E39's Paint Got Schooled

[reelGOOD 2]

Hi all. A few months back I got rid of my '94 520i and upgraded to an '01 525i M-Sport. I absolutely love the car, of course a 530 would have been better but beggers can't be choosers unfortunately. The only problem was that paint was not looking the best, and I like my car to look perfect. Unfortunately where Im living at the moment doesn't have anywhere for me to detail my car, so off it went to Prestige Finishing School. I cannot recommend this guy enough. The car looked amazing when I got it back, and he managed to get it done over the weekend so I'd have it for work on monday, and the price is reasonble too. Ive attached some images bellow, and for those that are interested you can read the full write up here - http://prestige.finishing.school.nz/Portfo...i/BMW525i.shtml

This is how it looked when I dropped it off.

[reelGOOD 2]

Got the wheels taken off and dealt too.

[reelGOOD 2]

Some before and afters.

[reelGOOD 2]

I think his work speaks for itself. Now just need to get the wheels repaired thanks to the previous owner.

[Braeden320 0]

How much $?

[hybrid 1044]

Thats pretty impressive. I know you can get this done at most pro-detailing places or even do it yourself but sometimes by the time you buy all the product and tools its just worth dumpin 2-300 into this sort of thing.

Nice work

[elmarco 56]

Yeah how much? That looks stunning!

[5amchris 45]

$285-875

http://prestige.finishing.school.nz/Services/primary.shtml

3 options at the bottom

[reelGOOD 2]

How much $?

Was supposed to be $875 "Major Paint Correction" but for some reason he did it for $550. I wasn't going to complain. That may still be expensive or cheap, I don't really know, didn't shop around. But it was worth it in my opinion.

[hybrid 1044]

defanitly as he actually measured the paint before cutting it back .. kind of a good risk adverse proceedure but great pratice in my opinion. Its the sort of thing you only have done once or twice in the cars paint life time, gives you good insentive to keep it polished.

[Mark 178]

What an awesome finish, that paint was really a mess!

Not a bad price considering you'd have to buy the orbital polisher / pads / compounds etc and then all the time involved etc.

[PFS 1]

Hi Scott (and also, Hello BimmerSport!)

Thank you very much for the kind words, and thanks giving us the opportunity to work our magic on your new car. I'm very happy to see that you're stoked with the end result

Was supposed to be $875 "Major Paint Correction" but for some reason he did it for $550.

Put simply, I mis-quoted when you first brought the vehicle in to discuss options. Nobody's fault but my own, so it wouldn't have been fair to ask you to wear an unexpected price increase.

If anyone has any questions about this detail, or about the best way to maintain their own vehicles - I'm more than happy to assist where I can. DIY is entirely possible (and in our experience, incredibly rewarding) but care does need to be taken to ensure that one doesn't do more harm than good! Of course (as alluded to above) there is also quite a high up-front cost to purchase the necessary tools & product. We don't sell any goods at this time, but can provide recommendadions and feedback on our experiences with various different products.

Thanks again,

Ian.

[Apex 693]

Was supposed to be $875 "Major Paint Correction" but for some reason he did it for $550. I wasn't going to complain. That may still be expensive or cheap, I don't really know, didn't shop around. But it was worth it in my opinion.

Nice job and that is a very sharp price.

Thats pretty impressive. I know you can get this done at most pro-detailing places or even do it yourself but sometimes by the time you buy all the product and tools its just worth dumpin 2-300 into this sort of thing.

Nice work

To wright, im a DIY amateur detailer and think I would have at least $2,000 worth of product and equipment in my shed, you really do need a good selection of products to do a decent job. The above job would take the best part of 8 hours also.

Nice work Ian!

Edited July 26, 2010 by Apex

[Guest Simon*]

Wow am very impressed

Would love to give mine this treatment sometime!

[Grant 4]

Wow - what a great transformation!

Great work.

[Garryg 5]

Hi Scott (and also, Hello BimmerSport!)

Thank you very much for the kind words, and thanks giving us the opportunity to work our magic on your new car. I'm very happy to see that you're stoked with the end result

Put simply, I mis-quoted when you first brought the vehicle in to discuss options. Nobody's fault but my own, so it wouldn't have been fair to ask you to wear an unexpected price increase.

If anyone has any questions about this detail, or about the best way to maintain their own vehicles - I'm more than happy to assist where I can. DIY is entirely possible (and in our experience, incredibly rewarding) but care does need to be taken to ensure that one doesn't do more harm than good! Of course (as alluded to above) there is also quite a high up-front cost to purchase the necessary tools & product. We don't sell any goods at this time, but can provide recommendadions and feedback on our experiences with various different products.

Thanks again,

Ian.

Hi Ian,

I have just coated my car with the Maguires nxt wax, but now want to go back a stage and give it a polish with the stage 2 crystal polish! Do I need to remove the wax coat first? If so...what's the easiest way?......or do I just go ahead with the polish then reapply the wax?

Your feedback would be much appreciated....

Cheers Garry

[nickchin1308 0]

Stunning job!

What do you use for the wheels to get rid of all that grime?

[Final Touch Gordon 0]

Hey Garry

I thought I'd jump in and offer some help here. For best results you definitely want to strip away that wax coating before you polish, will take longer with less noticable improvement otherwise.

Any wax and grease remover will be suitable, e.g. Septone Silicone Release from Repco or Supercheap and the key is to wipe it on and then off again before it dries otherwise you've effectively moved the wax around.

