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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Wash, Wax, Detailing and Cosmetic protection/repairs > Help - 1st time detailer here, made mistakes...



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      06-25-2008, 10:18 AM   #1
Acemetrical
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Help - 1st time detailer here, made mistakes...

Well - crap. I really wanted to start detailing my car myself - I'm a perfectionist and so that sounds fun to me.

However...

I bought the Maguiars rich leather cleaner, and it "armor-all'd" my leather. It's lost its beautiful matte finish and now looks like high quality vinyl. Oh yeah, it's slippery and squeaks when I move on it too...even better.

I assume its just a polymer of some kind that's giving it that cheapo finish, so if you can recommend a product to clean it off without harming the leather underneath that would be great.

Also, I waxed the car with Maguiars NXT tech wax 2.0 and though it turned out quite nice, I have a couple of questions.

There is a a little bit of clouding from my wax job, will a buffer remove this?
What buffer should I get?
And most importantly, how do I restore my leather back to matte?

Thanks all!
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      06-25-2008, 10:29 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acemetrical View Post
Well - crap. I really wanted to start detailing my car myself - I'm a perfectionist and so that sounds fun to me.

However...

I bought the Maguiars rich leather cleaner, and it "armor-all'd" my leather. It's lost its beautiful matte finish and now looks like high quality vinyl. Oh yeah, it's slippery and squeaks when I move on it too...even better.

I assume its just a polymer of some kind that's giving it that cheapo finish, so if you can recommend a product to clean it off without harming the leather underneath that would be great.

Also, I waxed the car with Maguiars NXT tech wax 2.0 and though it turned out quite nice, I have a couple of questions.

There is a a little bit of clouding from my wax job, will a buffer remove this?
What buffer should I get?
And most importantly, how do I restore my leather back to matte?

Thanks all!

Clean the leather and re-do the conditioning process using less product or a different more matte product. To clean, you can use a leather cleaner, APC (highly dilluted), or a woolite solution mixed 6:1 (water:solution). Have you tried wiping the leather down with a damp cloth? Meguiars Leather products are water based, so a damp cloth should tone down the slick look considerably.

As for the wax job, where exactly is the haze or cloudiness you see? All over the car, certain areas? I could see how maybe you applied too much product and had left over film which ended up hazing up. Have you given the car a wash since? If not, try that.

When you apply a wax or sealant, only put enough product that you can tell its on there. Anymroe than that, and you're wasting your supply.
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      06-25-2008, 02:17 PM   #3
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do you have leather or leatherette?

Ive use the meguiars before and it was ok....but didn't leave a slick finish.
Hmmmmmm. was it the creme or the spray on?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Acemetrical View Post
Well - crap. I really wanted to start detailing my car myself - I'm a perfectionist and so that sounds fun to me.

However...

I bought the Maguiars rich leather cleaner, and it "armor-all'd" my leather. It's lost its beautiful matte finish and now looks like high quality vinyl. Oh yeah, it's slippery and squeaks when I move on it too...even better.

I assume its just a polymer of some kind that's giving it that cheapo finish, so if you can recommend a product to clean it off without harming the leather underneath that would be great.

Also, I waxed the car with Maguiars NXT tech wax 2.0 and though it turned out quite nice, I have a couple of questions.

There is a a little bit of clouding from my wax job, will a buffer remove this?
What buffer should I get?
And most importantly, how do I restore my leather back to matte?

Thanks all!
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      06-25-2008, 04:39 PM   #4
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I've also used Meguiar's Rich Leather Conditioner. It sounds like you did not wipe off the product completely after application. I also ended up with that squeaky, brighter look in the past. To correct that, I simply went over the leather again with a clean cloth to ensure all excess product has been removed. It left me with a nice matte finish vs the Armor All glossy look you described.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Acemetrical View Post
Well - crap. I really wanted to start detailing my car myself - I'm a perfectionist and so that sounds fun to me.

However...

I bought the Maguiars rich leather cleaner, and it "armor-all'd" my leather. It's lost its beautiful matte finish and now looks like high quality vinyl. Oh yeah, it's slippery and squeaks when I move on it too...even better.

I assume its just a polymer of some kind that's giving it that cheapo finish, so if you can recommend a product to clean it off without harming the leather underneath that would be great.
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      06-25-2008, 06:54 PM   #5
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A perfectionist with Jet Black! Your in for some fun

Let me be the first to recommend Chemical Guys EZ creme glaze.
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      06-25-2008, 06:57 PM   #6
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The cloudiness from the wax is likely not buffing it all out. Try some QD and buff it out
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      06-25-2008, 07:47 PM   #7
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Sometimes if the wax isn't removed soon enough it becomes very hard to remove it, and washing may not even help. What I would do is wash the car and dry it. Then apply the same wax over the spots where you had the hazing/white residue, and wipe it off soon after. The solvents in the wax should re-soften the wax that's hazed allowing you to remove it easily.
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