Welcome to detailingworld, sounds like a nice car you have there. If you have a look around the site - the search function is perfect for this - there is a gold mine of information on how to do just about everything when it comes to looking after your car.
I'd recommend having a chat to one of our suppliers that sponsor the forum - Clean & Shiny, Raceglaze or Slims are just three examples - and they can advise on what products to buy and might even be able to offer a discount if you order online.

As to getting it up to scratch, a local detailer will be a better bet than the dealership, a detailer can do an enhancement package to bring it to where you are happy and can then maintain it.

 

Many thanks muzzer, yeah im taking it to a local detailer sat morning hopefully, just to get a price on a ceramic coating which includes a polish, should get me started, I will indeed get in touch with the suppliers, ive been adding a few things to a basket on Slims so a discount would be great.

 

Welcome mate, your never too old to learn how to clean your car more in depth, as above have a browse through the site pretty much everything has been covered and get ready for your wallet to take a hit 😁

 

Welcome along.

Definitely chat to our forum supporters - and I do mean pick up the phone and talk or if you can pop in and chat face to face. Their experience and knowledge is priceless and can help to avoid the dreaded "information overload."

Above everything - enjoy yourself.

Good luck.

Andy.

 

Welcome along to the forum fellah 👋👋👋

Everything covered perfectly in the first reply to you!

 

Hi and welcome along 👍🏻

Never too late to start something new 😁

 

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. Looking forward to been part of another online community...

 

Welcome along buddy. MB is a beaut colour, not the most popular BMW colour as it's not the generic white, black, blue or grey BMW you normally see out n about but still, we loved our 128ti in MB.

 

Yeah love that, but I have been obsessed by anything red for a few years now.

 

Hello and welcome. Very nice car, I have a 2019 M140i shadow edition - lovely engine. I tried my first attempt at machine polishing yesterday (51 years on the planet) and it was quite satisfying. Slims do have an Easter offer at the moment, maybe the discount you are hoping for. It would be great to see before and after pics if you are able to. Good luck, Dan

 

Thanks Dan, I will definitely take some pics, your right the B58 is a beuti, still makes me smile every time I put my foot down.....

 

welcome along to DW if we can help please let us know

 

Just a small update, the car is getting collected tommorrow night and will be getting a 2 stage paint correction with a 5 year ceramic coat, the company dont offer any other options so that was out of my control. Ive spent most of the weekend whatching detailing videos and went for the following products, I tried to get them all from Clean and Shiny to take advantage of the 15% deal but I had to get some stuff direct as they had no stock.
Bilt Hamber Touchless snow foam
Bilt Hamber Surfex HD
Bilt Hamber Auto Wheel
Bilt Hamber Atom Mac
Infinity Wax Wax On Si02 Shampoo
Car Pro Pearl
This is going to be a total lifestyle change, I never liked the fact that all the cleaning products say "do not use in direct sunlight" and "do not allow to dry completely" I was like, WTF! when else am I going to want to wash my car and life's too short!

 

Welcome along, they’re a friendly bunch, even if you do drive a BMW!

I know first time polishing can be daunting but it’s worth putting the time and effort in to get a good understanding of what is going on, although at our age (not very far behind you) the prospect of doing a full correction and ceramic coat just makes me ache. My car was written off last year (by a BMW driver!) and didn’t find a replacement until November so it’s just had maintenance washes so far, so I’ve got that to look forward to. Gave it a service today and the hardest part was getting back up after crawling around underneath the damn thing.

Good choice of products, autowheel is a personal favourite but unless your wheels haven’t been cleaned in six months you can get away with watering it down to at least 50/50 and it’ll still do the job but last twice as long. The warnings about direct sunlight and not letting things dry are good advice but basically the same thing, any chemical you leave to dry will leave a residue, some will even stain or discolour but most will just be a pain to remove, so always rinse well. Direct sun makes metal and glass very hot, so things dry faster, and you get the idea.

 

. Thanks Mcpx, yeah I used to do all my own car repairs when I was younger, that was when you went to the breakers and took the parts off yourself, I think they caught on to us filling our tool boxes up with parts we didnt want to pay for, or maybe that was just me. I dont get under my cars much these days, its getting harder to get back up! Good call on the wheel washing, to be fair the wheels look mint so i will deffo water it down. Up until the BMW I have been using a 50/50 mix of water and oven cleaner from the pound shop, The CRV wheels still look brand new and Ive owned it for many years, I guess acid is safe as long as you rinse it off well and dont leave it on too long, I will be ending that cheapness with this one though just in case. Good luck getting your new car back to spec and watch out for BMW owners!

