[arc1880]

I have a few minor scratches and swirl marks. I was wondering if I can use Scratch X2.0 along with Klasse AOI and Klasse SG. So wash, dry, clay, Scratch X, AOI and then SG. Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Other info:
Car color Sparkling Graphite
Not garaged
Car is driven daily
Working by hand (don't have experience in detailing in general)

[ucdbiendog]

Hi George,
I have a quick question for you. I washed my girlfriends car today (first time for me) and noticed there were a couple small rock chips down to the metal just above the windshield. Both of them had begun oxidizing, and it looked to me as though the oxidation had possibly spread underneath the surrounding paint (maybe a millimeter beyond the chip). Is this something that can be repaired with touch up paint? If so, how would I go about prepping the area? I read a few posts that mentioned putting sand paper on the tip of a pencil eraser, but I'm not sure if I trust myself yet to sand away that much paint. Thanks
~Ryan

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by pigbat

I've been thinking about moving away from Zaino to Blackfire Wet Diamond sealer or the Opti-seal. I only have black cars in the family so I was wondering how the Dodo products layer on these? Should I just stay with the BF midnight Sun?

Also, do I need to keep both Dodo and BF waxes away from trim pieces?

If you have the Blackfire Midnight Sun already, I'd recommend topping that over the Wet Diamond. Dodo Juice waxes would be a nice option as well but no reason to buy a new wax if you already have a quality one. Be sure to let the sealant cure first before using the wax.

Originally Posted by arc1880

I have a few minor scratches and swirl marks. I was wondering if I can use Scratch X2.0 along with Klasse AOI and Klasse SG. So wash, dry, clay, Scratch X, AOI and then SG. Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Other info:
Car color Sparkling Graphite
Not garaged
Car is driven daily
Working by hand (don't have experience in detailing in general)

The process you have looks fine, but depending on how deep your imperfections are ScratchX may not be aggressive enough to give you the results you are looking for. If you need to move up from there and you are applying it by hand, then I'd look into Meguiar's M105 / M205 combo for maximum results. Then follow up with the Klasse Twins for your protection.

Originally Posted by ucdbiendog

Hi George,
I have a quick question for you. I washed my girlfriends car today (first time for me) and noticed there were a couple small rock chips down to the metal just above the windshield. Both of them had begun oxidizing, and it looked to me as though the oxidation had possibly spread underneath the surrounding paint (maybe a millimeter beyond the chip). Is this something that can be repaired with touch up paint? If so, how would I go about prepping the area? I read a few posts that mentioned putting sand paper on the tip of a pencil eraser, but I'm not sure if I trust myself yet to sand away that much paint. Thanks
~Ryan

Your going to want to clean and fill those chips in to prevent it from spreading further. Using some touch up would do the trick, but to properly prep the surface, you'll want to clean it up with some fine grade sand paper. Gluing it onto the eraser of a pencil is a pretty good idea since you can get some very accurate sanding. Use a hole punch to get the right size on the sand paper and super glue it onto the eraser.

After sanding, you'll want to mix up your touch up paint, apply, let cure, then sand down to an even level and polish away the wet sanding marks. That's the process in a nutshell.

If you have any other questions on anything, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help.

Good luck, keep us posted on how things turn out for you.

[quagmire]

I recently ordered DI Microfiber The Great White clothes. It says in the description to wash with the CG microfiber detergent ideally. Is it still safe to use regular Tide detergent or do you recommend ordering the microfiber detergent?

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by quagmire

I recently ordered DI Microfiber The Great White clothes. It says in the description to wash with the CG microfiber detergent ideally. Is it still safe to use regular Tide detergent or do you recommend ordering the microfiber detergent?

If you are going to use a detergent you can find locally, try to use something like Tide Free. Remember you want to avoid using anything with fabric softener as well. CG Microfiber Detergent is a nice product but not a necessary one. I'd recommend reading over these couple Microfiber Care articles to keep your microfiber like new as long as possible:

Caring for Microfiber
Proper Microfiber Care

Thanks again for your support.

