After 14 years of detailing dream cars I was finally fortunate enough to purchase one of my all-time favorite cars; a 2003 E39 M5 in Sterling Silver with 30k on the odometer. Although black or carbon black were my first color choices, they're not an option for someone with OCD. After over 3 months of searching and inspecting supposedly "perfect" cars in the NY area, I finally found one in Fla. Flew down with my paint thickness gauge and inspection light, "****"ized it, bought it and shipped her up north to our shop. Here are some before pics. Absolutely no paintwork. The leather was covered with a greasy conditioner that felt like vaseline. The paint, as well as the windows, were heavily spotted with mineral deposits to the point where you could feel them with your fingernail. Two small dings on one of the doors. Don't you love the purple tint?

When inspecting cars for myself or one of our clients, the most important thing to me is original paintwork and knowing that any existing imperfections (scratches, etching, dings, etc.) can be repaired. In worst case, I can let the bumpers go as far as repainting.

 

Can't wait to see what it'll look like once you work your magic. BTW, about time you posted

 

Congrats on the E39 M5. The last of the best cars ever produced by BMW.

 

Congratulations

 

The next step is to "prep." the car and expose all the evils that were hidden by glazes and waxes. This step includes disassembling everything that can be taken off (and you know how to put back on), stripping the paintwork, wheels, tires and leather of any waxes, silicones, conditioners and dressings. This is one step to be perform thoroughly; I see many do-it-yourselfers make the mistake of rushing through the prep. and start the "fun" steps like buffing and waxing (this is actually the most depressing step b/c you really start seeing all the imperfections that you didn't see previously).

 

I wanted to really prep. the wheels thoroughly b/c I wanted to apply sealant to them and not have the issue of brake dust bonding. First the tires were cleaned of any greasy dressing using a solvent cleaner and a brush. Second, an alkaline cleaner was used to remove any solvent residue as well as brake dust contamination. Next they were clayed.

 

congrats Matt

 

The final step was to remove the old wheel weight adhesive that was never previously removed. The wheels were then thoroughly dried and (2) coats of the DyNA Brilliance paint sealant were applied to the interior barrels allowing to dry overnight.

 

Congrats on the new car purchase. I can't wait to see the end results.

 

Nice work Matt!

 

Now we attack the interior (this gives the exterior ample time to dry thoroughly). The interior was disassembled much like the exterior for several reasons; to allow for proper detailing, to have a custom audio system to be installed and to remove/install the window tint. The door panels were removed so as to allow the tint to sit below the rubber gasket and not to have to wait to lower the glass until the tint dries. The rear deck was removed so as not to damage it during tint removal/to allow for tint to stick to the dot matrix on the bottom and the third brake light was removed so as not to have to trim the tint around it.

The leather surfaces (which is pretty much the entire interior less the alcantera) was cleaned with the DyNA Leather Cleaner and fed with the DyNA Leather Conditioner (between 2-4 coats). The instrument cluster was hand polished with 3 diminishing grades of abrasiveness. The wood surfaces were hand polished the DyNA Gloss Restorer, Ultimate Cleaner and protected with Brilliance sealant.

 

Now we turn our attention to the engine mechanicals. The throttle bodies, which on M5's are very susceptible to gumming up due to start and stop driving, were thoroughly cleaned. One of the power steering hoses was sweating and was replaced. Notice the taping of the fenders to prevent any "Oops" manuevers.

 

Now the most frustrating part of the entire process, removing the sub-standard, purple, (4) pieces to a back window tint. The only way to safely remove the tint off the rear glass was to use a commercial steamer. Any residual glue was then chemically removed and all the felt was taped to prevent contamination under the tint. Now the glass is ready for tint application. The car was tinted with 50% light transmission Llumar ATX series ceramic film.

 

Wow, that's a detail if i've ever seen one!

 

The next step was to correct the paintwork, glass, wheels and exterior trim. First, the car has to be taped and masked for the buffing process. The purpose of this is two-fold; to protect paint edges and trim from being burned by machine and to prevent splatter of already clean areas. Much like the prep, this is another step many folks rush through. But any time you may save initially you will pay for during the final detailing of the car many times over. Any paint chips were filled in and wet sanded. Deeper scratches were also wet sanded with 2000 and 3000 grit paper. The paintwork was then corrected by compounding with two different compounds by a wool and then foam pad. The paint was wiped with a 70% alcohol solution and examined with a light gun for any remaining imperfections. The goal was to remove, and not hide, them. The polishing and glazing steps were performed with the Cyclo orbital machine to remove any residual holograms left by the high speed buffer using the DyNA Gloss Restorer, Paintwork Cleaner and Brilliance sealant.