# Gtechniq BMW F20 125d M-Sport - New Car Detail



## Sonic

Hi all :wave:

This is a write-up of my brothers brand spanking new BMW F20 125d M-Sport detail.

The car is estoril blue, quite simply the best colour BMW has ever made (IMO), and it has come with quite a few options -

125d M Sport (twin-turbo diesel)
Sport Automatic Transmission
Adaptive M Sport Suspension
Estoril Blue
Black dakota leather
Brushed aluminium with high gloss black trim
Sun Protection Package
Driver Comfort Package (Rear PDC, Variable Sport Steering, Cruise Control)
Visibility Package (Adaptive Bi-xenons, high-beam assist, rain sensor, auto-dimming mirror, rear LED lamps)
Electric front seats with memory
Comfort Access
Through loading system
Electric folding and dimming mirrors
Harmon Kardon hifi
DAB digital radio
Black Panel Display
Enhanced bluetooth functionality
Telephone USB audio interface
iPhone4 cradle

The twist to this tale is that i'm expecting a near identical one to be delivered to me some time over the next couple of weeks, albeit the 125i petrol, but needless to say spending 3 days working on my brothers car was a bit of a tease! 

The plan was to give both cars a full go-over with the full range of Gtechniq products to provide ultimate protection and durability.

So... on with the detail.

My brother received the car last week and, after driving it back from the dealership, locked it in his garage until i was able to come up and work on it.

The dealership was specifically asked to supply the car straight off the transporter with no prep/valet so it could receive the full works - they were reluctant to deviate from 'BMW delivery standards' at first but we got our own way 

The car was understandably in mint condition, but had already suffered some minor scrapes and marks in the interior from the kids on the journey home. It had also clearly been sat at the dealership for a little while as there were lots of water marks, dust and other contaminants on the paint.

All products laid out and ready to begin work, this is what we started with -



















































































































































































































































































































All in all a very good looking car, it just required that certain touch 

With the car underway, my brother took it upon himself to get stuck in with the important things -



















After a shampoo with megs hyperwash, lambswool washmitt and 2 buckets to remove all of that nasty dust things were looking a lot better, and ready for the real work to begin -














































Following this the car was clayed with last touch and sonus green. I wasn't expecting much to come off, but i was (and always am) quite surprised just how much crap there was on the paintwork, and how silky smooth the finish is after claying.

Tucked up in the garage the car was ready for the hard work... but only after some lunch -





































Prep commenced with 3M blue tape and dust sheets on the windows. This was quite an epic task for such a small car due the amount of lines and joins that i wanted to cover, and took a couple of hours on its own!

Initial inspection showed a couple of minor scratches on the bonnet and roof, but nothing too serious. The major annoyance was that my trusty PTG decided to stop working. Not sure what the problem is, but it's not just the batteries 

I had quite an arsenal of polishes at my disposal and due to the fact the car had under 100 miles on the clock, the paintwork was untouched, and the depth of the marks i opted for the G220 with a combination of Gtechniq P1 and 3M Ultrafina with 5" 3M blue and 3" Sonus Yellow pads.










After 1 pass with Ultrafina - noticeably sharper reflection and additional flake-pop -





































Meanwhile the wheels were taken off one-by-one, shampoo'd, clayed and sealed with Gtechniq C5.





































The paint was pretty hard work, but hour-by-hour things progressed and the results were very noticeable -
































































The light clusters never fail to impress when they're given a polish and the bi-xenons on this bad-boy look very smart 



















The reflection from the paint was quite impressive and i spent a while trying to photograph the clarity of the reflection, but the camera wanted to focus on the paint rather than the reflection. After a bit of trial and error i think i got there in the end -




























The midnight oil burned, and eventually i had to call it a night...










Polishing Day 2, with an extra person running quality control 



















Right panel is polished, left panel not touched after claying -



















Both panels polished -





































Diffuser -



















After 12 hours of work the polishing was complete.

I decided to move straight onto the glass before the full tape removal because previous glass cleaning products i've used have showered the car in a fine dust which is worse than polish residue to remove! I can confirm however that the Gtechniq G4 we used doesn't leave any residue at all.

We gave the glass a thorough cleanse with G4, then applied G1 to all windows and the wing mirrors, 3 times to both the front and rear windows. After leaving the G1 to cure for 20 minutes after the final layer this was cleaned off with G2, supplied with the G1 pack, and some cotton cloths.

