The owner brought me this Dinan 2000 BMW 540i to prepare for sale. He already had a new black 540i though it wasn't modded like this one. This is what 6 months of being parked next to a neighbors sprinkler will do to your paint. The paint was dull, swirled, and all exterior plastics were grey. With 120,000+ miles on the clock, the paint took a severe beating. The hood had been repainted once and was peeling and chipped. The headlights were sandblasted and fogged. Overall the car was neglected and needed a lot of work to bring back. The interior was also detailed and hot water extracted, though the major work was on the exterior. The first task was to foam it clean using Meguiar's HyperWash. Then using vinegar I dissolved off the mineral deposits. The front rocker panel was cleaned here and looked much better. The wheels were foamed separately using Meguiar's Foaming Tire Cleaner After the thorough washing, I clayed the paint using C2000. The engine bay was also addressed Cleaned with our SCD APC and dressed with Meguiar's HyperDressing The paint was clayed Look how dull the light reflects on the door handle After claying it was much improved After the paint was thoroughly clayed, I lifted it, then polished using Prima Swirl and my Flex. The paint was severely rock chipped and lifting in certain areas so the hood was gently polished. The glass was polished as well My "SUN" setup Using our new APC and a foam paint brush Tires were dressed with our new silicone tire gel (to be in the Black Wow line) Coils and struts were cleaned, as well as the wheel wells. These swirls were all over, but not any more! The headlights were wetsanded and polished. Here's a Photoshop comp of the first and last pic. Total Time: 30 hours Products used: Prima Swirl, M105 in a few spot areas. Prima Epic wax, and Prima Hydro in spots. Black Wow and Pre-Wow on plastic and rubber areas SCD Tire Dressing and SCD APC for cleaning the wheels It rained all week but as soon as the rain let up, I took these pix. When he came to pick up the car, he couldn't stop smiling. He changed his mind about selling the car and went on endlessly about how he would like to mod it further and maybe even turn in the black 540 and keep this one as his daily driver which he loved driving even more! I was happy to have restored his passion for his ride! See all the pictures HERE
That car reflects a lot of time and hard work. (I wish I had a lift) Could you share what type of light / bulb you were using on the stand?
I worked without a lift for 8 years, and as soon as I did a few cars with one, there was no turning back...I couldn't work without one. I work everyday and my back no longer aches, my joints aren't stiff, I don't feel broken...just lack of sleep, lol. Having a lift makes ALL the difference when it comes to recovery time. I use a lot of different lights in my work. I also come from the film industry and so my lighting choices reflect a lot of my own investigation into what lights surfaces the best, and not necessarily in the most flattering way. The tall light is an Arri Fresnel 650 watt Tungsten light. I also have a few 1000 Arri Fresnels in my lighting kit. Just one of those makes a great indoor "sun". On the flip side, I also use an array of 50 watt halogen bulbs and variety of LED lamps. My personal favorite is an LED light consisting of 6 high powered lights. I have this mounted on a light stand with a C-stand arm and a sandbag to keep it in place. I've also mounted this on a portable tripod for use when I"m not in the shop...I have a few clients that fly me to their location, and creating a tool set that is airline friendly has always been a challenge. I'm considering turning this into a product as I'm working directly with the manufacturer on this. While I know a lot of people like to use the brightest lights possible, I find that there are times I want darkness and a few point light sources and other times I want the whole area to be flooded with light..so good lighting control is key to achieving the best results, IMO. Richard Heh heh, thanks!! Me too!!
Thanks for the great reply Richard. I've never tried a tungsten light to search for defects, although I understand what you mean about darkness with a few select light sources being beneficial. I would love to have a fixed stand led, if you are working on one. I don't want to thread jack...so let it be known I, for 1, would like to hear more about it when you have more information.
Prima Swirl with an LC Orange pad on the rotary. Prima Swirl is so versatile, whether it's polishing a plastic headlight, A-pillars, paint, or glass.
