Thoughts and Observations on my recent detail work

Just bought my 1997 328is and it was filthy. The dirt was apperently protecting everything and I had a heck of a time cleaning it up and here's some of the stuff I used and the results.

Washed it using regular old Zymol (WalMart $12) car wash, eh whatever, it is what is and got the dirt off the car.

Clay bar (Mother's Autozone $22) worked great, removed all the grainy attributes to the paint and really smoothed it out well. Did not get all of the old bird poop stains out which were to the point they ate into the paint.

Zymol HD Cleanse (Amazon $30) Removed all the old wax and even more dirt and paint
imperfections and brought out a lot of the color.

Zymol Carbon (Amazon $50) WOW. Best wax I've ever used. gave the car a nearly flawless mirror shine and I swear water is afraid of the vehicle. It has the same effect on the paint that RainX has on your windshield.

Tires I use Mean Green its horrible and nasty chemical but it does get the tires clean

Then I used Meguiar's Gold Class tire shine (Smells like grapes, Amazon $8) this stuff is terrific. Nice shine, doesn't spin off, but I live on a dirt road and sand will stick to it.

Trim I used Meguiar's Gold Class trim detail (Amazon $7) this stuff really made a difference in the black plastic. It takes very little to work and lasts a while. Make sure not to get it on the paint though it leaves an oil like smear that can only be removed with microfiber cloths.

Inside I used Meguiar's interior cleaner and gold class shine, its a two step deal and was worth the effort. The cleaner works particularly well on the white lettering on buttons and dials without removing the white from them.

Cleaning the seats was hell. Lexol was a waste of time, Zymol leather cleaner was over matched too, but then I had an epiphany. My mother has very expensive saddle for her horse and I went over to their house and experimented with cleaners made for horse tack. Voila! Passier brand Saddle Soap (go figure another German company) is the best. WILL NOT remove any dyes. It isn't cheap at $22 a tub, but it works like a champ. Horse tack brushes are also best for scrubbing. The Passier conditioner ($16) is a little heavy for this job and requires some clean up but it will make the leather SOFT. You just have to go back and remove the excess conditioner that does not soak in. Kicks butt on you baseball gloves too :-)

Hope this helps anyone with any of these things if they were thinking of buying them.

For leather cleaning and protection, Leatherique is a great choice, for me on my details it's a go to!

I love the way zymol wax smells.