Properly is the operative word here, the other huge aspect that is overlooked is the products you are using. Having been down the Turtlewax and Mothers routes, I can say that you are better served to get stuff online or at a local place that carries nice products. For the same prices as Turtle Wax, Poorboys has great stuff, and the number of brands out there with worthy products is growing. If your time is limited, why spend it with an inferior product, especially when a good product is not any more expensive?
Any advice on how to keep wax off all of the little plastic trim pieces like letters, badges, decals, etc and windshield washer fluid nozzles?
There are several products that will remove the wax.
http://autogeek.net/black-wow-trim-restorer.html
http://autogeek.net/blackagain1.html
http://autogeek.net/duragloss-wax-eraser.html
My suggestion is to use painters tape on the trim when doing any work with wax or any polish-abrasive product. I have also found wax selection will dictate how much residue you get. Wolfgang Fuzion does not leave a residue and looks amazing, I believe Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax will not leave a residue either.
Painters tape would be my suggestion as well. It takes more time to set up, but it’s a lot easier than trying to remove the wax residue with a toothbrush later.
another vote for painters tape ? and try to be careful 
Detailing guy here too, tho these days I’m carrying less and less about trying to keep my daily driver perfect.
Anyhow, instead of repainting wheel wells, give them a good clean and try Chemical Guys Bare Bones.
Oh and I love Optimum No Rinse as well, been using it for about 4 years with zero problems. Even used under car port when snow was on the ground, lol.
Have you looked into sealants at all?
I forgot to mention this past week I found a nasty scuff on one of my taillights. I found a 4" white Lake Country CCS pad, a small amount of Menzerna Super Intensive Polish and some light pressure polished the scuff right out. I am gonna say this will probably change my headlight methods soon, just need a set of foggy headlights to try it on.
My wife uses a wet Bounce dryer sheet to rub bugs and other grime off of our vehicles. It does an amazing job. Almost as good as a clay bar. It’s a good trick for when you don’t want to clay bar your car.
The inspiration for this thread was because I decided to sell my 2002 Lexus. In order to get top dollar for it, I knew that I had to clean her up. This of course lead to me doing truckloads of research.
Well, I finally finished the project and thought I would do a run down of what was done and products used to do it.
First, the car had not been waxed in well over a year. The leather hadn’t been cleaned in a long time either. So these were the two important areas that needed attention. Lot’s of minor rock chips in the paint (some to the bare metal).
Step one: Wash the car and remove tar/bugs
Did this using Megs NXT. Pretty good car wash for the money I think. Will be trying some others though so I can have a reference point.
For tar, used Tarminator (actually eats tar right in front of your eyes).
Rims cleaned with Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner.
Step two: Clay the car.
Used the Megs Clar Bar. Worked well and removed tons of pollution. Good stuff for sure and is an important step that many pass on.
Step three: Remove any existing wax and degrease the car.
Used Hi-Temps wax/degreaser. Strong stuff that removed any kind of residue from the car.
Step four: Remove any swirl marks in the paint.
Used the Porter Cable 7424XP, Megs Ultimate Compound. Did a good job as long as the scratches weren’t too deep.
Step Five: Remove deep scratches in the clear coat.
Used Megs 105 followed up with 205 with the PC to remove these. Worked VERY WELL.
Step Six: Washed car again and then taped all parts that I didn’t want waxed.
Step Seven: Wax car
Used my PC and Megs NXT 2.0 wax. For pads, used LC. Wax went on light and was easy to work with. Had a nice odor to it as well (if that matters).
Buffed the car with my PC and micro fiber pad.
Step Eight: Cleaned interior.
All clear plastic’s were cleaned with Plexus. All Vinyl and rubber was cleaned with Lexol Vinylex. Leather was cleaned and conditioned with Lexol.
Windows were cleaned with Detailer’s Pride Glass Cleaner.
All done and now onto the pics!
Not too bad for a 2002 with over 100,000 miles!
So what did I replace the Lexus with? 
C4
I love to clean cars and guns…its truly relaxing and therapeutic like others have mentioned.
Grant, wonderful decision in your new car choice as BMW’s are amazing performers in every single respect. I am partial to m3s and the new ones are 911 and F355 asskickers for sure:cool: I personally will drive a M3 for the rest of my life and the two Ive owned to date have enriched my life exponentially. You should have received a really nice Maguire’s care detailer’s kit with your new BMW…its a solid selection of products.
eta…Do not google DINAN…nothing to see there at all;)
I would suggest a concentrated car wash/shampoo with a capful of Optimum No-Rinse added. I think it is much more cost effective. I will say that finding a wash/shampoo you like is a good endeavor though, I found mine, yours may be different, especially based on the water you use. (run a filter set up)
How was the Sonax? My brakes are the devil. I hope the next set of pads I get are actually low dust as advertised, the current set are not.
