MD Racing | BMW Z3 M Coupe | Peugeot 205 GTi Mi16

With all the new Detailing products just begging to be tried out the weather tried it's very best to prevent any fun this weekend but I managed to get some clear weather for a couple of hours so had a bit of a play!

The Dirty Shots - Starting off with the before pictures, the M Coupe hadn't be cleaned since well before Christmas and it was well overdue. The "grit" used on the roads this winter seems to be a different type that clings to your car even more. Given I have a 32 mile motorway round trip everyday I didn't think it looked too bad, but would certainly be a pleasure to clean :)

A Wheelie Good Time - I used to always do the wheels last but they are often the dirtiest part and I've read it's better to get them pretty much clean at the start. So I dug out some degreaser I'd had from a few years back (Wax Wizard MC2 Citric Degreaser) and with the aid of a spray bottle gave all the wheels a liberal coating. I left them to soak for 5 minutes while I setup the Karchaer 520M, and once ready gave the wheels a rinse down. Needless to say that without any agitation they were still filthy but it was starting to lift. I then gave them another soaking of MC2 and then broke out the tyre and wheel bushes to agitate. Finally gave them a rinse down and with only light traces of grime left that was it on the wheels for now.

Fun with Foam - Now this was the part I was looking forward to the most... breaking out the new Autobrite HD Foam Lance and Super Snow Foam (SSF)! Bought recently from a Group Buy on the Detailing World forum Id been looking at pictures of the results for many months and just knew I had to have one. Reading up on how most people use them it seems that it's usual practice to use a "mix" of products to make the foam. So to start out with I used about 1" of SSF, then about 1/2" of Poorboys Super Slick & Suds Concentrated Car Wash and as the car doesn't have any kind of wax/sealer on it and it was so filthy I figured it was worth putting in about 1/2" of MC2 Citric Degreaser as well. Topping the bottle up with warm water it was out to the car to see what the results were... and I was very happy indeed! With the dial turned round all the way to - and then back half a turn (so assumed this was the weakest setting?) it produced a think and sticky foam that I was completely happy with. Many people seem to have mixed results with the Foam Lance but I guess it comes down to the products etc.

With the car fully foamed I left that to dwell for around 5/6 minutes before rinsing the whole car down with the pressure washer on a gentle setting. As the car was really filthy I wasn't expecting too much of a change but was very happy indeed with the bulk of the panels being a lot cleaner than before save for the really caked in bits down the sills and boot area. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Foam Lance will work with a cleaner car as I've heard it can give you an almost touch-less car wash!

2 Buckets and a Lamb - With the car rinsed the next step was a wash with the 2 bucket method and some Poorboys Super Slick & Suds Concentrated Car Wash. In the past I've been using a Micro-Noodle washmitt but picked up a Lambswool washmitt to try out, and I have to say that I really liked it. It gave a much more "feely" clean and allowed me to get into tighter places than the Mirco-Noodle. As the car had been foamed there weren't any large bits of debris so I'm yet to see how it would fair with a really dirty car (knowing that the Mirco-Noolde does a very good job) so only time will tell.

So once over the car starting from the roof and working my way round and down it was then rinsed off with the Shower/Rose setting on a normal hose attachment (pressure washer had been packed away at this time). A large microfibre towel was used for drying the car down and due to poor weather that was it for the bodywork today.

Wheels Again - Although there was no real time left to do any more work on the body of the Coupe I did want to try out the Poorboys Wheel Sealant. Firstly this stuff smells lush (much like all the Poorboys stuff!) and was applied with a microfibre cloth, left to haze and then buffed off. It's not a polish as such so the wheels kind of look the same but it's said to help with brake dust removal as it doesn't allow it to "stick" to the wheels as much... time will tell!!

And then to dress the tyres, for this I used some Poorboys Trim Restorer which a friend of mine recommended for tyre use... though have to say I wasn't that taken with it and will be looking for an alternative soon (probably some Blackfires).

Wheels Pre-Refurb - I think the standard wheels on the M Coupe are prefect, a really very good looking alloy. The ones on my Coupe are in a mixed condition, the fronts being nearly perfect while one of the rears is in a right mess! I took a stack of pictures here to show their current condition as my plan is to get them fully re-furbished into standard condition/colour/finish by one of the Detailing World forum supporters... more details to come.

The Tip - Something that I think a few people often forget it to polish up the exhaust (where possible). The tips on the M Coupe are Stainless Steel so you can be quite firm with them. The silencers currently fitted to my Coupe aren't the original ones and are in a much worse condition than my standard ones (which I do still have thank God) and I gave these a 10 minute clean with Auto Sol and some fine wire wool. By this time I was cold and getting bored so I could have spent longer but the trims are in bad shape with a dent and some scoring, as though they have been stored upright on the tips :(

...And We're Done - So that was it for the day, the wife came home and demanded being fed so it was time to pack up and admire a much cleaner M Coupe... very satisfying, but I know there's better yet to come!