Enhancement Detail
For a long time I loathed for an E46 M3 but due to ridiculous insurance premiums I ended up buying a Focus RS which led me down a completely different route. Since then I hadn't really thought about them as a potential toy but after spending many hours working on this E46 M3 I again remembered what it was about these BMW's that I loved.
So the owner of this car had bought it as an investment and a toy and decided to spend some money getting it back to as high standard as possible. First things first the client wanted to get the wheels refurbished, After some recommendations this was arranged prior to the detail as he was looking for ceramic coatings it was best that the wheels were in the best possible condition.
A few weeks later the car was ready for the detail. I aim to complete all work inside whilst I currently look for a premises but while I am on the journey for my own place this particular detail was carried out outside but due to fantastic weather forecasts this was not of concern to me. So first things first was full exterior deep clean and decontamination. This car had never seen a deep clean and this was evident as you started to look in all the normal places that get forgotten, Wheel arches, Engine bays and door shuts. Using heavy degreasers and some good old elbow grease I spent a good hour or two scrubbing and getting caked in dirt to remove years of grime and grease. Its these little details that really count, theres no point in focussing all your time on getting the inside and outside looking flawless then opening the door or engine bay to find black and green grease and grime. Once these areas were clean once again I moved onto decontaminating the wheels and paintwork. On this occasion I reached for Car Pro Iron X, Autosmart Tardis and my trusty old clay mitt to remove a lifetime of Fallout, Tar and other contaminants. Four and a half hours later this stage was complete and it was time to move to the inside to do the same.
The interior was certainly one of the worst areas of this car, Being silver the paint wasn't actually showing too many signs of visible age. The interior on the other hand was a different story. I must admit if you chose to buy a car with this colour interior your a braver man than me. The leather and carpets in this M3 were showing years of grime and required hours of meticulous cleaning. First things first was a good hoover, removing loose dust and dirt from the seats, plastics and carpet. Once loose dirt was removed I needed to remove the years of ground in dirt. Using a variety of methods and tools I bit by bit overhauled the interior of this M3 and the pictures speak for themselves. The difference was astounding even to me! The seats changed colour and the carpets came up close to new, job satisfaction!
After spending most of the day with brushes and chemicals in my hand it was time to move onto the paintwork. Taped up and measurements taken there were some areas I was a little wary of due to rather unusually thin measurements but on the whole the readings were fine. Starting on the boot I tested a variety of pads and compounds until I found the optimum combination of which I continued around the car with. On the odd occasion I swapped out for a more aggressive pad or polish to remove more severe defects but in general my original combination removed years of swirling and paint defects to reveal high gloss and fantastic paint clarity.
After hours of polishing and correcting It was finally time to un-tape, wipe down and prepare for coatings. The customer had opted for my ceramic/glass coating bolt on for which I chose Car Pro CQuartz UK as its extremely versatile during application, Carbon Collective Platinum Glass and Gtechniq C5 for the wheels. All coatings were applied safely and layered to ensure optimum performance and durability.
The pictures really speak for themselves and it still amazes me how much a car can be transformed in a matter of days. Years were removed from the appearance of this car and It pleases me that I have been able to be a part of transforming the car and adding value to the clients investment.
Ill let the pictures do the talking...
