Been a while since I posted anything here, after the demise of the E36:-
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=288806
It was a natural progression to the much revered E46 M3 :devil:. I've had it 6 weeks or so and only just got round to start detailing the beast :p I forgot to take pictures of every stage but here’s what I’ve got!
Started with the genuine CSL wheels, they do need a refurb & new centre badges to bring back there former glory but still benefitted from a good clean.
So set too with the bilberry, tardis and Iron X
Once Nice and clean
They got the Carpro DLUX treatment and Meg’s endurance on the tyres and left to cure in the sunshine.
Wheels done it was time to clean the arches out, it was tar city in there! I used AF citrus power and AS Tardis to sort the mess out and CG VRP to bring some life back to the plastics.
Before:-
After:-
I know the brake calipers need some love but that is on the cards for another weekend.
Happy with the wheels and arches I turned my attention to the interior. First thing to go was the window tint film, armed with my steam cleaner I slowly heated and peeled them off, have to admit I was a little twitchy doing the rear screen as I had no idea how long the film had been on and feared it would remove the aerials & defroster lines! Slowly slowly catchy monkey is the name of the game here. The small amounts of adhesive that was left behind was quickly removed with some tardis and 0000 wire wool, done!
Before:-
After:-
Much happier now.
So whilst I was inside I thought I might as well carry on, so leather was cleaner with gliptones gentle cleaner and conditioner, I know people say you shouldn’t use it on modern leather interiors but I swear it makes a difference, Im happy with it anyway :p
I also wet extracted the mats and gave them all a spritz of CG fabric guard, no pictures though :(
Dash and door cards next, they got an APC wipe down followed by two coats of GTechniq C6 applied 24 hours apart, first time using this stuff and I’m impressed with it so far especially as it’s so much cheaper than some and maintains that matt dash look which I like :D
Also whilst on the inside I needed to repair the auto dimming rear view mirror, it’s a common fault on the E46 M3 & E39 M5, the seal gives way and lets air in and the magic fluid out! The fluid inside the mirror is hugely corrosive and can make a horrible mess of your interior plastics as its positioned over the centre console obviously its poised to really ruin your day! As mine had the ‘bubble’ it was high time to sort it out. The problem is BMW want circa £450 for a new mirror assembly and even that would fail eventually, luckily someone on a well-known M3 forum had sourced a more reliable mirror so I procured one and set too repairing my existing mirror!
Stripped her down
The dreaded bubble.
Soldered the new mirror in and jobs done, works too!
So with the interior done for now I moved on to the bodywork, lots of missed photo opportunities here but it got the usual decon regime AF Citrus power and brush in the nooks & crannies, snow foamed, TBW with Sonax shampoo which is a new favourite, tardis, iron x and clayed with Bilt Hamber medium and AF Clay lube. I removed all the badges and grills to make the polishing step easier!
Swirls:-
Not too bad really.
Snow foamed
Post decon so after clay and yet another wash, dried with a dodo juice soft touch premium drying towel which is awesome.
Already looking much better!
Polished with a mix of Menz PO85RD 3.02 & FG500 where needed along with Sonus SFX pads which I don’t really rate but they got the job done in the end, all driven round by my trusty DAS6 pro. I wasn’t aiming for ultimate correction here just trying to add a bit more gloss to the finish and flatten the light swirling, RDS remain.
Bonnet came up great.
Once I’d been round with the Menz PO85RD 3.02 I did contemplate refining further with SF4000 but my back begged me not too so I enough was enough time to seal in the hard work! It could have been better but I was happy enough with the finish. LSP this time will be Carpro’s Cquartz UK edition, my first go with a glass style coating was a lot tricky than waxing or sealing especially making sure its buffed off correctly! Firstly I wiped down yet again with IPA as I do after every polishing section and finally to be extra sure the surface is clean I panel wiped down before applying the coating to each section, the results were worthwhile and yet again another stonking product from Carpro, bonnet grill was DLUX'd with a Meg's detailing swab to get into every hole! Took a while :D
So to tidy up the last details, the shadowline trim (think that’s what they call it?) was treated again with DLUX over the Cquartz.
Before any coating, looking a bit dull & lifeless.
After
Much better me thinks.
Door shuts where cleaned during the wash stage, wiped down with IPA and treated to FK1000P, buffed off and wiped down with FK425 which is also a great product. Sill plastics where treated to DLUX as were the interior sill trims, kick plates and seat side mouldings and switch gear.
All indicator bulbs changed from orange to silver (actually before any cleaning was carried out hence the hazy headlamp which has now been improved with some polishing).
Befores
Afters
Subtle but noticeable.
Then to finish off, engine was cleaned using AF citrus power various brushes and protected with 303 protectant.
I know that’s a bit pic heavy but I hope it was worth the read, as always comments & criticisms welcome, thanks for looking :thumb: