The owner of this car contacted me a few months ago enquiring about preparing it for the local BMW Concours event. After an absence in communications I was finally tasked with preparing the car 2 weeks before the event! With the car having achieved a 2nd place in the previous years competition, I figured it couldn't be all that bad and decided to give it a bash... Some initial pics after arrival Wheels would be needing some work! Trim was looking tired Tailpipes were knackered. Initially I though they may have been painted. Turns out that black coating is years worth of carbon deposits! Polish/wax residue in just about everything... As usual I started on the wheels and arches. The car was jacked up to gain better access revealing this... The usual process ensued, namely soaking with Sonax Extreme before being cleaned with various brushes. Arches and tires were scrubbed with 5:1 Carways APC before being pressure washed and re-soaked for a final going over. The polished lips on the rims were scrubbed with some fine abrasive pads which flatted the finish, but evened out some deeper scratches and staining that was present. Unfortunately no pics of these stages as I had my hands full and knew that I would be pressed for time on this one having seen the initial state of the car! Next up was a through soaking with CG's CWC and APC, which was left to dwell before being re-foamed and washed using the TBM. At this point all the trim was throughly scrubbed and the polish residue was removed from the trim... Foam doing it's thing After foaming the paintwork was clayed with a medium grade clay, which didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary TBH. With the car completely clean I inspected the paintwork out in the sun. Swirls and hologramming all present, along with a few helpings of RIDS for added flavour... Bootlid was particularly bad... Roof Some close ups on the bonnet... Paintwork inside under the lights revealed the following After trying a few combo's, and limited by the clients request to remain within budget, I ended up settling on a mixture of single and dual stage polishing working with mainly a green 3M pad and Menzerna SIP and Powergloss, along with 3M's FCP in some areas. A few before and afters from along the way... Final close-up A few random reflection shots from inside the garage... With the paintwork competed I spent some time polishing the lips on the rims...A few passes of Raceglaze's Alutech metal polish left me with this. Tailpipes were next and required some heavy handed abrasive action to remove the carbon, followed by a few passes of Alutech polish to try and restore some lustre to the innards... With all the correction work completed the car was given a final foaming wash down to remove all polishing dust and oils before finishing off. LSP of choice was Menzerna's Powerlock once again...The more I use this sealant the more I like it! Tires got Extreme Black gel and other trim was treated to Satin Prot before the whole car was given a final wipedown with Werkstat Glos. Finished wheels and tires. Paintwork was slick and crisp... Some reflection shots. Final 2 shots... Overall I felt the car came out really well despite the limited time spent on it. The following weekend the client spent some additional time on the interior and engine bay, which were overlooked due to time constraints on my side. On the Sunday morning before the show I met the client at a nearby location and gave the car a final quick once over, before parking the car at the Square for the event. Needless to say the car finished in 3rd which was disappointing considering the standard of some of the other vehicles on display. I have my reservations about local Concours type events where, in my experience to date, the judging appears to be inconsistent at best. At the end of the day the client was happy with the work performed on his car, which is what matters most to me. Thanks for looking :thumb: Sorry forgot to add the Youtube walkaround... YouTube - Mobile Image : BMW E36 M3 Detail
Outstanding work Dave! As for the judging at car shows, its usually biased and its sad that a judge cant appreciate a flawless finish. Then again I cant remember how many times I have seen cars being judged where a judge puts their hand on the paint and glass or lets their "Access Badge" dangle from their neck and land on the paint. Car came out stunning, truly great job!
Those are some fantastically clean wheels! Great write up and great job on the car. It's disappointing that this came in third.
I think you did an amazing job!!! The paint looks so shiny and wet!!! The gloss is second to none! GREAT JOB!
dang man, looks incredible. THose tail pipes look damn good . . . what exactly was your process there.
