Black BMW M3 Correction - TLC Auto Detail

Flannigan

New member
Hey everyone. Today we've got a black BMW M3 that is in dire need of some serious TLC. The customer is getting ready to sell the car, which hasn't been driven in at least 6 months, and hasn't been even washed in twice that long. The major problem is the hood and the trunk. It was repainted (bc/cc) and looks terrible. Both panels almost look grey they are so bad. We decided to do a full correction on the hood and trunk, and a two step on the rest of the vehicle. This vehicle is far from perfect, but this detail should help it sell faster and hopefully for more money. *Note-The front bumper was not touched. it is almost white with chips and is getting repainted*

Onto the process. The vehicle was foamed with a mix of XMT Shampoo and Opticlean. It was then washed with XMT soap and a GG wash sponge. The clay of choice today was Ultima Clay block with CG Luber for lube. The entire vehicle was then rinsed again and dried. There were no pictures of this process since it was done at night. I think everyone has washed a car before...lol

Next up were the wheels. Surprisingly they weren't that dirty, but needed a little help. They were cleaned with Soanx FE Wheel cleaner, while the tires and wells were cleaned with Opticlean. The wheel faces were then polished and sealed with Collinite Metal polish. the tires were dressed with Blackfire tire Dressing and the wells were dressed with Adams in and out spray.

Before:
wheelbefore001.jpg


After:
wheelafter001.jpg


wheelafter002.jpg


So the first panel that was addressed was the hood since it would need the most attention. After A LOT of testing I settled on wet sanding. This repaint was hard as a rock, unlike BMW's normal paint. Even a wool pad on a rotary was not touching this stuff. It was hand sanded with 1500, 2000, and 3000 (after taking paint readings of course. It was then compounded with M105 on a wool pad on my Dynabrade rotary, polished with M105 on a yellow BS pad, then with Carpro Fixxer on a tangerine pad.

Before:
hoodbefore001.jpg


hoodbefore002.jpg


notice how it looks flat here, almost like it was meant to be...lol

hoodbefore003.jpg


After:
hoodafter001.jpg


hoodafter002.jpg


Next up was the trunk. It was the other panel that had been rapainted at the same time. It wasn't quite as bad as the hood. Sanding was not needed, the polishing steps however, were the same as on the hood.

Before:
trunk001.jpg


50/50's
trunk002.jpg


trunk003.jpg


trunk004.jpg


After:
trunk005.jpg


the rest of the vehicle had your typical swirls, and was factory paint, so it was super soft. To correct it I used Carpro Fixxer on a tangerine pad, followed by Fixxer on a crimson pad. Here are some reflection shots. Some were taken while I was working, so please excuse and dust.

reflec001.jpg


reflec002.jpg


reflec003.jpg


reflec004.jpg


reflec005.jpg


reflec006.jpg


reflec007.jpg


reflec008.jpg


reflec009.jpg


And here are the final shots.
after001.jpg


after002.jpg


after003.jpg


The interior was also addressed, but it was in much better shape. It got a thourough vaccuum, all panels were wiped down and dressed with Blackfire interior dressing, and the glass was cleaned. Leather was cleaned and treated with UIGP. Sorry, no before pictures.

int001.jpg


int002.jpg


That's it! thanks for looking everyone, and have a very safe and happy New Year!!
 
very nice work. im impressed!

love the pic of the dog!
Thanks Andrew!! I love the dog as well! lol
Massive improvement, that hood....holy cow. Nice job to say the least.
Thank you very much!
Nice turn around Dave!!!

That hood looked like trash....
Thanks Troy!!!
Beautiful car and what great job
Thanks! It is one of my favotie cars. I just love the look!
Great correction work you done to it, should be ready for the new owner!
Thank you Angelo! I'm sure the new owner will be happy!
Wow what a great job.
Thank you!
 
Man that thing needed some work.

Did you get a chance to take that GTR for a test spin? :)
Yep, I actually picked it up from the customer's home which is about 20 miles from where I do my work. It was a fun drive to say the least. Obviously I didn't drive it like I would have if it was mine, but it was still amazing.
 
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