frensham

Guys
I've got a 530d M Sport with 19" Alloys in Carbon Black. Its literraly a week old, so at the mo, I've just jetted the body with water and not even attempted cleaning it with sponge.

I noticed the other night whilst in a bright petrol station, the body work has got grubby marks/dead flys etc etc, whats the best recommended practice, and above all what are all you guys/gals who have Carbon Black doing ?.

Frensham

olli_535d

Don't use a sponge. Get a proper wash mitt, which traps the surface dirt better and doesn't rub it over your paintwork again. Make sure you use a proper car shampoo (e.g. Meguiars Gold class or similar) Don't use Fairy or similar, as this strips any protection.

Give it a proper hand wash, and after rinsing dry it with a chamois or good microfibre towel, to avoid watermarks. And then I'd start straight away to seal and protect it with good quality products.

Just avoid car washes and try when in for a service that BMW doesn't use a car wash to clean it, too. The amount of swirl marks you can see in the sunlight afterwards is not nice.

highway

Hi Frensham

I just took delivery of my Carbon black........love the color..

It is my second dark car, and here is what i do.

Fist off, as the wise people here told me, the less you touch your car, the better !

have two wash buckets, and buy 2 sea sponges. One bucket is for washing the car ( use with a good car wash, such as meguiars ) the second bucket is to rinse the sponges after i do ONE SECTION of the car. One sponge for the top of the car, the second for the sides. Keep them clean !

Then take the spray nozzle off the hose, and using HALF the water flow, rinse the car......this sheeting effect almost dries the car completely,

Using a micro fibre towel PAT DRY the remaining water marks.

The first time I clayed the car, even though it was brand new, then immediately applied 3 coats of Pinncale Souveran carnuba. By hand.

Car looks fabulous, no swirls.

Hope that helps.......its an obsession.....but then....it is love isnt it ??????

nwilliams

Well....good luck !!!!!!!!!!!!

I had my car for a few months and its covered in swirls and holograms (3d swirls which can be seen in direct sunlight that seem to float inside the paint)

First of all....DON'T LET THE DEALER WASH YOUR CAR !!!!

When I took delivery, the car was in perfect condition...not a swirl. My dealer offers free carwashes every Saturday all year round and I thought..cool! Brought my car in for a wash two weeks after delivery. The car came back clean and all swirled!

I told them to fix it and they sent the car to detailing. It came back looking pretty good.

Two weeks later I had a problem with the SZL module which they replaced. Sure enough they washed the car and all the swirls came back!

At this point I'm not sure if I want to fight with this anymore!! I bought a truckload of P21S and other top brand car products but I don't think I'll be able to handle hand washing my car and spending hours weekly to keep my car swirl free. Furthermore I live in Toronto, Canada and I can't imagine hand washing the car in the winter!

Carbon Black is difficult to keep swirl free and if your 19' rims are 172m....well they're also a pain in the ass to wash!

It doesn't take much to swirl a Carbon Black car. If you have a busy schedule, don't pay attention to the technique you use when handwashing and live in an area with winters.....hand washing can be a problem....IMO

Having said that...those who do (handwash) and do it properly....have nice clean swirl free rides!!!
Like Highway just above....

xBMWx

I hear what you're saying - keeping a Carbon Black car with multi-spoke rims looking mint, especially in winter, is a bit of a bl**dy nightmare!

In Germany you are not permitted to wash your car on the street, due to chemicals going into the drainage system etc I believe. I drive 1000km per week so just put mine through the car wash once a week; spray cleaners on for wheels and insect removal, do a high-pressure hose down, and then into the car wash for soap - scrub - wax and dry. After that it's a matter of wiping the glass dry and any obvious wet patches on the car.

It's a long way away from detailing your car, but from a few meters distance it looks great and stops dirt getting baked into the paint & rims. Close up inspections typically only lead to frustration and the desire to spend hours polishing every last detail. My advice: if like myself circumstances do not allow you to keep your car mint all the time, then admire your car from a distance!

As a final note, my car is a company car, so I do not have to worry about depreciation or what it will look like in 3+ years.

nwilliams

lol......

good one....and it works! My car looks great from a distance!