[bcarver]

I just bought a 2006 BMW 325I. The color is Sparkling Graphite Metallic with black leather interior. I am a little clueless on the whole detailing thing. I have previously owned an old car that didn't require any major detailing. Therefore, I am in need of some very basic help. I want to ensure that the paint as well as the interior is well protected and looks its best!

I have read several posts already and have some ideas on how to best detail the car but I thought I would go ahead and ask myself. Just to give you a little background, the car is kept outside (for the time being) and I live in the south.

Do you recommend Zaino for everything? (interior, wash, clay, polish, seal and wax)

Can you give me a rundown of what product you feel works best?
Wash -
Clay -
Polish -
Seal -
Wax - (do you seal and wax?)
Tire Cleaner -
Wheel Cleaner -
Leather Cleaner -
Also any other steps or products I am missing or you would recommend?

Can you give me a quick rundown (steps in order) of what needs to be done to do major detailing of the interior and exterior and how often this needs to be done? (Remembering I keep my car outside) I am nervous about fading of both the paint and leather.

Can you give me a quick rundown on regular maintenance (washing, leather protectant, dashboard protectant) and how often this needs to be done? (Interior and Exterior)

Also, I want to make sure that I keep the engine clean and looking good. Any ideas of what to use and how often to use it?

Any other help or advice will be greatly appreciated! Like I said I am new to this and need the most basic of help. So if I am completely leaving something out please let me know.

Thanks so much for any and all help! I love my car and just want to make sure I give it the best possible care to ensure it keeps the shine and beauty it has right now. My main concern is that the car paint and leather will fade since I do not currently have a garage.

[bcarver]

Also, I see where I should use microfiber towels. I do not own any. I went to the detailedimage.com website and they have a Micorfiber starter kit that includes all sorts of towels. Does anyone recommend this? Or do you have something else to recommend? It includes numerous towels and I am not sure what each are used for. Some are self explainatory but others aren't. What is the difference between a ultra plush and all purpose for example? It also includes an application pad. Will this pad work for applying wax and other steps? Or do you not recommend this?

Thanks for any help. Like I said earlier, I am very new to all of this and need the most basic of help! Thanks!

[BK]

For starters, just get down the basics of washing your car properly and applying wax or sealant. Start with this sticky: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9145

As you get more into it, you'll find yourself spending more time on this forum and others, and you'll find more ways to spend money on detailing supplies.

[L~R~G nor cal]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136666

[nmcampbell]

Originally Posted by BK

As you get more into it, you'll find yourself spending more time on this forum and others, and you'll find more ways to spend money on detailing supplies.

Sooooooooo true!

[txusa03]

I am sure this is mentioned in the links posted above, but I will mention it anyway just in case you miss this little detail. See regular folks like me and you dont own a water softener unit so we use the very hard water straight from the faucet. If you wash your car in direct sunlight with this hard water, it will dry so fast and leave many water spots on your paint surface in direct sunlight.

I am not a detail expert so I just wash regular and 2-3 wax a year. I do enjoy looking at some of the detail threads posted by our detail expert.

GL

[Wilson01]

The sticky posted above is very good for exterior maintenance. Don't feel like Zaino or Klasse are the only Sealants out there, although they are good.

As for wheel/tire. Make sure that the wheel cleaner is chemically basic. I use griot's wheel cleaner, simply because it is available locally, basic, and does good work for me. For tires I use Mothers, available locally.

For interior, a great deal of people here use Zaino.

I don't know what most people are using for BMW dashes to keep that nice matte look. Any input with this guys?

[BK]

Originally Posted by Wilson01

I don't know what most people are using for BMW dashes to keep that nice matte look. Any input with this guys?

303 Aerospace Protectant is probably the most popular. I also like Meg's Quick Interior Detailer. 1Z Cockpit Premium and Poorboy's Natural Look also seem popular.

[bcarver]

tell me what you think of these line ups:

Sheepskin Mitt
Meguiars Gold Class Soap
Microfiber towel to dry
Meguiars NXT Tech Wax 2.0 (or Duragloss 105)
Meguairs Ultimate Detailer (should I use this also?)

OR:

Sheepskin Mitt
Zaino Z-7
Microfiber towel to dry
Zaino AIO
Zaino Z-2 (with Zaino ZFX) (can someone help me with the application of this? it seems really complicated)

which would you use? is it worth the extra money for the Zaino?

For interior I think I am going to do this:

Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer
Zaino Z9(and Z10?) for the leather

Am I missing anything important? This is everything that I plan on doing. I think I am going to use car wash for the wheels. What about the tires? Any suggestions?

What should I use to clean the exhaust? What should I use to clean under the hood? Any suggestions??

Thanks again for the help!

[TRICKE90]

Don't ever wash your car in direct sunlight. You will get waterspots and lots of streaking. Your otc products are good products. But I just tried cg products (JetSeal 109, 50/50 wax, & their speed wipe) and am now a convert to CG.