[fadelj]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to remove spilled LATEX EXTERIOR paint from plastic, carpeted and metallic surfaces in the hatchback of my M Coupe? Little problem scraping off paint from glass but not certain what can be done with remaining damage. See pics:

https://www.me.com/gallery/#home

Thanks

BTW car been parked in the sun for about three weeks now.

[BlackBimmer1991]

Hey guys I have two long scratches on my door. I already put touch up paint on it (let it dry) and then wet sanded useing bmws kit. It helped alittle but not completely. Anything else I can do?

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by fadelj

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to remove spilled LATEX EXTERIOR paint from plastic, carpeted and metallic surfaces in the hatchback of my M Coupe? Little problem scraping off paint from glass but not certain what can be done with remaining damage. See pics:

https://www.me.com/gallery/#home

Thanks

BTW car been parked in the sun for about three weeks now.

I'm not too versed in paint removal. I'd talk to a body shop for advice on something like that. That link didn't work but if it was the same one you sent to our Ask a Pro section, it looks like you had quite a mess on your hands. I forwarded it onto the other pro's on our site to take a look but I'd seek a paint professional (body work / shop) as they come across this problem more regularly. Good luck.

Originally Posted by BlackBimmer1991

Hey guys I have two long scratches on my door. I already put touch up paint on it (let it dry) and then wet sanded useing bmws kit. It helped alittle but not completely. Anything else I can do?

After you wet sand it, you'll have sanding marks remaining... you'll want to polish those out to restore some of the depth and gloss in the finish and help further level out the scratch. This is going to best be done with a quality buffer and polishes. Check out Meguiar's M105 / M205 if you want to take a stab at it by hand.

[BlackBimmer1991]

I already polished it but u can still see the scratches

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by BlackBimmer1991

I already polished it but u can still see the scratches

You could try to reapply more touch up. So what your saying is the touch up covered the scratch but you can still see where the scratch was? If that's the case, then you need to keep reapplying coats of touch up letting each one try until you clearly are blobbed above the regular paint, then sand it down, hopefully that provides a more uniform finish if I'm understanding the situation properly.

[Prowess Symphony]

Can I use exterior or interior quick detailer on my engine cover and other engine bay things to get them clean and shiny? Or do I need special cleaner to deal with the heat, and if so, what do you recommend? Thanks

[jopa489]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

Can I use exterior or interior quick detailer on my engine cover and other engine bay things to get them clean and shiny? Or do I need special cleaner to deal with the heat, and if so, what do you recommend? Thanks

Good to see you around Prowess, hope life's treating ya well in the M3.

I simply use a degreaser to clean the grime then top it with something like 303 Aerospace to give the engine cover and plastics a clean dressed look. You can certainly use QD (it won't hurt anything), but you will probably have better luck busting grime with a true degreaser. The QD might leave the dressed shine you're looking for after things are clean though.

[Prowess Symphony]

Originally Posted by jopa489

Good to see you around Prowess, hope life's treating ya well in the M3.

I simply use a degreaser to clean the grime then top it with something like 303 Aerospace to give the engine cover and plastics a clean dressed look. You can certainly use QD (it won't hurt anything), but you will probably have better luck busting grime with a true degreaser. The QD might leave the dressed shine you're looking for after things are clean though.

Hey jopa, life with the m is good, but mpg is bad. m3 forums are pretty dead too.

I dont have much grease in the engine bay area, I usually wipe it down once a week during my normal wash. I mainly just want to keep the engine cover shiny. I just didnt know how QD would react to high engine temps.

Once I run out of ONR and meguiars quick detailer, which are the only two things im currently using, I think im gonna do a bit of shopping and buy all new stuff and new brands i havent tried. Engine cleaners, wheel dressings, waxes, everything! Oh and a set of those little detailing brushes!

[PandaBear]

what can i use to clean my stock exhaust tips on my e92?

[1QuikWS6]

I have the brushed tips on my E92 - they seem to collect black soot only around the very edge. I just use very fine '000' or '0000' steel wool and it takes it rite off without any scratching...

[1QuikWS6]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

Hey jopa, life with the m is good, but mpg is bad. m3 forums are pretty dead too.

I dont have much grease in the engine bay area, I usually wipe it down once a week during my normal wash. I mainly just want to keep the engine cover shiny. I just didnt know how QD would react to high engine temps.