The Meguiars stage 2 polish is a great product if you already have it but if you're yet to purchase I'd recommend their new Ultimate Polish. It might be a little difficult to get hold of yet but it is basically the consumer version of Meguiars 205 which is generally accepted as one of the best finishing polishes ever made.

If you can get your hands on an orbital polisher (even somethinglike the Mothers Wax attack) you'll find your results a lot more satisfying and the proces will need a lot less elbow grease.

I hope thats helpful.

[Garryg 5]

Hey Garry

I thought I'd jump in and offer some help here. For best results you definitely want to strip away that wax coating before you polish, will take longer with less noticable improvement otherwise.

Any wax and grease remover will be suitable, e.g. Septone Silicone Release from Repco or Supercheap and the key is to wipe it on and then off again before it dries otherwise you've effectively moved the wax around.

The Meguiars stage 2 polish is a great product if you already have it but if you're yet to purchase I'd recommend their new Ultimate Polish. It might be a little difficult to get hold of yet but it is basically the consumer version of Meguiars 205 which is generally accepted as one of the best finishing polishes ever made.

If you can get your hands on an orbital polisher (even somethinglike the Mothers Wax attack) you'll find your results a lot more satisfying and the proces will need a lot less elbow grease.

I hope thats helpful.

Many Thanks Gordon...much appreciated.

I tried polishing the bonnet yesterday...it came up quite well....but will try removing the wax on the rest of the car before I do any more..

Will post some pics up when finished...

[scott_e30 8]

Hi Gordon

I'd say my car is in good condition, always cleaned and polished several times per year.

What is the best value for money product to get the paint looking great?

Cheers

[Michael. 2313]

Holly crap.

I'm too lazy to polish a car so this would be ideal!

[Final Touch Gordon 0]

Hi Gordon

I'd say my car is in good condition, always cleaned and polished several times per year.

What is the best value for money product to get the paint looking great?

Cheers

Hey Scott

There's a fairly wide rainge of answers to that question but I'll give it a go - Let me know if I don't get it right.

You say it's cleaned and polished several times a year I'm assuming that you do it by hand and you're not actually needing to do any significant correction.

I tend to recommend Meguiars because I use them a lot and they're great quality products that does what it says it will and they have a few products that represent great value.

Meguiars Cleaner wax is one of their oldest waxes and it's great for good looking durable protection. It won't give you a lot of correction but it will give you a great lasting shine. I use it a lot on vehicles (like my wifes Territory) that don't get a lot of pampering but that you want to hold condition.

If you're after a Wax that you can Layer up a bit the Meguiars Deep Crystal Carnauba wax is a gerat value product. Very similar to the Gold Class Wax but less cost. You do sacrifice a bit of shine

If you need to achieve any correction then Meguiars Ultimate Compound is a great product. It has a lot of the attributes of the Professional formulas in an easy to use version. It will get great results with little risk.

All those products are easy to use by hand but can also be used with an orbital polisher such as the Mothers Wax Attack for even better results. They're definitely not the expensive versions but products are so good now that you'll get great looking protection without the need of boutique products.

Having said that though, Meguiars Ultimate Wax (which is still difficult to get hold of here) is flippin' awesome but I think it's about $80 or something but you really want to be using it on mint paintwork or it's a bit pointless.

Hope that's helpful?

[scott_e30 8]

Hey Scott

There's a fairly wide rainge of answers to that question but I'll give it a go - Let me know if I don't get it right.

You say it's cleaned and polished several times a year I'm assuming that you do it by hand and you're not actually needing to do any significant correction.

I tend to recommend Meguiars because I use them a lot and they're great quality products that does what it says it will and they have a few products that represent great value.

Meguiars Cleaner wax is one of their oldest waxes and it's great for good looking durable protection. It won't give you a lot of correction but it will give you a great lasting shine. I use it a lot on vehicles (like my wifes Territory) that don't get a lot of pampering but that you want to hold condition.

If you're after a Wax that you can Layer up a bit the Meguiars Deep Crystal Carnauba wax is a gerat value product. Very similar to the Gold Class Wax but less cost. You do sacrifice a bit of shine

If you need to achieve any correction then Meguiars Ultimate Compound is a great product. It has a lot of the attributes of the Professional formulas in an easy to use version. It will get great results with little risk.

All those products are easy to use by hand but can also be used with an orbital polisher such as the Mothers Wax Attack for even better results. They're definitely not the expensive versions but products are so good now that you'll get great looking protection without the need of boutique products.

Having said that though, Meguiars Ultimate Wax (which is still difficult to get hold of here) is flippin' awesome but I think it's about $80 or something but you really want to be using it on mint paintwork or it's a bit pointless.

Hope that's helpful?

Cheers thanks!

Sorry, I should have been a bit more clear. Washed weekly and polished several times per year.

Ok cool I think I might go for Meguiars Cleaner Wax to obtain a deep shine. Would this be better than the Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0? I have heard this is very good.

Thanks for the advice.

[Final Touch Gordon 0]

Cheers thanks!

Sorry, I should have been a bit more clear. Washed weekly and polished several times per year.

Ok cool I think I might go for Meguiars Cleaner Wax to obtain a deep shine. Would this be better than the Meguiars NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0? I have heard this is very good.

Thanks for the advice.

NXT Tech wax is a great wax, it was their premium wax untill recently. It's really a finishing wax without any surface cleaning properties. It gives a great finish on good paint.

[rusdvl 0]

WOW!!! wicked finished product... might have to bring mine in at some point.