The result were pretty darn impressive with the glass appearing completely transparent, and making all of the marks on the inside of the windows stand out an absolute mile!

As the car has the sun-pack the rear windows are tinted, which had a particularlly impressive reflection after the glass was cleaned -























































With the tape removed and any residue cleaned with microfibres and last touch, things were looking impressive.

The paint was wiped down with IPA to remove any polishing oils and the new batch of Gtechniq C1 applied, which added an extra gloss to the paintwork.

The C1 goes way further than you might think, a couple of dabs onto one of the applicator pads is enough to do 1/3-1/2 of the bonnet. That said, the small bottle goes down quicker than you might like once you get moving 













































































































The C1 was left overnight and day 3 simply involved applying Gtechniq C1.5 (very very easy!) onto the paintwork, L1 to the leather, C6 to the dash and trim and I1 to the interior fabric and carpets along with a few other smaller tasks like the exhaust (AG Metal Polish and microfibers), tyres (Megs Endurance) and engine bay (C1.5).



























































































And out onto the drive for some final shots... just a bloody shame the sun couldn't come out to really show how impressive this beast looked. The camera really couldn't capture the clarity and sharpness of the paintwork and reflections. Enjoy :thumb:






































































































































































































































































Thanks for viewing! :wave:


----------



## Jay Scott

Fantastic work mate, the end results are superb!

I wasn't too keen on the new 1 Series when I first saw it but it certainly seems to be a grower! The M sport body kit really sets it off nicely and you are right about the colour, absolutely stunning.


----------



## nickfrog

What a great prep. I wish I had a brother !!!

The colour is indeed classic and has become timeless.

I am starting to like the 1-series, even in the new shape. Looking forward to the 3-door.

Only thing I would say is that it needs silver indicator bulbs rather than the factory ambers.

Thanks for sharing.


----------



## fulcrumer

Nice house too!


----------



## ohms12

Saw your post over on Babybmw, lovely car mate. What colour is your 125i?


----------



## NL-J

Great work on the best looking F20 I've seen so far :thumb: Colour and M-sport package and a superb detail make it really stand out :thumb:


----------



## toni

Fantastic write-up :thumb: Really enjoyed it!


----------



## tonyy

Very nice job


----------



## pee

Very nice love the colour


----------



## prokopas

Amazing work


----------



## ryand

Awesome work guys. Amazing difference made. Just shows the poor quality on new cars. Great result and great garage / working area!


----------



## david_h

Great result, and I agree estoril blue is a fantastic colour.

However, I just can't get on with the new 1 series, looks like it's been hit with the ugly stick front and back.


----------



## davec

gotta agree on the colour, looks great. I had a 535i in atlantis blue i think thats the only colour to rival the estoril.:thumb:


----------



## DMH-01

Cracking job there mate :thumb:


----------



## Elliott19864

Great work but Christ that's a fugly car!!


----------



## Radish293

Great job worth the effort. 
I'm impatiently waiting for the 3 door to be launched then my order goes in. I'm told its June for September delivery. 
Does anyone know different?


----------



## robertdon777

Thats the first new 1 series that actually looks good, they should use it in their ad's rather than the ugly red one they show.

Amazing job, looks 1st class, top colour too and amazing spec!

What engine is in this one? is it the same unit as the old 123d. Notice that it has ED on an Auto too, is that a first form BM?. Bet you can't wait for your 125i (turbo 4 pot?) supposed to be very very good.


----------



## ted11

Great job, awesome result. well done.


----------



## D.Taylor R26

fantastic detail. shame they never come to you like that from the dealer! 

must say though that some of the interior platics and trim look rather second rate compared to other german rivals. 

Dave


----------



## s3 rav

Very nice. What's the stats on the 125d is it an updated version of the 123d engine?


----------



## JBirchy

Amazing job mate, that was a great read too!

This is the first M-Sport one i've seen, and it looks so much better than the 116d's you see all over the place! All the little goodies in that one look amazing! Bet it goes well too!

Thanks for sharing!

Jon


----------



## twink

awesome job mate


----------



## Miguel Pestana

that looks stunning, fantastic job, great colour too


----------



## Trip tdi

I really like this new shape BMW 1 series has really grown on me, It's fully loaded and plus the detail has certainly enhanced the shine levels plus the protection on the car, very nice work; nice food as well on the BBQ, I've never seen three chickens on a BBQ, and nice house by the way as well.


----------



## Sonic

Thanks for the kind comments guys.



ohms12 said:


> Saw your post over on Babybmw, lovely car mate. What colour is your 125i?


