First detail of my Z3 :)

[pangster79]

The plan was to do the following:

Wash
Megs Clay with Megs Quick Detailer
2nd Wash
Autoglym Super Resin Polish
Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection

It was a gorgeous day on Sunday and I managed to get most of the detailing work I wanted done on the car completed - I ran out of time though and never got round to applying the AG Extra Gloss Protection!!

Here's some progress pics of the car after the wash, clay and 2nd wash:













Here's the final result (wash, clay, 2nd wash, AG SRP)



































Some close ups (after wash and clay):








Some close ups (after):






I'm going to give it another wash and another coat of AG SRP this weekend and then make sure I have enough time to top off with AG EGP. I'm fairly happy with the results considering it was all done by hand! LOL!!!

[pangster79]

I've also purchased the following since the above:

Silverline DA Polisher/Sander
Menzerna Orange Polishing Pad
Menzerna Yellow Finishing Pad
Autoglym High Definition Wax
Autoglym Fabric Hood Cleaner
Autoglym Fabric Hood Protector
Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner
Autoglym Wheel Seal
Autoglym Instant Tyre Dressing

So with any luck and decent weather - I'll have a second/proper crack at it next weekend!

[LordGrover]

Good work. Satisfying innit?

[pangster79]

LordGrover said:

Good work. Satisfying innit?

certainly is!! LOL!

[belleair302]

Trying not to break your heart but your product selection is not the best. I would suggest looking closely at the following online retailers for a better selection of shampoo's, sealants, glazes, waxes, wheel waxes and additional products.

www.shinearama.com
www.cleanyourcar.com
www.seriousperformance.com
www.carnaubawaxshop.co.uk
www.detailedobsession.com
www.carwashnwax.com
www.advancedcarproducts.com
www.johnswax.co.uk
www.monzacarcare.com
www.swissvax.co.uk
www.einszett.co.uk

I hope that some of the above prove of benefit.

[pangster79]

belleair302 said:

Trying not to break your heart but your product selection is not the best. I would suggest looking closely at the following online retailers for a better selection of shampoo's, sealants, glazes, waxes, wheel waxes and additional products.

www.shinearama.com
www.cleanyourcar.com
www.seriousperformance.com
www.carnaubawaxshop.co.uk
www.detailedobsession.com
www.carwashnwax.com
www.advancedcarproducts.com
www.johnswax.co.uk
www.monzacarcare.com
www.swissvax.co.uk
www.einszett.co.uk

I hope that some of the above prove of benefit.

what's wrong with my product selection?? - out of curiosity? as I'm a member on DW and have read plenty of reviews to have made an informed decision on my purchases? (and to be fair they were bought using some Halfords gift vouchers I had amassed! LOL!) - I'm also pretty sure that the pics I posted speak for themselves and can only improve once I detail again with my machine polisher..

you also said on another thread r.e. AG HD Wax:

belleair302 said:

From posts on detailingworld it is pretty good for the price. Can be mixed with other waxes for greater durability but a pretty good effort for an over the counter product!

which happens to be the LSP I'm going with so am a little confused with your above post?? or do you think I would have achieved better results with other products/methods??

Edited by pangster79 on Friday 24th April 23:55

[PJ S]

I would imagine belleair is suggesting that SRP isn't a great polish to be using, better ones being Menzerna and 3M, with Meguiar's possibly too.
SRP is fine really for hand polishing, but not as good as those mentioned.
EGP is again, alright - not a great sealant for durability, plus the headache of 24 hour curing before putting a wax layer over it.

As for the other AG products - all very much of a muchness when all is said and done. There's better wheel cleaners, fabric cleaners/reproofers, tyre/trim dressing that lasts longer/won't fling off.

But, if you're happy with the outcome, then that's fair enough, and all that matters ultimately.
If you find certain aspects fail to meet expectations or intended outcomes, then you know there's other brands which can step in and hopefully fill the void, as well as help/suggestions from members both here, and DW.

[pangster79]

PJ S said:

I would imagine belleair is suggesting that SRP isn't a great polish to be using, better ones being Menzerna and 3M, with Meguiar's possibly too.
SRP is fine really for hand polishing, but not as good as those mentioned.
EGP is again, alright - not a great sealant for durability, plus the headache of 24 hour curing before putting a wax layer over it.

As for the other AG products - all very much of a muchness when all is said and done. There's better wheel cleaners, fabric cleaners/reproofers, tyre/trim dressing that lasts longer/won't fling off.

But, if you're happy with the outcome, then that's fair enough, and all that matters ultimately.
If you find certain aspects fail to meet expectations or intended outcomes, then you know there's other brands which can step in and hopefully fill the void, as well as help/suggestions from members both here, and DW.

Thanks for the reply PJ S.. I only used AG SRP as I was polishing by hand (initially) - I'm aware that AG SRP offers minimal paint correction and is mainly a filler. That being said I'm very happy with the results I achieved!

