Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

The job will take half a day approx, if you've fucked up the paint all over.

Aye, it's all over.

I know it's an investment and all, but I think I'm better off paying somebody for this.
I'm annoyed enough, I'll likely be more annoyed when it's not worked out for me and I've splashed all the cash, my body aches and then I've wasted a valuable days leave!

If I can get it all sorted for £200 I'll be happy. I was planning on getting this done in the future anyway, I may have just accelerated it.

Presumably you already have some good wax for a final protective finish.

Ermmm.......... 😇

Now you are opening yourself up to a whole world of arguments! ;)

Is there no wash and prep with something like a clay bar. Personal favourite is the Bilt hamber clay bar.

@yeahdext Wasn't clear, sorry, was talking about money spend on equipment and products for car detailing. Then there is the time to actually do the work.

There is a lovely satisfied feeling when you clean a car,

There is a lovely satisfied feeling when you clean a car,

This, I see it on the face of the workers at my local hand car wash every time I visit.

Pay a pro to do it. A person with a machine polisher and no knowledge of how to use it properly can can very easily end up just damaging the paint even further to a point that would require a visit to a body shop and a hefty bill.

I know how to wield a polisher, but I’m no car detailing expert - I wouldn’t imagine paying a detailer to do it would cost much more than outlay on half decent polisher, pads & compound to try and do it yourself.

Oh, and paint repair is about to get a lot more complicated. New BMW paint tech at CES yesterday:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hEaZP6-qw2c

This chap looks after all the cars for Porsche GB- he’s a nice fellow and has some interesting stories about e.g. Mark Webber.

https://gbvaleting.co.uk/

I met him because he washes cars at the business park where my head office is located on Wednesdays- not that I have been to HO since Covid, but it was always nice to drive home in a gleaming car.

He can machine polish, ceramic coat etc. Whatever you want really.

Any bolt or faster can snap or seize on a car, garages tend to factor in time for when it happens. But on a glow plug or spark plug, it's rare, but when it happens your pretty buggered. Hopefully the £150 call out guy can get it out, failing that, cylinder head off.!
In the garages view, it's not their fault they are dealing with your corroded glow plugs. But some garages will rush, when actually you want the car in the day before and fill the plugs with penetrating oil (kroil my fav!), then work on it next day, way higher chance of success.
As lynx says, if it started fine during Low temps it's unlikely that new plugs will fix it anyway.
Just had similar on a audi q2 with erratic running at idle and low revs, fault code said cam sensor, pricey but worked out everything else that it could be and eliminated it, then pulled trigger on sensor, fixed, one happy guy.

Definitely pay someone, but pay the right someone. I would go to someone who specialises in paint correction but make it clear what the budget is and if you want perfect paint or just good paint. Will make a big difference in cost.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/05/bmw-unveils-car-that-changes-colour-at-the-touch-of-a-button

mental

Good paint will do. I'm not after perfect, but passable.

I've been in touch with a local chap over night who is coming out later today to let me know what I've done.

Example Work

The example is coincidently my mothers old house... but I don't like the sound of 2 day machine polish. It sounds expensive. I'm guessing <£180 a day in this neck of the woods though, we'll see later I suppose.

And that BMW is GTA proof. See ya police stars.

Buy a DA polisher kit like this and spend some time on one of the many detailing forums to get an understanding of how to go about sorting it. You'd probably get a pretty decent result with about half a day's work, but it's a lot tougher at this time of year unless you have a well lit and warm indoor space to do it in!

No one 'professional' with any degree of competency would touch that job for £200.

All this car wash stuff needs context. I have 2 cars (Jazz, Z4), which are worth less than one metric DammitCarSeat, one truck and a wife who views hedges as auxiliary braking devices. I want my paint to look reasonable, so I learnt to use a machine. If you are ham-fisted it is easy to go through the clear coat and permanently fuck the paint. Therefore, if you have an expensive car get someone else to do it, if you don't and like your stuff to look good, DIY. Once you have the paint as you want it, it is quite easy to maintain. I can wash, remove minor scratches, polish and wax even a bloody great truck in a morning. Much depends on how anal you are!

Yes, @lynx, I do have a clay bar and try to use it as little as possible, that process DOES take time.

All this car wash stuff needs context.

Well, it's bigger than one of these: https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/371457/ ....

Is this a safe place?

...

It's a XC90. And probably worth 2 DammitCarSeats. But in an attempt to justify; it's our sole car and it's only used at the weekends to mow cyclists down, not Monday - Friday. It doesn't even do the school run.

It's a shame it doesn't change the way it looks at the touch of a button - ALL new BMW's are utter munters

Is this a safe place?

...

It's a XC90.

T8? To come back on point, pay someone with a good rep to fix it, even if you think it's a bit steep. Value your time and once it's fixed you know not to make the same mistake again and stay on top of keeping it in good nick.

I met him because he washes cars at the business park where my head office is located on Wednesdays

Where is your head office located on other days of the week?

Mon, Tue: Bermuda
Thu, Fri: Grand Cayman
Weekend: Klosters/St Andrews (appointment only)

Strange question.

On the subject of detailing, my old car's windscreen is showing it's age and a decent clean up and polish could really help. Any tips on product/s to use on glass?

I would have thought a general car cosmetics place would do you, rather than a dedicated valeter/detailer. The sort of level of finish they give you prior to buying a second hand car?

Clay bar it as part of the cleaning process. You would be amazed at what is embedded in there. That, for me anyway, always makes the biggest difference.

D5. TBH apart from the ERADs shitting the bed on the T8 (and the £10k uplift in purchase cost, YEY! ECO! TAX!) I'd consider one as our next vehicle in 4 years time / whenever ours hit's 99999 miles.

And yes, I don't have enough time to cycle these days. Let alone spent hours restoring the wagon. I think I'll get it fixed and then look to maintain. He'll be here in 10 mins, wish me luck!

UPDATE: £275; full valet and machine polish. 2 days under current light conditions - moving to 1.5 in a month or 2.

I've got a Cornwall dash in feb so I'll cue it up for after that I think. Just hope it's not sunny between now and then so I can't be judged!

Clay bar it as part of the cleaning process. You would be amazed at what is embedded in there. That, for me anyway, always makes the biggest difference.

Cheers, they seem cheap and process looks easy - will pick one up. I assume I avoid chip repairs?

What about a product for dealing with the many tiny scratches/swirls?

That's not bad at all actually. if you can live with it then absolutely best to leave it for a couple of months, we're in peak shitty weather/grimey roads at the moment so just take it down a muddy lane and get it covered in crap, you'll look adventurous and nobody will be able to tell the state of the paint!

I meant when I clean a car.

Choose a clay bar that doesn't need special fluid to lubricate the clay bar while using. Hence my choice of the bilt hamber as the lubrication is water