Estoril blue - my brother changed the colour of his from Valencia Orange after i'd put my order in :lol:



fulcrumer said:


> Nice house too!





ryand said:


> Awesome work guys. Amazing difference made. Just shows the poor quality on new cars. Great result and great garage / working area!


Absolutely - my bro's house and garage is absolutely perfect for detailing. I wish my place had the same facilities!



david_h said:


> Great result, and I agree estoril blue is a fantastic colour.
> 
> However, I just can't get on with the new 1 series, looks like it's been hit with the ugly stick front and back.





CupraElliott said:


> Great work but Christ that's a fugly car!!


It does seem like a marmite car.

I'm not so keen on the back, but besides that i think it's a smart looking car in the flesh when it has the M-Sport pack.



robertdon777 said:


> Thats the first new 1 series that actually looks good, they should use it in their ad's rather than the ugly red one they show.
> 
> Amazing job, looks 1st class, top colour too and amazing spec!
> 
> What engine is in this one? is it the same unit as the old 123d. Notice that it has ED on an Auto too, is that a first form BM?. Bet you can't wait for your 125i (turbo 4 pot?) supposed to be very very good.





s3 rav said:


> Very nice. What's the stats on the 125d is it an updated version of the 123d engine?


The new F20 1 series have a new range of engines to go with them - all efficient 4-pot turbo's.

The 116i and 118i are the same 1.6 petrol producing 136hp/220Nm and 170hp/250Nm respectively. The 125i is a different 2-litre turbo petrol producing 218hp/310Nm and with a 0-62 of 6.4s. It's the same engine found in the new 3-series.

The 116d, 118d, 120d and 125d are all 2 litre turbo diesels, the 125d twin-turbo, and producing 116hp/260Nm, 143hp/320Nm, 184hp/380Nm and 218hp/450Nm respectively. The 125d has a 0-62 of 6.5s, pretty much the same as the petrol 125i.

The 116d ED if the new ultra-efficient one in the range with a 1.6 turbo diesel engine producing 116hp and 250Nm with a 0-62 of 10.5s - it is however rated for 70mpg and is free on road tax!


----------



## JBirchy

Sonic said:


> *the 125d twin-turbo... 218hp/450Nm respectively. The 125d has a 0-62 of 6.5s, pretty much the same as the petrol 125i.*


I bet that really shifts! will make serious embarrasment of some Golf GTI drivers! That's some serious torque for a 2ltr engine!


----------



## Derekh929

Very well done great write up and very good work love the pics, wheels and paint work look fantastic and the colour is really nice, top job


----------



## rebel.ranter

I like the write up & the job you did on the car. I especially like the way you had to practically argue with the dealer to leave the car unprepped! I would be the exact same way if I ever bought a brand new car (unlikely to ever do so as I'd always be thinking of what else I could get for the same money).

Is your own one Estoril Blue too? Nice colour & it suits the 1.

That chicken made me hungry!


----------



## jamesgti

Looks great.


----------



## Rowan83

Fantastic finish, best 1 series I have ever seen! Bet it wasn't cheap with that spec


----------



## johnnyg

1 word mate stunning .one of the nicest colours i have seen on a car :thumb:


----------



## EastUpperGooner

Great write up and lovely car.

Not normally a fan of blue but that is sexy.


----------



## Kap01

Best new 1 series I have seen, great work !!

Shocking to see some of the marks inside the car on arrival! 

Best that engine is a peache.


----------



## 20vKarlos

this looks amazing.. but you need to wipe off the finger marks on the Sat Nav/Radio/Everything Screen lol


----------



## georgef

awesome car mate and good job colour looks great


----------



## Sonic

20vKarlos said:


> this looks amazing.. but you need to wipe off the finger marks on the Sat Nav/Radio/Everything Screen lol


Busted.. i was wondering how long it would take for that to be pointed out from the final photo :lol:

Just to re-assure that they were wiped down after the photos were taken  :thumb:


----------



## BigAshD

Amazing work. I know this wasn't touched by the dealership, but I find it amazing just how much crud there is on brand new motors. I requested that my RRS wasn't cleaned before I collected it but fortunately the service manager is into detailing so he knew where I was coming from and assured me that they don't let the trainees near them! Like the chickens too


----------



## Sportspack Mark

Beautiful!!


