# 08 BMW M6 by TSC17. Very long thread!



## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

*2008 BMW M6*

I've always loved the BMW M cars, and it was a pleasure to work on this beautiful M6 in Black Sapphire Metallic. This is an amazing machine at all levels&#8230;what's not to like about a 500HP V10 motor coupled to an automated clutch and 7 speed sequentially shifted manual gearbox. It is capable of 0-60 runs in just 4.6 seconds with a 12.8 second quarter mile. Pretty impressive for a 4-passenger grand touring coupe! The finishing touches of the car are also at another level&#8230;

The owner of this car contacted me about several of his vehicles (more on that later), but the M6 was to come first. When I went to his house for the initial inspection, I found it to be in pretty good condition, albeit very dirty coming out of a bad winter. This is his wife's daily driver, and she likes detailing her own cars, but their schedules have just been too hectic this spring. I ended up hanging out at his place for a while talking about cars, business, and a little bit of everything. I really enjoy getting to know my customers!

On the last detail thread I made, I ended up shortening up the write up with less photos compared to what I normally do. A lot of people told me they prefer the more informative, educational, and (occasionally) entertaining threads when I write a novel, so I stepped it back up on this one. It's an extremely cool car that is deserving of such efforts.

And as always, the photos are straight out of my camera with no post processing other than to resize and add a border.

The car was dropped off on Friday evening and picked up Sunday afternoon, so I'll break it up over the 3 days so you can get a better understanding of the workflow.

Day 1:

The first day was dedicated to the interior. The floor area on the driver's side was in need of help, and the leather had already shown some serious signs of wear and dye transfer. Before I get started I always ask the customer what their biggest areas of concern are, and by simply asking, I found out that the leather was perhaps the most important area for her.

Here you can see that even after less than 7,000 miles, the leather needed quite a bit of work!


















Winters can be harsh! This is why we use all-season floor mats up north.









The first step was to thoroughly vacuum the interior and trunk areas. Once the carpets were clean, I could concentrate on all of the hard interior surfaces. I mixed up a bucket of Woolite and water, and set it aside while I worked on debris removal from all of the cracks and other hiding places.









After that was done, I thoroughly wiped everything down with the Woolite and water mixture and then moved on to the pedals and foot rest. I agitated the heavy areas with a stiff brush first, and then cleaned them with Chemical Guys Grime Reaper (5:1 ratio).

Before:









After:









For the console, gauges, and other hard surfaces I used Megs Quick Interior Detailer.










Now it's time for the leather! My go-to product for leather cleaning, conditioning, and restoration is Leatherique, and this job was no exception. Usually it's a two-step process (Rejuvenator Oil and Prestine Clean), but the Prestine Clean by itself is a tremendous one-step product for cleaning and conditioning. I wanted to first test the leather with Prestine Clean to see how well it would clean up and decide weather or not I needed to use both products. It did a fantastic job of cleaning the leather on my test section, so I could save some time by doing just the single step. I've been chatting with George from Leatherique quite a bit the past month or so, and after every conversation I walk away with a much better understanding of leather, proper leather care, and places to use it. The guy is a walking encyclopedia for leather&#8230;very sharp individual!

First I'll thoroughly spray down the leather with Prestine Clean, and then firmly massage it into the surface with my hands making sure that it gets into the seems and stitching areas as well. I'll apply it to all of the surfaces, and then work my way back around for removal so it has a few minutes to sit on the surface (usually 10-15).










Here you can get an idea of how much product is used, and you can actually see the dirt and grime being lifted from the leather surface.










If the dirt buildup is a little more severe, I'll also use a leather brush to agitate the grime and help break it up.


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

Once it's ready to be removed, I'll get a bucket of clean water and a microfiber towel and wipe all of the Prestine Clean off of the leather to reveal a clean, soft surface.

After: Big difference!



















I also used the Prestine Clean on the leather insets on the doors, on the console, and the leather shifter/brake boots as well.



















I didn't purposely set out to make this a Leatherique love-fest, it just ended up that way because I used it in so many areas (I also treated the all-season floor mats with it&#8230;but who's counting).

A few after shots of the interior: (Note: I also treated the carpet with 303 Fabric Protectant)


















You've got to love the details of the M cars' blue and red stitching on the steering wheels.









I treated the black plastic trim in the trunk area with Chemical Guys VRP, and then tidied up the owner's belongings:









OK, the interior's done after about 2 hours, so I figured that I would snap a couple of before shots prior to closing shop for the night.

The engine compartment was dirty, but nothing too bad:









The exhaust tips were going to need a bit of work:


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

A little known fact about the M6&#8230;it also does well offroad! Maybe I was stretching that one a bit, but it sure looked like she'd been out muddin' it! I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I probably have a bit of clay work to do tomorrow morning.









