Exterior maintenance for metallic black BMW

[JAC43]

I have a 2003 BMW 3 series with the black metallic paint. The exterior has never had a coat of liquid or paste wax on it. All I have ever used has been Griot’s Speed Shine or Meg’s Quik Detailer after a wash with Meg’s Gold Class soap every 3-4 months. The paint still looks glossy, but it does not feel as smooth as it once did.

The car has been garaged at night and during the day has had covered parking as long as I have owned it. My job has changed and I do not have covered parking anymore.

My original plan was to take Meg’s Scratch X to the small door dings to get the offending paint off. Next, a really thorough wash with dish soap to strip any wax/detailer off. Then use a clay bar kit to remove the surface contaminants, and finish off with an application of Meg’s #26 for the paint and Vinylex for the black exterior trim.

Would you do anything differently? Where would you start as far as the cleaning steps go and what products would you recommend?

TIA

 

[Russell]

My procedure would be to to use a polish (your choice, I like Mother's/Meg's OTC products) after the clay to further clean/smooth the finish before you wax. Prep is as important as the products used.

You may also want to consider a synthetic wax for the final product. I have been using Mother's Reflections on my BMW. I have heard good things about Mother's Synwax as well.

 

[Cadude]

I know a lot of folks use dish soap to strip wax, I just can't bring myself to do it.

Every spring, I use Liquid Glass pre-cleaner followed by claying to strip off the previous year's wax and start with a clean surface.

 

[JAC43]

Unfortunately I do not own a Porter Cable polisher, nor do I have the experience to run one over the paint. I think I will give the polishing a try by hand after the clay.

Even despite the lack of a sealant or wax for 2 years, the paint still looks pretty good. Must be the nice weather and lack of open exposure to sunlight.

 

[bretfraz]

quote:

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Russell wrote:
My procedure would be to to use a polish (your choice, I like Mother's/Meg's OTC products) after the clay to further clean/smooth the finish before you wax. Prep is as important as the products used.

You may also want to consider a synthetic wax for the final product. I have been using Mother's Reflections on my BMW. I have heard good things about Mother's Synwax as well.

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I second this suggestion. Wash, clay, polish, protect are your basic paint detailing steps. Any good car wash shampoo will do the trick, no need for dishwashing detergents. Scratch X does a nice job of reducing or eliminating light scuffs and scratches but it does need some elbow grease at times.

One idea for a store-bought polish is Meguiars ColorX. Its a cleaner-wax product that has a moderately aggressive polish in it. It has more "bite" than your typical cleaner-wax. You can finish it off by topping with a wax like Meguiar's #26, Meguiar's NXT (which looks really nice on black) or Mothers FX Synwax. The newer hybrid car waxes last longer than old skool carnauba waxes and are easy to use.

So, a suggested plan of attack would be:

Step 1 - Wash with car wash shampoo (Meguiars NXT or Gold Class, Mothers Calif Gold, Eagle One, etc)

Step 2 - Clay paint to remove surface contaminents (Clay Magic and Mothers are the two retail paint detailing clay products)

Step 3 - Polish paint to remove/reduce paint defects (ScratchX for bad spots, then a pre-wax cleaner like from Mothers or Meguiars, or a cleaner-wax for the whole car).

Step 4 - Protect with a good car wax or paint sealant (Meg's #26, Meg's NXT, Mothers FX Synwax, Mothers Reflections are good choices).

Don't forget the wheels, tires, glass, trim, interior, leather, etc etc etc etc etc......

 

[uconn1150]

Yikes! No wax/sealant for 2 years! You really need to clay and then polish. Do you have a Porter Cable polisher? Black is really hard to work with as well, but when it's done right...oh yeah!

You may want to visit autopia .