I've also since invested in a machine polisher and Menzerna pads and will add Menzerna polish to my collection as well

[belleair302]

I apologise. My comments were supposed to be constructive. Nothing wrong with your selection but by mixing products from a wider variey of suppliers your car will easily stand out...not just look good.

Enjoy and post any new results.

[pangster79]

belleair302 said:

I apologise. My comments were supposed to be constructive. Nothing wrong with your selection but by mixing products from a wider variey of suppliers your car will easily stand out...not just look good.

Enjoy and post any new results.

thanks Bellair! - no need to apologise.. I just didn't understand what you had meant by your original post in this thread.. I probably should have mentioned I had invested in Menzerna polishes as well! (I'm also not claiming that the Autoglym products are the best money can buy... but when you have a stack of Halfords gift vouchers to use up and you're getting a 3 for 3 deal then they look quite attractive! LOL! )

I will get round to trying different products (eventually) - and then settle on the ones/combination that suit me best.. at the minute I'm fairly happy with the AG products as a baseline!

[belleair302]

No problems....I have a vast collection of products, some obscure, some very mainstream and yes Autoglym play a role in any serious detailers armoury. The best results will be found by mixing and matching products to get the ultimate shine, protection, clarity etc. It is somewhat contageous!

[pangster79]

belleair302 said:

No problems....I have a vast collection of products, some obscure, some very mainstream and yes Autoglym play a role in any serious detailers armoury. The best results will be found by mixing and matching products to get the ultimate shine, protection, clarity etc. It is somewhat contageous!

LOL! - certainly is!

I swapped the:

Autoglym Custom Wheel Cleaner
Autoglym Wheel Seal
Autoglym Instant Tyre Dressing

for some Meguirs Gold Class shampoo as despite the web order going through successfully - they called me this morning to let me know that this kit had now been discontinued.. maybe a blessing in disguise! LOL!

[ipwn]

This was my effort a few weeks ago

[LordGrover]

You missed a bit. The number plates look a tad grubby.

[oktapod]

Quick question: In the Z4 example, it looks like there are some stone chips in the 'before' pics, but they don't seem to be there in the 'after' (or if they are they are much diminished). Did you do anything about them between the 'before' pics and the detailing?

I've got a booking to have my 330Ci done in a week's time. It has a few anomalies* that I am hoping the (very highly regarded) detailer can sort out - one of which is a number of stone chips, down to the primer in a fair proportion of them. I'm not sure whether the detailing is going to make this more or less obvious, and I have roughly a week in which time to get a custom colour matched touch-up base-coat made, but I'm not sure whether the polishing action of a detailer's rotary buff might sort a lot of this out for me.

john

• the other main anomaly is my attempt at spraying the front-end, which has a definite line where I didn't blend the new base-coat well enough. Hopefully the detailer can work with this and lessen its impact using a rotary polisher/etc., but that's something for my own topic, apologies for hijacking yours :-)

[pangster79]

oktapod said:

Quick question: In the Z4 example, it looks like there are some stone chips in the 'before' pics, but they don't seem to be there in the 'after' (or if they are they are much diminished). Did you do anything about them between the 'before' pics and the detailing?

I've got a booking to have my 330Ci done in a week's time. It has a few anomalies* that I am hoping the (very highly regarded) detailer can sort out - one of which is a number of stone chips, down to the primer in a fair proportion of them. I'm not sure whether the detailing is going to make this more or less obvious, and I have roughly a week in which time to get a custom colour matched touch-up base-coat made, but I'm not sure whether the polishing action of a detailer's rotary buff might sort a lot of this out for me.

john

• the other main anomaly is my attempt at spraying the front-end, which has a definite line where I didn't blend the new base-coat well enough. Hopefully the detailer can work with this and lessen its impact using a rotary polisher/etc., but that's something for my own topic, apologies for hijacking yours :-)

Hi John - I guess in person a lot of the anomolies/chips are less noticeable now than they were before (but they are still there) - the only way to fix stone chips is to fill them with touch up and rub them down - this guide might help give you and understanding of what's involved:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

HTH

[pangster79]

After doing the first detail on my Z3 a couple of weeks I ago (see above! ) - I decided that there was a limit to what I could achieve by hand. So I bought a Silverline Silverstorm DA and Menzerna Orange and Yellow pads as well as some Poorboys SSR2 after reading the alternative polisher thread on Detailing World! (thanks Pit Viper! ).

I had one look outside and figured that it was going to be typical Bank Holiday Weekend weather so headed over to my folks to take advantage of their double garage (just in case!)

The steps I completed were:
Wash (with Megs Gold Class)
Poorboys SSR2 (Menzerna Orange Pad)
Auto Glym Super Resin Polish (Menzerna Yellow Pad)
Auto Glym Extra Gloss Protection
Auto Glym High Definition Wax

BEFORE (some swirls):


50/50 Shot (these were after SSR2 and one pass of AG SRP):








AFTER:












SOME CLOSE UPS:








Overall I'm delighted with the results!! - It turned out a lot better than I was expecting.. it did take most of the day though!! LOL!!