Z4-forum.com

Yeah, I started off with SRP about 10 years ago, but found that I was having to polish almost every week to keep the finish I wanted. It's a good product for what it is, but in no way will it last for 6 months as a proper cover up polish (if driven regularly) ....2-3 weeks at most.

To be honest it all depends on the dollar you want to spend. For a half decent complete detailing kit you're looking at a £400 investment.

SRP is more haze than cutting compound. It's a product that can give a good finish with comparatively minimal levels of effort - the trade off being it is a finish that won't last. Really, you should be able to cut a car once, apply some sealant and not have to repeat the process - where as products like Autoglym are engineered to keep you a repeat customer.

Fan of Menzerna personally but am surprised with how well Meguiars ultimate compound can perform with a bit of effort

Some really helpful info here - thanks all. I thought this was a very informative page on the various cutting pads. I'm thinking Green + Blue would probably do most jobs (although perhaps orange for super tough topcoats)...

http://www.juicydetailing.co.uk/hex-logic-guide

.

Think I'm just about to pull the trigger on this lot and give it a go. Incidentally, what pad is recommended for applying and buffing of waxes (Bilt Hamber double speed-wax)?

All excellent products, however I wouldn't blow £13.95 on the 303. It's cheaper on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/303-Fabric-Vin ... B00030MAL4 but don't bother....save your money.
Personally I regularly just use a rubber bristled brush (like this http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/ ... _1190.html) in conjunction with my Henry vacuum cleaner. This pulls loads of loose dust etc out of the cloth. Then when I snowfoam the car I foam the hood also and agitate it with a soft brush and a microfibre cloth. Rinse well with a running hose. Sorted !

Switch the blue pad for a white pad and you're almost there. You'll find you need a 3in pad and backing plate (shinemate) for the tighter areas (pillars and bumpers)...but you can get a semi decent result with the orange pad by hand, just takes a bit longer.

Thanks guys. What about applying and buffing of the BH double speed wax?

ph001 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 29, 2017 9:15 pm Thanks guys. What about applying and buffing of the BH double speed wax?

This is something to do by hand. I recommend the small circular foam applicators. Dampen the applicator and give a little twist to the top of the wax, don't scoop. It needs to go on very thin. Remove with plush quality microfiber I like the Korean ones you can get from In2detailing

Steve84N wrote: ↑Sun Aug 27, 2017 9:33 pm Chamois leathers are not great for drying as they can drag small dirt particles across the paint scratching it. SRP is full of fillers so you won't actually have got rid of the scratches, just covered them up.

Correct! Bin the chamois leathers, dirt has nowhere to go unlike if you use a thick pile microfibre drying towel dirt will be drawn away from the paint - minimal scratches.
Im a certified detailer (Angelwax) and more than happy to provide advice for forum members. Products that contain fillers only hide the defects. A correction with a da polisher is the way to go. Cheers

This is a great thread - some really good tips.

I have everything on order now so my intentions as follows:

DAY 1.

1) Wash car down with Bilt Hamber auto wash and quality lambswool mit...
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/bilt-hambe ... sh-shampoo
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/meguiars-l ... -wash-mitt

2) Hose rinse and dry with quality microfibre...
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/auto-fines ... weed-towel

3) Brush soft top down with rubber bristled brush and spray clean to lift dirt with nail brush and pat dry
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/interior/ ... _1190.html
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php ... ductId=487 - note, cheaper on amazon.

4) When fully dry, mask any risky runoff areas and apply dye to restore colour.
http://amzn.eu/hXFRIGR


DAY 2.

5) Apply soft-top proofer for protection
http://amzn.eu/6p93OSt

6) Remove masking and clay down paint using quick detailer spray as lube...
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/britemax-claymax-clay-bar
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/detailing ... d_663.html

7) Remove any remaining residues with quick detailer and microfibre towel

8 ) Mask rubber seals and trims with tape and start test polish on a small area with least aggressive pad / compound, moving up to more aggressive pad if necessary:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... 9.html
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/car-polis ... _1382.html
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/index.php ... at&Submit=
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... d_685.html

9) Don't forget some smaller pads for awkward areas:
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing ... _1248.html
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/machine-p ... _1714.html
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/machine-p ... _1718.html

10) Wipe area with panel wipe and inspect with bright diffused light source.
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/gtechniq-panel-wipe

11) When satisfied, wipe down entire car with panel wipe and treat with quality sealant (main purposes to give hardness to paint and increase resilience to further swirl marks). Do the wheels as well (make sure they are fully cleaned and panel wiped first)
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/sealants/ ... _1194.html

12) It's important that car is protected from elements after the sealant (ideally garaged and left overnight )


Day 3.

13) Apply quality LSP by hand with foam applicator. Buff off with clean microfibre.
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/bilt-hambe ... -speed-wax
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/meguiars-s ... ors-2-pack

14) For the interior leather clean and condition, Gliptone is still the one to beat:
http://amzn.eu/hUxhv6W
http://amzn.eu/bHvvOTP

15) For piano gloss black trim you can polish in the same way to the exterior paint but bear in mind the clear coat is likely to be much thinner and softer. Sealing afterwards should make it less vulnerable to swirls.

16) Treat all rubber seals with gummi pflege.
http://amzn.eu/4SBZgQS

17) Don't forget a good tyre dressing at the end.
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/meguiars-e ... e-tyre-gel

18) Finish with some ultra bling wet look if required
https://www.shopnshine.co.uk/zaino-z-8- ... spray-seal


So there you go! Probably well over £300 in products so more than a professional enhancement detail and 3 days of work but most of the products will last months or even years as you use so little and you learn how to do everything yourself (gulp)!!

That's a great post....pretty much spot on! You might find that your compounding takes a couple of days to get to the level you want.

Good luck on the journey!

Cheers. Of course I'll do a full photo capture at each stage on this for all you guys that love piccies

Jeez..had a quick play on a 'test area' last night with the DA and Sonax EX04-06 on the white pad...didn't touch it! Swapped to Orange pad - perhaps a little better but still had to go over it all at least 5 times before even half of the marks were out. Bloody tough top coat!

I have some Farcela G3 regular grade paste compound hanging around http://www.frost.co.uk/farecla-g3-paste ... d-1kg.html but am unsure of how that cuts compared to the EX04-06. I know it's a much older generation product and quite messy to use but any ideas whether it's likely to all end in tears?

yeah bmw paint will require a lot of work. Hard as nails.

Hard as nails until you breathe on it with anything other than a supersoft microfibre!