# The Batmobile (Z4M)- Gleammachine.



## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

The title inspired by my daughter, "Daddy it looks like Batmans car".:lol:
A recent purchase from a repeat customer, I had previously detailed his E46 M3 last year so it was ready for sale.
Having received some attention in the bodyshop and leaving it in what can only be described as buffer trail hell, it was booked in with myself over 4 days.
(Pic Heavy.)

*Upon arrival.*



















Firstly started with the alloys, arches and trim, all cleaned using various brushes and Megs APC,



































Engine bay also cleaned using APC and dressed at a later date,

































Foamed using Megs APC through the lance,










After 5 mins or so,










Rinsed, washed & clayed using the normal methods,
Defects examined and paint thickness readings taken,










Some before and afters,









































































Tried various combinations and settled upon Fastcut+ on a Megs Cutting pad, most panels needing several passes,
































































With the cutting stage complete, the vehicle was brought outside and dusted down,










Refinement was done using Menzerna 203s on a Sonus SFX polishing pad,



















With the polishing complete, the vehicle was re-foamed and rinsed down,




























Paintwork treated to [email protected] HD-cleanse and followed by 1st layer of [email protected] Vintage, this was left to cure whilst other areas were treated,



















Alloys sealed using Poorboys and Opti-seal to the inner rims,










Outer rim polished using Britemax metal duo,










Tyres dressed with Zaino Z-16,










Plastic & rubber trim treated with Blackfire gel,




























Shuts polished with Prime,










Wax removed and vehicle pulled outside for attention to the interior, Vacuumed, leather cleaned & fed, plastics wiped down with APC, carpets shampooed and LCD screen cleaned with special lense cleaner,




























Leather aroma pad popped under the seat,










A second layer of Vintage applied and removed,
Glass cleaned and sealed,










At this stage I still wasn't completely happy with the finish to the bonnet, so area were covered and a final polish using a finishing pad & 3m Ultrafina, pre-cleaned and re-waxed,










Exhausts polished using Britemax easy cut and final shine, inner pipes polished with the help of Dremel like polisher,

































A final wipedown with Zaino Z-8 and finished.










*Results.*
















































































































































































































Thanks for looking and comments & questions welcome.:thumb:


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

Car Looking gorgeous there mate top work!!! :thumb:


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Stunning car and great work:thumb:


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## big-daf (Jun 21, 2008)

stunning no other word for it


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

nice work, looks brilliant


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## chris l (Mar 5, 2007)

looks stunning nice job


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## clcollins (Jul 30, 2007)

Great work, looks the business, and your daughter is right, it does look like the Batmobile


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## Deanvtec (Mar 3, 2008)

Really nice work Rob, the Z4m looks uber cool now.:thumb:


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## SimonW (Jun 3, 2007)

Great car!!!! & some great results

Top job :thumb:


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## UBRWGN (Nov 25, 2007)

Amazing results on a badass car. Thanks for sharing.


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## Rich00p (Feb 19, 2008)

see I dont normally like Bimmers, but my god the work youve done to that has changed my mind..


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Awesome attention to detail :argie:

Looks great - really mean on those wheels too!

With several passes with the cutting pad and FCP, how many microns on average do you remove / allow yourself to remove?


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

Oh yeh really nice car a cracking work as ever Rob, love the wider rears although the do make the fronts look tiny.

Great job


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## dubmike (Jan 26, 2009)

Stunning work and car :thumb:


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## Justa (Oct 23, 2008)

*does a little sex wee*


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## ryanuk (Jun 22, 2007)

what a car! looking great mate!


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## dal84 (Jan 19, 2008)

Don't normally like the Z4 but that is one mean looking car, wheels really suit it too. Great work rob :thumb:


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## Perfection Detailing (Nov 3, 2007)

Great work as always Rob:thumb:


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## Big Bru (Apr 27, 2008)

The Batmobile looks amazing!

Top detail:thumb:


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## isherdholi (Sep 18, 2007)

Shamelessly beautiful :thumb:


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Hi Rob, I think your daughter was right. Given Batman had a choice I would expect him to take the BM now:thumb:

Pure Automotive Art & the cars not bad at all:lol:

Shame on who ever (what ever) gumby left it in that condition :wall::wall:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

great work and THE best looking Z4 I have ever seen :thumb:


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

Great work on a lovely car, can't say i'm a fan of the black wheels though!


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## Bluetacker (Feb 6, 2009)

Absolutely fantastic work. :thumb:


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## Spirit Detailing (Mar 29, 2007)

Fantastic. You could scoop that gloss off with a ladle!!

How many hours work in total, mate??


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## DPN (Jan 7, 2006)

The finish looks A1 :thumb:

Stunning vehicle


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

WowTastic...! :thumb:

What a difference - truly superb. Love the Z4 M Coupe...!


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## Sveneng (Apr 20, 2008)

That is the best Z4M I have seen. I don't normally like black wheels but I really think they suit that perfectly and really enhance the mean look of the car. The finish you have achieved is fantastic.


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

excellent work..nice to see you went back and redid bonnett as you wasnt happy with finish even though you had already waxed it...thats whats its all about:thumb::thumb:


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## Bulla2000 (Jun 5, 2007)

Very nice report as always. How do you feel about the new Menzerna 203s? Is it easy to work with? On the same polishing level like Po106FA?


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## mk2jon (Mar 10, 2009)

like the way you did the tailpipes,top job


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## Supreme Detailing (Sep 5, 2007)

Excellent work on a very nice car


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## PK001 (May 8, 2008)

Super Job & Super car :thumb:


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## Nanolex (Jun 8, 2008)

Great work on the paint and also very thorough job with a lot attention to the detail, looks way better now!


