011)

Great job Rob! Thanks for the writeup!


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

Stunning work, looks great!

Chris.


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## jlw41 (Jun 5, 2011)

awesome turn around that :thumb:


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