 

Last attempt to post some pics, they seem to be doubling up for some reason and "Delete" is missing from my "Edit Post"

So I took some pics before the car goes in tomoz, looks ok i here the non BMW haters say.


But then you shine a torch on it and it looks like the previous owner cleaned it with wire wool or a brillo pad!

Check out the engine bay, I think the car was pulled from a swamp.

Not my drive btw, house sitting this weekend.
I think the detailer has his work cut out!

 

apologies, its still doubling up the pics and I cant see how to stop it!

 

Gorgeous colour, but I think you’re right, that needs some work. Wait till you see it with ceramic on I’m sure it will blow you away. Ceramic adds gloss but it’s more than that, wax normally adds depth but ceramics give a clarity that is heightened on bold colour like this.

 

Oh I can't wait now, cheers, It's not a popular colour but I love it.

 

Taking time and patience, that should come up really nice. No need to crash anything out, the more time you take the better it will be.
Worst kept secret is to just enjoy it and each result/stage will keep you smiling.😁

 

Yeah I hope the detailer has plenty of patience, hes going to need it! I am looking forward to smiling when he drops the car off.
Edit.
Dont be sad Tony, some of us have very little spare time, not to mention that Ive been told you cant put a ceramic coating on if its going to rain, I have no shelter for the car and the weather is so bad Im building an Arc in what little spare time I do Have!

 

That has certainly got some swirls - think you are right about it living in a car wash 😆. Looking forward to the next 'after' pics. Dan

 

Is there a cap missing from below the near side wiper on the windscreen scuttle panel ? Dan

 

I dunno!!!!!! lol. I will have a look when it comes back, thanks for asking. Just been taken away on a low loader....

Just checked the pic, well spotted! looks like access to a bolt or adjuster, I will stick a post on the BMW forum. No idea what thats called to even look for a replacement.

 

So the car is back and I have to say it looks amazing in the flesh, the lack of sunshine doesn't really show how nice it looks. Paintwork has a silky feel to it, shout out to Prab from Clean.It in Reading, (Professional Mobile Car Detailing Reading Service | Clean.It Now) he was a pleasure to deal with and totally professional, kept me up to date through the process sending me loads of clips to see how it was going. They even have a collection service via a low loader for a reasonable fee. This is pre ceramic.

And after...

Looks better in the garage actually.

 

Bet you pleased with that mate

 

Over the moon to be honest.

 

Looks very good in the garage. Were the swirls removed effectively (I'm still working on my gloss black b-pillars but the weather is not playing fair yet) and how does the engine bay look now ? Dan

 

Hi Dan, the swirls were really bad so they are not 100% gone but at the same time I'm happy with how much they have been removed, it took him a lot longer than anticipated, no surprise, so he didn't get round to the engine bay. I will post a pic when that's done. Like you say the weather is just ****e and I woke up this morning with the car covered in what looks like tree pollen or maybe the Saharah from our tropical storm. Did a contact less wash today and it didn't come off so a job for next weekend, might even do the engine bay. How bad is yours?
This fell from the sky.

 

My swirls are not too bad and I have managed to correct, to a decent level, the nearside (see thread in tools etc. under DAS6 v2 query). The offside is still to do (pic added). I have not noticed any swirls on my car (there are some light scratches) but the rear bumper is poor, but impossible to see/photo unless a certain angle of sunlight hits it (my swirl spotting light, from AF, fails to spot it). I am not experienced with ceramic coatings, but surprised a contactless wash did not remove some of the pollen/Sahara dust. I did notice some pollen/Sahara dust on my garden table (black glass) yesterday, it had to be wiped off, not seen any on my car though (it sits on the North-East side of my house so possibly shielded from the prevailing winds). Dan

 

I had a look on your thread and I must say that panel has come up beautifull! You have done a great job!

 

Thought I would give under the hood a clean today, lots of little nooks and crannies I couldnt grt to so need more cleaning brushes. The drain gulleys had compost in them from 5 years of non cleaning I think, discusting. I degreased with neat Surfex HD, (now i have to get all the spots off the paintwork and windows, very sloppy work) then I got the Carpro Pearl out and put it on everything black neat. Its not perfect but im very pleased so far.

 

You have done a great job there, it looks fantastic. PERL does seem to get some good reviews - good choice. Dan

 

A great turnaround 👍