----------



## alxg

The best colour BMW do IMO, I used to have the 123d Coupe and that was one rapid car and that was "only" 205bhp!
Liking the workspace too but did you really eat 3 chickens?? Jebus :doublesho

Just a little thing I wanted to ask was why did you tape up the panel gaps? If you are trying to stop the dust as you go round then fair enough :thumb:

Not picking fault on what is a great end job, I bet your brother is chuffed with that.


----------



## Mindis

Great job :thumb: Was it my eyes or there is almost no orange peel?

But, every time I see new shape 1 series, it reminds me cow :lol:



















They are identical :lol:


----------



## Sonic

alxg said:


> The best colour BMW do IMO, I used to have the 123d Coupe and that was one rapid car and that was "only" 205bhp!
> Liking the workspace too but did you really eat 3 chickens?? Jebus :doublesho
> 
> Just a little thing I wanted to ask was why did you tape up the panel gaps? If you are trying to stop the dust as you go round then fair enough :thumb:
> 
> Not picking fault on what is a great end job, I bet your brother is chuffed with that.


The 3 chickens were for his family as well, but we did have loads of burgers and sausages to go with them! :lol:

The tape - exactly that, and protecting the edges (of which there are quite a few) from excessive polishing. I looked at the car afterwards and it seemed like i had used quite a bit, but it made cleaning up after the polish so damn easy.

There is nothing worse than looking at a freshly detailed and polished car, with many many hours of work having gone into it, only to see white polish marks and residue around every rubber strip and panel gap.


----------



## MidlandsCarCare

That looks awesome, very nice work and photos!!

MCC HQ needs a BBQ!!


----------



## twoscoops

well done fella thats a great finish and looked like a fun detail with the BBQ et al!


----------



## fastbreak79

Your car and its blue are lovely. I guess you are a Gtechniq fan like me  Very attentive work, I really appreciate your work, welldone :thumb:


----------



## theboss

BigAshD said:


> Amazing work. I know this wasn't touched by the dealership, but I find it amazing just how much crud there is on brand new motors. I requested that my RRS wasn't cleaned before I collected it but fortunately the service manager is into detailing so he knew where I was coming from and assured me that they don't let the trainees near them! Like the chickens too


Owner of the car and Sonic's brother here :wave:

Just wanted to say I too was shocked by how much crap was on the car! But when you consider it took three weeks to get from factory to dealer and would have had a couple of transporter rides, was ferried over on a dirty great boat and would have sat in all manner of holding facilities inbetween, it's no surprise really. Most of it was just dust - only a couple of minor marks on the paint.

To those commenting on the marks on the inside of the car, these were not present when it was picked up from the dealer - thats what a couple of young kids managed to do in the space of 30 miles!

I'm just trying to give the dealer a bit of credit here as they were specifically asked not to touch the car and literally had to request that I signed a disclaimer to say I was happy with the 'poor' condition of the car at handover. Of course had their valet monkeys been let anywhere near it, poor Sonic would have had to polish out all their swirl marks.

As for the food I take BBQ very seriously indeed, what we had on the weekend was nothing, the chickens were roasted as an afterthought just to make efficient use of the coals  proper BBQ to me is smoked beef brisket, ribs and pork, which we do regularly. We'll put a dedicated thread up when Sonic eventually gets round to detailing my extensive collection of BBQs.

The car has really made a very positive impression, I have done 400 miles already since the detail ! and it will get another 1000 miles before the end of next week. It was expensive for a hatch but is to serve as an intensive commuting car to soak up some of the household mileage. It's already scoring 50+ mpg on my commute and thats with fast A/B road cruising and overtaking where possible. The engine is a peach, just like a smaller version of the 3.0 twin turbo which is in the X3 in the photos, but much more efficient, and combined with the 8-speed box makes for a really impressive drivetrain. It's like a mini-335d or dare I say 635d coupe in terms of having a big-car refined but sporty drive and effortless power delivery. I'm surprised people are saying the new 1 is cheap / nasty on the inside as I think its very refined and well put together and altogether a very nice car to spend time in - and I think thats saying something when you consider my other daily car is an E65 7-series (which hasn't been detailed yet, but should be (are you reading this Sonic).

I know the looks are decisive and I still think its a bit ugly myself but that doesn't stop me from really liking it, at least it has some individuality and a lot of road presence for a small family hatch.


----------



## robertdon777

I think the interior is a great step forward for BMW, the new F10 5 series is too. There last ones e90 and e60 were a bit of a let down. At least they have started to focus the controls back to the driver again.