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Stunning! Love the exhaust work


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

That looks stunning Rob, never really liked them to be honest, but that detail has just changed my mind :thumb:

Looks fantastic and those wheels really make it.


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## edthedrummer (May 30, 2007)

Thats Gorgeous  Nice Work


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Rich H said:


> Awesome attention to detail :argie:
> 
> Looks great - really mean on those wheels too!
> 
> With several passes with the cutting pad and FCP, how many microns on average do you remove / allow yourself to remove?


Thanks mate, I always try to remove the bare minimum to get the results and still leave enough to play with for future use if need be, about 2-4 microns top.



Detail Ecosse said:


> Oh yeh really nice car a cracking work as ever Rob, love the wider rears although the do make the fronts look tiny.
> Great job


Thanks, the rear is lowered and the front still to come down a little, in the flesh the wheels look spot on.



BrianS said:


> Fantastic. You could scoop that gloss off with a ladle!!
> 
> How many hours work in total, mate??


thanks, around about 30+ hours.



Gleamingkleen said:


> excellent work..nice to see you went back and redid bonnett as you wasnt happy with finish even though you had already waxed it...thats whats its all about:thumb::thumb:


Cheers Jay, it had been niggling away at me.:thumb:



Bulla2000 said:


> Very nice report as always. How do you feel about the new Menzerna 203s? Is it easy to work with? On the same polishing level like Po106FA?


I'm really liking it at the moment, has a little more bite than FA but finishes down equally as well if not better, also seems to behave nicer.



mk2jon said:


> like the way you did the tailpipes,top job





Mark M said:


> Stunning! Love the exhaust work


Cheers guys, particularly proud of the tailpipes.:thumb:


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## plw (Apr 10, 2007)

Polishing the _inside_ of the tailpipes - now that's detailing! A great finishing touch.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Great work there mate - looks spot on :thumb:


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## lego_man (Mar 29, 2007)

Stunning:thumb:


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## Mike V (Apr 7, 2007)

Awesome results. nice touch as well in regards to the 'leather aroma pad'!:thumb:


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## LJB (Dec 28, 2008)

Another excellent job mate - cant wait to read your next tread


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Stunning work Rob:thumb:


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## Samjam927 (Sep 24, 2008)

Nice work man!!!


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## mteam (Dec 8, 2007)

Excellent job on a stunning car


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## GSVHammer (Feb 7, 2009)

Amazing results as normal Gothams streets are safe again with Batman & _Rob in_ town!

OK I'll get my coat and leave


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## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Thats a great looking Z4m -


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

You really brought that car to life mate, vey nice attention to detail 

Baz


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## trenchfoot (Jan 11, 2007)

Wow! Thats fabulous! I have not been a fan of dark coloured wheels, but with your work, & on that car, they look spot on! Such attention to detail & such tenacity!
Just one question though - Leather Aroma pads? Obviously to keep the inside smelling of leather(?), but I have never heard of these before - where can I find such a thng & how long do they last?

Thanks for your post and sharing the 'Batmobile'


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

man that finish looks immense excellent work and atetntion to detail and excellent write up too...


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## t_m_evans (Apr 28, 2009)

big-daf said:


> stunning no other word for it


I have to totally agree with you....


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## s3 rav (Apr 30, 2008)

that car looks great. great results, bbs ch's set it off a treat


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Thanks for all the kind words thus far, much appreciated.:thumb:



trenchfoot said:


> Wow! Thats fabulous! I have not been a fan of dark coloured wheels, but with your work, & on that car, they look spot on! Such attention to detail & such tenacity!
> Just one question though - Leather Aroma pads? Obviously to keep the inside smelling of leather(?), but I have never heard of these before - where can I find such a thng & how long do they last?
> 
> Thanks for your post and sharing the 'Batmobile'


Thank you for your kind comments, the leather aroma comes in a bottle which you add to a cotton make-up type pad, I was given a sample to try by LTT solutions (sponsor interior section on forum). Just thought I would try it out on this occasion as a nice extra touch, first impression is a nice subtle leather smell, how long it lasts I couldn't tell you though.


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## Kadir (Jun 14, 2007)

Looks fantastic.. :thumb:


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## Mixman (Dec 18, 2007)

Brilliant work :thumb:

Absolutely stunning job on a deservedly stunning car!


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## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Outstanding work, I originally though the car was grey but later came to find it was in fact black! Paint correction was top notch and the final finish proves quality!!!


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

nice work there fella

This pic confused me for a bit 









Thought you had sprayed it with primer or something


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## minimadgriff (Jul 8, 2007)

Stunning car and awesome workmanship  

got a real soft spot for the Z4m!


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Wow!! That looks breathtaking!! :doublesho

Another awesome detail mate.


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## scottmmw (Aug 11, 2008)

lovely...those wheels really set the car apart from standard!


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## SXI (Apr 25, 2009)

Lovely job there:thumb: , black alloys look very menacing.


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## Altered Carbon (Apr 17, 2007)

Great job and a cracking looking Z4M there :thumb:


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## Nick_S (Dec 20, 2008)

What a turn around! Loving the car to, looks really aggressive with the black on black. Excellent work!


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

stunning mate!


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## dizzydiesel (Aug 12, 2008)

Great work.
I like what you did with the Dremel and the exhaust. Really great work.


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## micael (Jan 25, 2009)

Impressive work and car!


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Thanks for all the comments guys, much appreciated.:thumb:

Shame someone felt the need to rate the thread poorly, perhaps they could post their opinion why, so I can maybe take note from this for future use.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Batmobile is right


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