Once I run out of ONR and meguiars quick detailer, which are the only two things im currently using, I think im gonna do a bit of shopping and buy all new stuff and new brands i havent tried. Engine cleaners, wheel dressings, waxes, everything! Oh and a set of those little detailing brushes!

Definitely try the P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner - on sale rite now at Detailed Image

That stuff puts the Meguires All Wheel Cleaner that I had previously been using to shame. I bought the 500ml Spray bottle & 1000ml refill, but I find I'm gonna need to reorder & get the 5000ml refill.

Also really liking the Blackfire Sealant/Wax Combo & the Poor Boys Bug n Tar Remover...

[the_doctor]

Hi George,

I have a new 2011 e92 in alpine white; I don't believe any polish is necessary since there are no swirls I can spot. I was wondering whether the following combinations of sealants / waxes would work:

1) Purpose: Protection through Canadian winter (lots of road salt, rare washes)

- prep with clay
- Meguiars #21 Synthetic Sealant
- Collinite 845 on top (since I've been told this is actually carnauba and therefore can sit on top of a sealant?)

How long does it take for #21 to cure before I apply 845? Or am I better off just using the clay and 845 and skipping the #21?

2) Purpose: Lots of shine for the summer

- prep with clay
- Dodo Juice Lime Prime Lite
- Dodo Juice Supernatural

Or should I put #21 between the Lime Prime Lite and Supernatural? Are there bonding issues? Should I even bother? I'm willing to wax every 2 mths during the summer.


Thanks for your help!

[Jules-B]

What do i wash all of my wash mitts, microfibres etc in? I am machine washing at 30 degrees c but not sure on what powder/liquid to use. Non biological im guessing?

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

Can I use exterior or interior quick detailer on my engine cover and other engine bay things to get them clean and shiny? Or do I need special cleaner to deal with the heat, and if so, what do you recommend? Thanks

Many detailers will use ONR that it sounds like you already have for quick clean ups of the engine bay if you aren't doing a full degreasing. You can follow up with something like 303 Aerospace Protectant, Fade 2 Black, etc. for some added gloss and or protection. You will be ok with any of those products in terms of the heat of the engine.

Originally Posted by PandaBear

what can i use to clean my stock exhaust tips on my e92?

Steel wool paired up with a good metal polish like Optimum Metal Polish is a nice combo. Here's a good article on exhaust tip cleaning. Many people enjoy P21S Metal Polishing Soap which also comes with an applicator pad.

Originally Posted by 1QuikWS6

Definitely try the P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner - on sale rite now at Detailed Image

That stuff puts the Meguires All Wheel Cleaner that I had previously been using to shame. I bought the 500ml Spray bottle & 1000ml refill, but I find I'm gonna need to reorder & get the 5000ml refill.

Also really liking the Blackfire Sealant/Wax Combo & the Poor Boys Bug n Tar Remover...

All great products

Originally Posted by Jules-B

What do i wash all of my wash mitts, microfibres etc in? I am machine washing at 30 degrees c but not sure on what powder/liquid to use. Non biological im guessing?

If you're looking for something you can pick up locally, go with something like Tide Free and use about half of the recommended amount for your microfiber. Be sure not to use any fabric softener too. Here's a good link for properly caring for your microfiber towels. Also see: Microfiber Care. For your wash mitt, I typically just rinse them out with free flowing water and if anything let them soak a little in some mild cleaner prior to the rinse. You want to avoid washing sheepskin wash mitts in the washer and dryer, they will deteriorate the life of them.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[Prowess Symphony]

I need something that makes the tires shiny and cleans the rims at the same time. Do they make something like that? I hate having to wipe off my tire shine off of the rims after cleaning them.

[Missoap]

Hi there,
after my last trip i got lazy and didn't clean off the bugs on the front bumper and hood. it has been a week and when i washed my car today the bugs came off but they left little yellowish spots on the paint. any idea how i can get them off?
Thanks!

[bmw-er1]

need help, i just got an oil change and i think they dropped some oil on my gloss grille. Now its has something that looks like water spots. I can remove it. I tried even vingear. Any ideas?