[eleven24]

In Part I of this topic, I discussed my reasonings for choosing Menzerna to protect, and shine my new E90 as soon as I take delivery. (Which should be in about TWO weeks!)

Step i. Jump up and down, do happy dance that my car is finally here. Kiss my old E46 goodbye.

Step 1 Wash car with Griot's Car Wash (which I already had)

Step 2 - Prep Claybar entire car using Griot's Speed Shine and Clay. While it may seem a bit excessive to claybar a brand new car, this will remove any wax/polish applied by the dealer as well as contaminants picked up during transit (such as rail dust).

Step 3 - Prep Spray down car with Griot's Paint Prep. Wipe off with microfiber towel. Once my Paint Prep is gone, I'll switch to P21S Paintwork Cleanser.

Step 4 - Repair Polish Hopefully I won't be doing this step as my new E90 shouldn't have any imperfections. If it does (and after I bitch to the dealer about it) I'll use my Porter Cable 7424 Random Orbital Buffer and a cutting pad to apply a polish such as Menzerna Final Polish II. Prior to this, I had used the Griot's line of polish on my E46, which also works very well.

Step 5 - Final Polish With my PC buffer set to 4.5 and a polish pad I'll apply a thin layer of Menzerna Final Touch Glaze (FTG) a section at a time and remove the haze by hand with a microfiber cloth. Once I'm done the whole car, I'll grab a clean microfiber polishing cloth and give the it another wipedown.

Step 6 - Sealant With my PC buffer set to 4.5 and a finishing pad I'll apply my first coat of Menzerna Full Mollecular Jacket (FMJ), again in a very thin layer. Like in step 5, I'll remove the haze by hand with a microfiber cloth (now up to cloth #3). When done, I'll use another microfiber polish cloth and wipe down. I'll repeat this process a few more times ending with 3 coats of FMJ applied to the paint.

Step 7 - Wax Yes, wax. The FMJ technically serves the same purpose as a wax, but I've seen excellent results when topping a synthetic coat with a carnuba wax. In this case, I'll be applying Poorboy's Natty Blue paste wax which is designed to bring out the depth in black cars. I'll apply this by hand with a microfiber applicator pad and buff out with (yet another new) microfiber polish cloth.

Step 8 - Wheels Odds are my new E90 will already have the rubber dressing applied. I'm interested in protecting my 162 rims and keeping the collection of brake dust to a minimum. While I've never used it, I'm hoping that the Poorboy's Wheel Sealant will provide results. I'll update this thread later with how well, or how ineffective it was.

Step 9 - Protect Carpeting I have a 3-year old, so spills are unavoidable. I'll be trying another new product, 303 High Tech Fabric Guard on all of my carpeted surfaces. The instructions say to spray on all carpeted surfaces & it will provide protection against stains, dirt, etc. We'll see how it works.

Step 10 - Admire

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I'd like to note that while I provided links in this post to both detailedimage.com and griotsgarage.com, I in no way am associated with them. Other than the Griot's products, the other stuff can be found all over the 'net. I just figured if someone wants more info on one of the products, a link is the easiest way to access it.

If you didn't read the first part of this post (see above), I based my decision to use Menzerna (over Zaino or Klasse) because my car is Sapphire Black. I also didn't like the mirror-like effect, or plasticky effect Zaino gives with a dark car. But that's just my preference.

Hope this info helps.

[vladinecko]

thanks for the carpeting tip. i've never really thought about it until now.

can you get that 303 high tech fabric guard in any auto parts store? my mats are already dirty as hell...

[eleven24]

Originally Posted by vladinecko

thanks for the carpeting tip. i've never really thought about it until now.

can you get that 303 high tech fabric guard in any auto parts store? my mats are already dirty as hell...

The only reason I bought the 303 fabric guard was because I was buying a bunch of other stuff & that's what detailedimage.com sold. If I remember correctly, my local Pep Boys sold a sprayable version of 3M's Scotchguard - which serves the same purpose

[ga-bmwdrvr]

You could probably skip the paint cleanser step if you plan on using a polish afterwards. the polish after claybar will do all the paint cleaning you need. I'm no expert, but I would reconsider the cutting pad on your new car, especially black. I would stick to a polishing pad.

[eleven24]

The reason for the paint cleanser is that the polish I will be using has no cleaning agents in it. I certainly won't be using a cutting pad on my new E90, but I just listed the step in the event someone is curious what to do if their new car has scratches.

[ga-bmwdrvr]

Sorry, thought you were going to use the FPII. Some companies use the term polish for a glaze (like Meguiars) and other use it to mean a cleaner/scratch remover (like Mothers). It can get confusing.

[england1987]

I think the best thing I have used on a car is a clay bar. that thing will get everything off the car that isn't supposed to be on the paint. It gets it a smooth as a babies bum.

[JOYRIIDE1113]

top mezerna fmj with some fk1 pink wax and u'll be picking your tongue off the floor.

[SCA]

I always Scotchguard my floor mats.