I closed up for the night, and emailed some before and after leather photos to the owners to show them how well it cleaned up. Needless to say, they were pumped!!

Day 2:

I got up at 4am, had some coffee, checked emails, replied to a few forum threads, and got out to the garage to get started because I knew I had a long day ahead of me. Here's the clock (yes, this is AM) showing my startup time. 









You know the old saying: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise"? Although it sounds good, I personally think it's a load of crap! First of all, my health would have felt MUCH better had I slept in, and it definitely doesn't to anything to improve my wealth&#8230;otherwise this would be MY car and somebody else would be working on it. As for the wise-part&#8230;errr, I can't think of anything smart to say about that&#8230;

Since the car was so dirty, I spent a lot of time and effort on the washing and decontamination process to both ensure that I get the surface completely clean and prepped for polishing, and to make sure I don't add my own scratches and swirls from the heavy dirt and deposits.

The M6 had brand new HRE wheels and Pirelli P-Zero tires installed the day before, so I knew they didn't require heavy cleaning. I simply washed them with my Lake Country grout sponge (these things are awesome!), and then used my Mini E-Z Detail brush to clean the calipers.


















After the wheels were complete, I moved on to the rest of the car.

First I started off by treating the lower areas with Optimum Power Clean to break down the heavier deposits.









Then I mixed up some Megs APC in the foam gun to pre-soak the dirt to loosen it up. I let it dwell for a few minutes, and then rinsed it off with a sharp stream of water.









After that I loaded the foam gun with Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Clear at paint prep ratio (2oz/gal), soaked the vehicle with foam, and then washed it with the same product/ratio using two buckets and a sheepskin mitt.









Don't forget to clean in here!









For the engine compartment, I sprayed it down with P21S Total Auto Wash, let it dwell, and then agitated it with various brushes and sponges:









Once everything was done, I pulled the car in the garage for clay-a-palooza! Even after multi-stage washing, the surface felt like sandpaper. I later found out that there had been a lot of construction and/or demolition going on where the car spends its days, and it had left something that was concrete-like all over it.

I used an entire bar of Chemical Guys clay in the process because the surface was so bad. For a clay lube I used the new Dodo Juice Born Slippy product. It's a tremendous clay lube that provides a super slick surface without leaving behind a slippery residue when you're done.

The washing and claying alone took 3 hours!


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

At this time the sunshine had come out so I could snap a few photos showing the condition of the paint when it was clean.




























It had its fair share of light to moderate swirls and deeper scratches on the high solid content (hard) BMW clear coat.

First up I measured the paint thickness with my DeFelsko DFT gauge, and was surprised to find how inconsistent the readings were on the car (it's never had body work or repainting done). The hood alone ranged from a low of 102 as shown, up to about 135 microns. Armed with the knowledge of it having "thin" spots, I decided that the hammer approach of a heavy compound wouldn't be used other than to spot treat more severe defects.










After a few tests, I found that Meznerna Super Intensive Polish with an orange light cutting pad on the Makita rotary was the way to go. Some areas required a few passes to get the correction I wanted, but with finessing it a bit I was able to correct it and leave it with a nice finish. Later I found that I could go directly to Menzerna PO85RD finishing polish with a blue finessing pad for the final burnishing stage.

Now I've had a lot of people tell me lately that they would like to come over and work with me, or "shadow" me if you will. Every time I hear that I take it as a tremendous compliment and thank those accordingly.

I'd like to have everybody over, but quite frankly my garage isn't big enough to fit all of you, and I doubt that I have enough food either!

Since I've had so many requests, I figured that I would do the next best thing and give you all the opportunity to look over my shoulder while I work:









How was that? If you didn't see enough, I've got some more opportunities for you later in the thread.

Alright enough goofing off&#8230;I'm going to move a bit quicker through the process now.

Here are a few before and after photos during the SIP polishing stage:









After:









Before:









After:









Before:


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

After:









Before:









After:









After about 5 hour's worth of medium-cut polishing with the SIP, I moved on to the final polishing stage with PO85RD. I spent about 3 on the final stage, and it left the finish with a brilliant shine, high reflectivity, and a beautiful gloss.

It was late in the day, so I figured I would do an inspection in the sun, and snap a few shots of the progress. I haven't done any finishing details at this point (final wipedowns, wheels/wells, sealant, glass, etc) and the car still has polishing dust everywhere.

Swirls permanently removed, and no holograms!






















































This is still before final cleaning:


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

OK, I'm tired now&#8230;time to go in and email a few more sneak-peek photos to the owner, get a shower, and relax.

Day 3:

Almost done now! I've got 3 or 4 more hours of finishing touches, and the car will be ready to go.

