1st 'real' detail for Bimmer...

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97tbird

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Won a 50% off coupon from a place that primarily details euro cars for a full exterior detail. (hand wash, clay bar, wash, polish, wax, and wheel/tire clean). I also gave them the poor boys' wheel sealant I had and had them put on it...hopefully less brake dust clinging to surface from now on...

This is the cleanest the car has ever been since i got it...looks great real life, esp. the wheels being so clean after a long time...
and it's hard to capture how shiny an Alpine White car can be in pics, but I snapped a few any way...

Need a recommendation btw:
What would be a good Quick Detailer type product to KEEP it looking good until i can get a full detail again (OR until we move to a place where we can wash/detail our cars)?

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Looks very nice. As you know, I have a soft spot for these cars!

The only real solution for the brake dust is different pads. One vote here for the Axxis/PBR deluxe plus. Best upgrade I made on my 330ci. I love these wheels. They also looked great on the e60 530xi and 535xi models with the MSport package.
 
I second the Meguiar's last touch. I have a gallon of the stuff as well. Much better value then buying the regular quick detailer at autozone / wally's.
 
Looks great. Love white cars. Hope it isn't still pollen season in NC, otherwise it is messed up in a day or two...

Still feels good to have great protection on your car...
 
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Love white cars.


Especially when they look blue in the shade!


Looks like a good opportunity to experiment with the white balance settings on your Nikon!
 
Looks great. I wouldn't use a QD to "keep it clean". Doing so will create unwanted swirls. If it's dirty, wash it. QDs are for bird bombs, clay lube, enhanced gloss after washing. Use ONR or another "rinseless" wash if it's dirty.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim 5
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Love white cars.


Especially when they look blue in the shade!


Looks like a good opportunity to experiment with the white balance settings on your Nikon!


A warmer white balance (shade setting instead of sunlight or AUTO) would result in shadows free of the blue cast and a warmer (more yellow-red) background, which would be acceptable. The best way is of course to shoot RAW, since no white balance setting is applied. Correcting base color of a RAW image is a snap. Color balance may also be adjusted individually for shadow and sunlit areas. This is best accomplished in an Adjustment Layer in Photoshop.

Can anybody tell me why shadows often have a blue cast?
Trolling.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Can anybody tell me why shadows often have a blue cast?
Trolling.gif



The way I heard this explained is that on a bright and sunny day you have two sources of light: the sun but also the refracted light of the blue sky. The sky provides fill light in the shadows, thus causing this blue tint.
 
I highly recommend Duragloss Aquawax. In spite of the name it is a spray on wipe off sealant and the look is nothing short of spectacular. This is not a quick detailer, it is only for a clean (just washed) car either wet or dry. No smears or streaks and it works on paint, glass, wheels, and hard plastic trim (below windshield wipers for instance). Practically anything non porous is fair game. Look for it online and buy the gallon.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Can anybody tell me why shadows often have a blue cast?
Trolling.gif



The way I heard this explained is that on a bright and sunny day you have two sources of light: the sun but also the refracted light of the blue sky. The sky provides fill light in the shadows, thus causing this blue tint.


That's it.
 
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Can anybody tell me why shadows often have a blue cast?
Trolling.gif



The way I heard this explained is that on a bright and sunny day you have two sources of light: the sun but also the refracted light of the blue sky. The sky provides fill light in the shadows, thus causing this blue tint.


That's it.



That makes sense as in a few places the blueish tint on the white is interupped by a whiter white in the shape, non-coincidentally, of clouds in the sky.

You can see that in picture number 2, just below the fender mounted turn signal as a whiter horizontal line a few inches long if I'm not mistaken.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim 5
That makes sense as in a few places the blueish tint on the white is interupped by a whiter white in the shape, non-coincidentally, of clouds in the sky.

The reflections show of course areas lit directly by bright sunlight (clouds), hence the camera's white balance setting (sunlight) results in proper colors.

In image number 4 you can see where direct sunlight is hitting the side and bumper of the car. Those areas are closer to neutral white.

Custom white balance should be used when shooting JPG. When shooting RAW, the white balance setting makes no difference, other than for the playback image. If you shoot simultaneously RAW and JPG, it's best to set the white balance manually, so you can use the JPG if it's good enough and resort to the RAW if the JPG stinks.

To set custom white balance instead of using the presets (sunny, cloudy, tungsten, various kinds of fluorescent), you have to use a neutral white color balancing card (backside of many grey cards is neutral white). You can also use a color meter and measure the color temperature, then set the camera to that color temperature. Electronic color meters are expensive. For rough guessing, there are inexpensive and very portable analog meters, like the one shown below.

Under the incident light, you choose the color swatch that most closely matches the surrounding reference field. The color temperature can be read off and set on the camera. If you prefer using color conversion filters, for example, because you are shooting film, the proper conversion filter can also be read off. In my example below, the displayed color temperature is typical for an indoor shot.

color_tester.jpg


The best way to easily and quickly color balance is to include a grey card in a reference shot. The card must of course be placed under the same incident light like the main subject. Color correcting for a grey card is very easy, because the human eye detects color shifts in neutral grey very easily.
 
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