The new 1 will never be a great looking car but with the M Sport kit on at least it is desirable and as you say very distinctive, which is a positive unlike the totally bland new A3.


----------



## SteveyG

Mindis said:


> Great job :thumb: Was it my eyes or there is almost no orange peel?
> 
> But, every time I see new shape 1 series, it reminds me cow :lol:


Ugly car, but great detailing session :thumb:


----------



## Sonic

Mindis said:


> Great job :thumb: Was it my eyes or there is almost no orange peel?
> 
> But, every time I see new shape 1 series, it reminds me cow :lol:
> 
> They are identical :lol:


:lol:

I'm going to have stop thinking about that now because the more i do, the more i see it as well, and i'm due to be picking mine up within a week or 2 :thumb:


----------



## Mindis

Sonic said:


> :lol:
> 
> I'm going to have stop thinking about that now because the more i do, the more i see it as well, and i'm due to be picking mine up within a week or 2 :thumb:


:lol: I am sure they are nice from inside :thumb:


----------



## steve D

Stunning results, the picture of the rear looking up at the twin pipes is superb, catches everything perfectly for me. Nice chickens too.


----------



## McClane

Just seen this... great thread! Lovely car.


----------



## Sonic

Picking mine up on Friday... there'll be a near identical thread to this next week


----------



## Bmw_Oner

I have to say, that's the first new one of the new shape I like. It seems you have to spec the M-Sport option to make it look good. I had a loan 118d se and was pretty awful I must say.

Good detail, though as all BMW's the paint quality is very poor indeed. There is still some orange peel on there which is a shame, but wet sanding is for the brave.

Great work, though you didn't hoover under the seat rails, haha, sorry to be a pain. Enjoy the cold chicken.


----------



## Dan Clark

This looks awesome.

I am tempted to have one of these as my company car.


----------



## Jammy J

Top job :thumb: also seen this on BabyBMW - There really starting to grow on me now, i think they look great.


----------



## gtechrob

nice job sonic - you still getting the 125i? will be interesting to see how they stack up. looks like you got on very well wiht all things gtechniq - very good to see :thumb:


----------



## Sonic

gtechrob said:


> nice job sonic - you still getting the 125i? will be interesting to see how they stack up. looks like you got on very well wiht all things gtechniq - very good to see :thumb:


Cheers Rob - i've just been trying to find the thread i made about my car now to show a friend, and it appears to have been deleted... i guess the 2 threads were near identical! :lol:


----------



## Sonic

Pics of my 125i -



























































































And the pair together


----------



## s3 rav

Great cars. Which is best though lol!!


----------



## dodd87

I love these cars, brilliant shape and a superb colour. A great write up from yourself, you should be very happy with your work, that's a real eye catching finish!


----------



## Lupostef

Mega work, mega results


----------



## Stevesuds

Very, very nice job. Who's light sabre is it in the boot?


----------



## deni2

Great work, better than new :thumb:.


----------



## DetailMyCar

Fantastic work, shows why we all know a brand new car is never really brand new until it's been properly prepared with a keen eye 

Stunning work though, real credit to you - Exactly how every brand new car should look!!!


----------



## Satdiver

*My 125d M*

Firstly, hello, I'm satdiver based in Preston Lancs.
I have ordered this same car almost same spec, I can't wait for it to arrive...Sept/ Oct. please forgive me, I have never seen anything like this cleaning process, I was...am amazed and now on the look out for some one to do mine. Please PM me a costing of the process which took place and a tue time scale for me to hand my new keys over. 
Very well done, once again.

PS where or how do you train for this....or courses to go on, I have a son who is meticulous , this sort of thing could be right up his street.....if I can get him up...or off his bass )

Thank you in advance

Satdiver


----------



## MAW73

I've got a 125i M Sport on order in the same colour..... I'm also on the babybmw forum. I've gone for the M Sport brakes as well which will finish the car off nicely!

Hopefully I should get my car around second week in September.

Can't bloody wait! :wave:


----------



## abolisher2407

*Inspirational*

Hi,

I'm very impressed with what i've seen. Its very inspiring to those of us who want to keep their cars looking "as new"

I've started to make a list of things to buy as i'm very eager to detail my car.

Can you please confirm how often you wash your car, including the steps taken.

Also how often does this level of detailing need to be done on the car?

Thanks

:newbie:


----------



## Soul Hudson

Cracking work giving you some superb results.

Nice write up as well thanks for sharing was a joy to read.


----------