There's nothing good on the radio Sunday mornings, so I need to grab a few CD's&#8230;something that will get the blood flowing. I'm thinking about some '80's Metal&#8230;The Cult Electric, and Metallica Black Album are just what I need. If you don't do a little head banging while listening to these, then you need to check your pulse!

First I started off with cleaning the polishing dust out of every nook and cranny&#8230;door jambs, trunk lid, hood, and of course the fuel fill area. I use ONR in a spray bottle with a MF towel to accomplish this.

Before:









After:









I dressed/protected the engine compartment surfaces with 303 Aerospace protectant, and then Chemical Guys Fade 2 Black on the hoses and hard to reach areas (you don't need to puddle it like I did&#8230;I was just trying to time the shot properly, and after a few shots I ended up with Lake Erie!)









The HRE's got polished with Klasse All-In-One, and then the tires were dressed with Optimum Opti-Bond tire gel, and the wheel wells were dressed with Chemical Guys Fade 2 Black.









After:









The exhaust tips were first cleaned with Chemical Guys Grime Reaper and 0000 steel wool (worked very well), and then polished with Optimum Metal Polish.









As usual when I'm looking for great looks and good durability, I went with Optimum Opti-Seal and Optimum Spray Wax. Dodo Supernatural would have really kicked it up a notch for looks, but the she needed something that would last for several months.









I don't know how it is on your end, but this thread is taking a LONG time! I'm getting to (a lot of) after shots, so you'll have plenty of eye candy instead of all of that boring writing (kind of like any issue of Playboy, right?).

I'll mix up the inside and outside shots. And yes, I DID get a bit carried away with the photos thank you very much&#8230;

OEM carbon fiber roof to reduce weight and lower the center of gravity:


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

295/30x20 Pirellis. Nice!









Gratuitous logo shot&#8230;








































































It was about 1pm when I took these shots, so the sun was directly overhead making some of these a bit harsh&#8230;but they still turned out pretty good. (And yes, I know that I need to seal my driveway!).


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

As a former military member myself, I appreciate and support the owner's efforts to promote such a great cause!!


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

Gloss!!



























I couldn't decide between these two photos, so I just put 'em both:




































Those aren't smudges on the grill trim&#8230;just funky reflections.


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

And finally***8230;









Whew!

Total time = 16 hours!

Oh***8230;I forgot to show you what he pulled up in to drop-off and pick-up the M6. I***8217;ll be working on this one in the near future as well:

Highly modified Lamborghini Murcielago!


















Here***8217;s a video that he just did last weekend after he got his straight pipes installed. At full throttle and max RPM it***8217;s putting out 138 db. I heard the car coming from a long way, and all I can say is that a V12 with straight pipes sounds like something straight out of hell (but in a good way). The mic on his camera distorted a bit because it was so loud, but you can still get a good feel for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEIxylMmp5Y

As always, thank you for investing so much time in reviewing my work.


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## shadyb421 (Dec 31, 2008)

cant view the video but great work and that lambo looks abosultely sick


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

Thank you.

That's odd...the video comes up fine for me. Anybody else with problems viewing it?


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## fricker66 (Sep 29, 2008)

Video plays fine on my computer. Great detailed post and certainly appreciate the lengths you went thru to provide us with the step by step attention to detail. 

I am curious as to your preference for CG Fade 2 Black over CG Bare Bones for the wheel wells.

Also, I just finally ordered and received Prestine Clean last week. Couldn't agree more with your assessment on its effectiveness! Very impressive product and leaves the leather feeling and looking new again.


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

fricker66 said:


> Video plays fine on my computer. Great detailed post and certainly appreciate the lengths you went thru to provide us with the step by step attention to detail.
> 
> I am curious as to your preference for CG Fade 2 Black over CG Bare Bones for the wheel wells.
> 
> Also, I just finally ordered and received Prestine Clean last week. Couldn't agree more with your assessment on its effectiveness! Very impressive product and leaves the leather feeling and looking new again.


Thanks!

Fade 2 Black also works very well in the engine bay (two birds, one stone), and I like the aerosol application.

Prestine Clean is great stuff for sure...glad you like it!


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## RTC303 (Feb 3, 2009)

I love the write-ups as much as I do the pictures. Keep them coming, you are a true artist.


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## BmW745On19's (Aug 12, 2005)

Very good stuff!

Your client who owns that M6 and my client who owns the GT-R must be one in the same!


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

Your write up is really good very and well documented and explained..but I have to wonder what took you 16 hours to clean a 08 car that in the pics dosen't seem that bad to me? was it stopping to take the pics and write down the process and all that or was the actual working time on the car.


I will say that you get to work on some real great cars!


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## Grentz (May 16, 2009)

Great job man, and a beautiful car!



dboy11 said:


> Your write up is really good very and well documented and explained..but I have to wonder what took you 16 hours to clean a 08 car that in the pics dosen't seem that bad to me? was it stopping to take the pics and write down the process and all that or was the actual working time on the car.
> 
> I will say that you get to work on some real great cars!


