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Thread: What to use and whatelse to purchase to fully detail BMW E30

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    What to use and whatelse to purchase to fully detail BMW E30

    I have a 1987 BMW 325i Convertible (my dads pride and joy (he is the original owner), kept the car even though he purchased cars after it).

    He passed away in 2001 and even though we kept the car in the garage, it was never driven or really detailed right (too hard to deal with a car he was so involved in).

    Well, finally we started to put our efforts to restoring this car the way he had it before.

    A little back ground, again, it is a 1987 BMW 325i convertible. It has been garaged kept almost its entire life. The paint is not faded, no oxidiation, has good shine to it for an 87 (he really, really loved and took care of this car).

    The car has been sitting for 8 years garaged kept. We finally got the car running smooth again, and now is the time to fully detail this baby.

    My understanding and correct me if I am wrong this is the steps to cleaning and detailing a car.

    1) Washing car
    2) Dry car
    3) Pre-wax polish
    4) Wax car

    The color of the car is delphin metallic. I want to fully detail this car and bring back that metallic from new look.

    This is the products I have so far:

    1) Meguiars Gold car wash
    2) Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit
    3) Meguiars ScratchX 2.0 (It has a few scratch/swirl marks on trunk and hood from people being careless with the (old car) sitting in the garage)
    4) Meguiars NXT Tech wax 2.0

    Now, from my reading and research, there is a pre-wax polish I am supposed to use to get out all of the containiments and bring back the original luster of the car paint before applying the wax which seals the paint. What is a pre-wax polish and what is a good one I should purchase from my local autozone?

    Also, any opinions of the products I have thus far and any different kind of items I should purchase before starting this process?

    Help me bring back a car that means so much to me back to its original state

    Lastly, keep in mind I do not have any machines, all this will be done by my own two hands.
    Last edited by IS300E30; 07-19-2009 at 06:04 PM.

  2. #2
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    ,

    well ...it will be hard to polish /compound by hand, that`s for sure.
    u may wanna try klasse all in one , but doesn`t have cutting power and by hand will work, will clean good , plus will be a good base for nxt2.
    without a machine u will not be able to get the best out of the car`s paint. so no defects removal (swirls marks , holograms , scratches...etc)
    i will go with at least portal cable and some finish compound on a finish/polish pad, will made a huge difference.
    in your list.. some metal polish paste , and some tire gel ,some dressing for inside plastic , buff the headlights if are foggy , a lot of microfiber towels, a wash mitt , gritt guard for your buckets....and the list may go....

  3. #3
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    I am hesitant to use the clay bar as I read that if you do not know what your doing, that you could do more harm then good.

    So, I am going to skip the clay. Will "klasse all in one" take the place of the clay bar as in getting all the contaminants off the paint before I seal it with the NXT 2.0 wax?

    I know car wash comes first and waxing comes last. Which one do I use after washing and drying the car, the Meguiars ScratchX 2.0 or the Klasse all in one?

    1)Washing
    2) Drying
    3)?
    4)?
    5) Wax

  4. #4
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    ..

    i don`t know what u read , but u will not skip the clay bar , kit comes with lube and read and fallow the instructions are in english, is worth it , also if u don`t do it u may harm the paint when polish. wash / clay / scratch x where need it/ u may wash again/ klasse all in one, and nxt2 on top with 2 layers , are better than one plus will look better.

  5. #5
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    Ok, I got all the cleaning supplies in that you mentioned. I do have an additional question though. I have a scratch on the trunk lid that took off the paint (not down to the metal though). If I do the whole washing, Klassee all-in-one polish and finish it with a wax then touch up the scratch with one of those pens that has my paint color in it, arn't I just painting over and touching up the wax and not really touching up the scratch itself?

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    North Carolina
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    '86 M635/'10 Clubman
    What color is the car? Is there anything in particular you're trying to address in the paint?

    Claybar is a great thing to do. As long as you use plenty of lubricant, work in small circles and use use very little pressure, you'll love the results.

    We had an E30 meet yesterday in Kernersville where I was doing some detailing demos. Maybe we'll do one a little closer to you...

    I own GlossHaus, and if you're ever going to be in/near Winston-Salem, let me know and we'll show you the system.
    Last edited by e24mpwr; 07-26-2009 at 09:33 PM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Hendersonville, NC
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    My Cars
    87 325ic,04 IS300 SD
    I thank you for the reply. The color of my car is Delphin Metallic. The car has been garaged kept most of its life. After my father passed away in 2001, it has been basically untouched (he was the original owner and kept this car in prestine condition). It has still been garaged kept the last 8 years but hasnt really been maintained.

    Also, some people has been careless while it has sat in the garage. It now has a few swirl/scratch marks on the hood and trunk lid that I would like have removed and I would just like to fully detail it, to bring back that metallic luster to the paint that is use to have when my father was around.

    If you come anywhere close to my area, I would love it to be a demo car for you to fully detail

    Edit: just checked out the distance from Hendersonville (where I live) to Winston-Salem and its about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Thats not too terrible at all. Also, I saw the newest part of your post and you said you'll show me the system, what do you mean by that? Just curious.

    Quote Originally Posted by e24mpwr View Post
    What color is the car? Is there anything in particular you're trying to address in the paint?

    Claybar is a great thing to do. As long as you use plenty of lubricant, work in small circles and use use very little pressure, you'll love the results.

    We had an E30 meet yesterday in Kernersville where I was doing some detailing demos. Maybe we'll do one a little closer to you...

    I own GlossHaus, and if you're ever going to be in/near Winston-Salem, let me know and we'll show you the system.
    Last edited by IS300E30; 07-27-2009 at 11:21 AM.

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