[happy_chrissy]

How often do you have your X3 detailed? I purchased my 2015 in 2014 and have never had it detailed.

[overcoil]

How often do you wash it?
Where do you wash it?
I assume your saying it's never been waxed?
Is your car garaged?

[P1]

What do you mean by "detailed"? Pretty broad term mate. Do you mean "machine polished"?

[gtron]

Oh you know... detailed...

[Pinewood]

Originally Posted by gtron

Oh you know... detailed...

Hahahaha brilliant!

[happy_chrissy]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

How often do you wash it?
Where do you wash it?
I assume your saying it's never been waxed?
Is your car garaged?

Washing is not considered a detail in my definition and it hasn't been waxed since I picked it up from the dealer. When I say detailed, I mean by a professional detailer, hand wax and buff, clean inside the vets, take out dings on the exterior, not a car wash and some wax thrown on it...That's not a real detail based on my definition.

So none details there car? They wash it and don't wax or clean vents or take dings out? That's hard to believe!

[Portimao318]

I have it washed at the carwash ones a month or 6 weeks. Sometimes, in between I even wash it myself by hand.
No wax, no polish , nothing. Of course I clean the interior from time to time.
But why bother so much ? When its 3 to 4 years old, I will buy a new one anyway...

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Endre2

I have it washed at the carwash ones a month or 6 weeks. Sometimes, in between I even wash it myself by hand.
No wax, no polish , nothing. Of course I clean the interior from time to time.
But why bother so much ? When its 3 to 4 years old, I will buy a new one anyway...

...and if you trade it in, the dealers will not give you any more money for it whether it is very clean or very dirty.

I have a friend who only gets his car washed/cleaned by the Polish/Hungarian workers who lurk in Sainsbury's.

He only gets it washed once a year even if it does not need it

[Pinewood]

Always wash (2 bucket method) my cars, especially the X30d. Bought in January so haven't had the weather to clay bar, polish and wax yet.
A solicitor friend (Slough) has a contact that will clay bar for £75, and i'm considering that option having never used a clay bar.
Never taken it to the hand wash eastern European places.
Would never dream of using a car wash.
Jet wash with a broom that has been thrown on the floor by the previous victim - no thanks.

[ianfp]

I have all the products for detailing including DA polisher. After the first year, I detailed the wheels by removing them and restoring them to new condition. I would like to do the whole car, but I don't have time to spare these days. Also my car is Silver and I think the rewards are not so apparent in a light metallic finish.

[Pinewood]

How difficult is the dual action polisher to use? Did you have previous experience of them, or practice on an older car perhaps?

[ianfp]

Originally Posted by Pinewood

How difficult is the dual action polisher to use? Did you have previous experience of them, or practice on an older car perhaps?

The dual action polisher is very easy to use and produces fantastic results. It is important to do a bit of research beforehand in order to understand what can go wrong if used incorrectly. I was forced to use it on the hood of my car when it got attacked by sea gulls. No amount of hand polishing could restore the clear coat and I resorted to wet sanding the damaged areas and polishing using Meguiars compounds. The finish was near perfect!

[Pinewood]

These polishers are expensive, so me and a BMW enthusiastic neighbour are going to buy one together. Just to be safe we'll practice on my sons old old vw golf which hasn't seen polish in many a year.

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Pinewood

These polishers are expensive, so me and a BMW enthusiastic neighbour are going to buy one together. Just to be safe we'll practice on my sons old old vw golf which hasn't seen polish in many a year.

My wife's 2008 SEAT Ibiza 1.4 SC has never been polished. It is non metallic solid red! You could do a short run up here and practice on that if you want.

[Pinewood]

HA!

[tiggerii]

Will be interested to see how you get on with the polisher. As for clay bars they are very simple to use and very effective. You just need some decent detailing spray to use as lubricant and keep turning the clay.

An alternative that I have been using recently is a Farecla G3 Body Prep Clay Mitt, £13 from Halfords and very easy to use. If you do get one follow the tip on the detailing forums and bed it in my using it on glass first and rinse it after every panel.

[Perennialclark]

Hello: I bought my X3 in January from a BMW dealership in Minnetonka, MN. It had 38,000 miles on it. It is Black with a saddle interior and I think it was a lease return. When I picked it up I noticed that it had white scratches on the front and rear bumper as if it had been rubbed along something. They seemed pretty superficial but there were many. The dealer rubbed some black paint into the marks and I was satisfied enough as I didn't expect it to look new. After reading many of the posts on this thread I'm wondering If Clay can take out some of the tiny white scratches here and there on the vehicle? The first couple of months I have had to rely on touchless car washes so this week we had our first 60 degree day where I could hand wash it. I still haven't been able to get off the residue from the car wash wax so will try the dish soap next time. My big question is can I damage the car with claying it if I've never used the stuff before? Should I take it to a professional detailer?

[Asianoak]

Originally Posted by Perennialclark

Hello: I bought my X3 in January from a BMW dealership in Minnetonka, MN. It had 38,000 miles on it. It is Black with a saddle interior and I think it was a lease return. When I picked it up I noticed that it had white scratches on the front and rear bumper as if it had been rubbed along something. They seemed pretty superficial but there were many. The dealer rubbed some black paint into the marks and I was satisfied enough as I didn't expect it to look new. After reading many of the posts on this thread I'm wondering If Clay can take out some of the tiny white scratches here and there on the vehicle? The first couple of months I have had to rely on touchless car washes so this week we had our first 60 degree day where I could hand wash it. I still haven't been able to get off the residue from the car wash wax so will try the dish soap next time. My big question is can I damage the car with claying it if I've never used the stuff before? Should I take it to a professional detailer?

I wouldn't say that you can really damage the paint by claying, but there is definitely a wrong and right way to do it. Without using the right amount of lubricant the clay can catch and smear on the paint and be a bit of a pain to remove.... and if the car wasn't properly washed ahead of time you can scratch the paint by dragging contaminates across it. For the most part though, it's pretty easy and just take common sense.

As far as original question goes, I haven't had time to detail the X3 yet since I picked it up less than a year ago with a pretty good detail from the used dealership I bought it from... then after having the trim painted I didn't want to do any paint correction until the paint had properly cured so that brought me into winter time. With spring here I'm looking forward to a nice weekend to get out the DA polisher and do some work. A proper two stage polish with sealant can do wonders for your vehicles appearance. It also prolongs the overall life of the vehicle by properly protecting the finish and exterior trim.

[nickb3]

I like to keep my X3 clean. I always hand wash, and regularly wax and polish it. I too would be interested in how you find the DA polisher, as I would love to be able to remove the swirl marks that are staring to appear.

[hoho_leung]

Originally Posted by nickb3

I like to keep my X3 clean. I always hand wash, and regularly wax and polish it. I too would be interested in how you find the DA polisher, as I would love to be able to remove the swirl marks that are staring to appear.

swirl is caused by machine washing. There is no way to remove swirl.

[Commerce]

Originally Posted by hoho_leung

swirl is caused by machine washing. There is no way to remove swirl.

Swirls are actually caused by improper washing and drying. The way you remove them is with a compound and/or polish using a dual action polisher.

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Opulence

Swirls are actually caused by improper washing and drying. The way you remove them is with a compound and/or polish using a dual action polisher.

+1. I am glad someone has pointed this out.