Did you see the before shots in Post 3? That winter mud/salt/grime build up is no easy task to remove properly :yikes:


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

Grentz said:


> Great job man, and a beautiful car!
> 
> Did you see the before shots in Post 3? That winter mud/salt/grime build up is no easy task to remove properly :yikes:


I saw all that and know its not easy to remove without proper process, but 16 hours is what I am asking about...I just want to understand that part...There was some great pics of the process taken, so I would have to guess that had to be added in...I don't know


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## jalo (Apr 16, 2009)

super. what an inspiration. thanks for the write up!


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks everybody!

dboy...it's funny you say that because I received a PM from a detailer that I highly respect, and he was asking me how I can get a black BMW done so QUICKLY! 

First of all, the surface of this vehicle was like sandpaper, and because of that the washing and claying took about twice as long as it normally would. I was also being very cautious at this step so I wouldn't add any more scratches on the hard BMW clear.

Speaking of, the sun shots showed that it had a fair amount of swirls, and had a bit of deeper RIDS as well. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get the camera to capture many of these defects. Since BMW's have quite hard clear coat, it takes quite a bit of time to get everything removed. I spent 5 hours removing about 95% of defects from all painted surfaces, and then another 3 hours on the final polishing/jewling stage to really bring out the gloss. The best way to work with PO85RD is to work it in around 1400rpm with medium pressure, then back it down to about 900rpm for as long as possible. I know some REALLY high end detailers that can spend 8 hours or so just on the jeweling stage to get the absolute maximum gloss out of it. Had I been going for only 70% (or so) correction, I could have knocked the polishing stage down to a total of about 4 hours. I can easily spend 8 hours polishing a brand new car off of the showroom floor to level the finish, and refine it to a level that the factory is incapable of...

The shape and lines of the car make a huge impact on the time as well. The more I have to stop and switch out to 4" pads to work around tight areas, the more time it will take. A few weeks ago I worked on a Z06 Vette that had surprisingly soft paint, and the complete job only took 9 hours...go figure!

And once it's all done, all of the finishing details add up to a lot of time...polishing wheels, treating wheel wells, dressing tires, removing polishing dust and cleaning areas such as door jambs, trunk lid, etc., dressing the engine bay, cleaning windows, dressing trim, applying sealant, waxing, etc, etc, etc. When a car leaves my garage, it looks like new (or better).

So the breakdown was as follows:
Interior = 2 hours
Wash, clay, tape = 3 hours
Two-step polish = 8 hours
Misc (wheels, engine, trim, windows, seal, wax, etc) = 3 hours

The in-process photos don't take much time at all. The end of day photos for day 2 and especially for day 3 were not on the clock. I always keep a strict log of my time for each process, list any breaks accordingly, and "clock out" when I need to take a lot of photos.

I hope this helps to clarify where the time was spent.


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## dbusiness (Mar 7, 2008)

Great write up and the car looks awesome.
You missed scrambling the license plate in last pic of section 9


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## dbusiness (Mar 7, 2008)

dboy11 said:


> I saw all that and know its not easy to remove without proper process, but 16 hours is what I am asking about...I just want to understand that part...There was some great pics of the process taken, so I would have to guess that had to be added in...I don't know


It was probably the 4 hour test drive at the end to make sure cleaning
the engine didn't causing any problems and then a re wash.


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

TSC17 said:


> Thanks everybody!
> 
> dboy...it's funny you say that because I received a PM from a detailer that I highly respect, and he was asking me how I can get a black BMW done so QUICKLY!
> 
> ...


What did you charge for two almost three days of detailing?

I don't need the exact number just a ball park...I know what my numbers would look like.

I've owned two jet black BMW autos and worked on countless others at all stages of paint correction over the last 30 plus years as a part time detailer. I have an extreme understanding of paint correction and process.

I commend you on a very well done job and documented.


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## TSC17 (Jan 19, 2009)

dboy...I knew you had a lot of experience, but since the question was presented, I figured I'd spell it out for those who aren't as familiar with the process so they have a better understanding of where the time goes.

My rates are $50/hour.

Thanks again for the compliments on my work.


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## dboy11 (Mar 6, 2006)

TSC17 said:


> dboy...I knew you had a lot of experience, but since the question was presented, I figured I'd spell it out for those who aren't as familiar with the process so they have a better understanding of where the time goes.
> 
> My rates are $50/hour.
> 
> Thanks again for the compliments on my work.


I wish I had the patience for that while working on cars...I mean taking pics...I don't!

My overall price would have been about the same


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## luial (Jun 23, 2009)

Wow! What a great detail job! :thumbup:
Wish I could have the same kind of results with my cars


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