On the wax removal, the clay bar will do this already. I would skip the degreaser and add another quick rinse before any compounding.
Why did ya use ultimate compound then 105-205? I suspect 105-205 is more than enough, plus IIRC, the ultimate compound is not any more abrasive. I think you would be able to save a step and limit the product needed this way.
Glass: I have been using isopropyl alcohol only for some time now. Cheap and easy.
How was the 105-205? I have Menzerna now, but am interested in the 105-205 for the VW paint. Taking care of more than one VW is tough when you need to remove swirls on 2+ cars…
As a long time Japanese Car driver (Honda/Toyota), this is my first German car. So far so good.
I have already looked DINAN so too late. 
C4
I am going to try some other stuff for sure (already bought a new shampoo).
How was the Sonax? My brakes are the devil. I hope the next set of pads I get are actually low dust as advertised, the current set are not.
Fantastic. It goes on green and after it has eaten the brake dust, it turns BLOOD red. So you know exactly when it is done.
On the wax removal, the clay bar will do this already. I would skip the degreaser and add another quick rinse before any compounding.
Ya, I figured it would, but there were some spots (weird corners and such) that I really couldn’t get into well enough to my liking. The degreaser also removed some dirt that I had missed during the wash process.
Why did ya use ultimate compound then 105-205? I suspect 105-205 is more than enough, plus IIRC, the ultimate compound is not any more abrasive. I think you would be able to save a step and limit the product needed this way.
The ultimate compound is not strong enough to remove deep scratches. The 105 is. The paint wasn’t bad enough to do it all with the 105/205 though. Make sense? Had some light swirling all over the car with about 5 deep scratches in the clear coat.
How was the 105-205? I have Menzerna now, but am interested in the 105-205 for the VW paint. Taking care of more than one VW is tough when you need to remove swirls on 2+ cars…
Great. Removed just about every scratch. When it didn’t I went with the 3000gr wet sand paper and then hit it with the 105/205.
What is great about silver Metallic paint is that there were very few swirls in the car. Because of this, most every car I will buy from now on will have a Metallic paint (in silver).
C4
Will have to try it
That is what I would have done. I thought you went over it with all the products, not just selectively.
yall got more energy than i do, i get my pickup washed at the carwash approx. every 6 months, whether it needs it or not. [ but, i can remember when i did all that stuff ] the lexus dealer will wash wife’s RX350, when they service it.
My cruiser is around 4 years old and has been thru hell and back…, really. Small tornado 2 years ago, ice storms galore, and all kinds of highway salt etc.
How do I get my light bar to look clear again when it was new. The backside of the bar is in good shape but the front is faded and has a fog look to it? Is plexis my answer? Thoughts…?
KC
This is the one I have.
What do you have? You will likely have to polish it, plexus just cleans. I tried a new method recently on some lights and it worked out great, when I know what you have I will go from there.
I dont have anything. I just overhear coworkers stating that Plexus from a local Harley dealership clears up the light bar fairly well.
KC
I have not seen Plexus polish, only clean. You will most likely need an abrasive to handle what you have.
I have used the following components of these kits, but not the exact kits. I think any one of them will suit you just fine.
http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-plastic-headlight-kit.html
http://www.autogeek.net/mothers-powerball-4-headlights.html
http://www.autogeek.net/3m-headlight-kit.html
My preference is with the 3M kit, although most recently I have used a Lake Country white 4" pad with Menzerna Super Intensive Polish at max speed with a good bit of force on the pad to clean up some taillights in about a minute a piece.
I used to have some nice German cars
my BMW was insane perfect but I worked on it a lot
I love Klasse and sonus spritz as a detailer spray for the BMW the two step klasse and your PC with the correct pads on their you can get a light up against it and get a finish free of all micro scratches etc… I used a fluorescent light and low angle to check
I would say check out the Klasse and also the sonus spritz
http://www.sonus-usa.com/son-200.html
spent about $500 or so trying everything I could when I got the BMW ? I ended up using the same stuff I did on my Porsche which was Klasse but it was worth it to try so many things
I really prefer a acrylic spritz over wax even the expensive stuff ? it just looks wetter goes on and comes off nicer etc… lasts better
I would do what one likes but might be worth checking out that combo of klasse sonus
forgot the steps I used on one of the used BMW cars ? 3M stuff though ? so the above is more once you have your paint in the way you want the first Klasse though will get out micro scratches its not for a rough finish but once you have it dialed in OOHHH