Also posted on Autopia:

Over the weekend I was referred to by sam for a client who needed some work done on his M3. I gladly took up the request to help spread my name around autopia and also to add to my portfolio. I haven't done many full correction jobs, so don't expect Bella Macchina or Rick&Ry work! But I am learning, and business is growing every day .

The car is an '05 SMG M3 in an indigo blue metallic color (dunno the exact name) but it was a beautiful car! It was VERY tastefully modded and not over done what-so-ever.

Got there early saturday morning (around 8) and began to inspect the car. First thing I noticed.. The Wheels =/:



I rinsed 3/4 with the pressure washer, and on the 4th, my quick connect busted so I was stuck with just the hose to finish the job.

Process was various brushes put in it's own bucket filled with megs gold class soap. Tires/wheels were soaked in Megs APC cut 3:1 and then scrubbed away. Tires were dressed with Megs HD cut 3:1 for the satin look the owner wanted. The tires were polished up with Mothers Mag/Alum polish, and then a coat of some DP Max Wax that I've been using the rest of to finish off the wheels. Also did the APC and HD on the wheel wells but it was so slammed I couldn't get good pics of the rear, and forgot the fronts .

After:



After the wheels were done I rinsed the entire car and then washed with my trusty schmitt and megs gold class soap. I then pulled it into the garage and clayed it with a megs yellow clay bar and megs soap w/ water (I ran out of QD and in another post I explained I lost my wallet on the way to the detail =/).

After I finished claying every inch of the car, including the windows/mirrors/wheels, it was brought back out to inspect the paint to see what I was in for! All of it was pretty heavily swirled:





Engine bay before:



Process was soak with Megs APC cut 3:1 and scrubbed with brush soaked in soap+water. Then rinsed off and soaked with Megs HD cut 3:1 for satin finish. Turned on engine for about 10 mins, and dried off the excess HD.

After:



So I let the owner know the amount of correction I would be able to do because of my skill level/products and we agreed and I promised to do nothing less than 80% correction.

Unfortunately I don't have any during shots as I was alone, and focusing on the detail at hand. I had to cut it short on saturday as my dad had entered the hospital, so I finally left the carat around 4:30 with almost one half the car corrected half way.

My process was SIP+Orange CCS pad via Metabo, and then 85rd+Black CCS Pad via Metabo.

I finally finished all the correction work at around 1:30 on sunday (after arriving at 8 am again).

This is before sealant/lsp:





So I stopped to do the interior before moving on the sealant/lsp.

Before:





Process on the interior was to soak the mats in megs APC cut 8:1 and scrubbed with a brush, then (this was done early day 1 to ensure it would be dry) I pressure washed the mats to get as much dirt/grime out of them as I could. I then let them air dry all day, and vacuumed them sunday afternoon. The seats were treated with Lexol Cleaner/conditioner, and the dash/vinyl everything else was treated with DP ISP (love this stuff!).

After:



Next up was sealant. I used JETseal109 and put it on by hand, let cure for 15mins and buffed off x2. I love this stuff. My first time using it but the application was super easy, as was the removal, and I loved how it just made the paint POP that much more.

No pics .

LSP was Zymol Vintage. I purchased this from a member and I have to say, my god, I when I first got it, I smelled it, and it just SMELLS fancy. I couldn't wait to use it! While applying it, it's a little tough to hand rub, but it's worth it. Buffing it off is practically effortless, and the shine after makes the paint very dark and deep (which I prefer).

After 16 hours of work, over a course of 2 days, finally finished! I'm not super pleased with my work, as I feel like I should have gotten more swirls taken care off, but I did my best, and met my guarantee, and the owner was more than impressed!

Afters:







Oh, and for my other post, this is how my polish was breaking down, why like this?



Last image!



C&C always welcome as long as it's constructive! .

Thanks!

 

Looks nice. I like that color.

Why did you use a black pad with the 85 instead of a white pad?

 

Looks great! I love working on higher end cars, makes it so much more enjoyable!

 

I was told by some guys over on autopia to not use a pad with any sort of cut in it with 85. Otherwise I would have used white.. I usually do

 

I normally use the blue pad with my po85rd with great results. The blue/black pads from what I understand are pretty much the same?

what I want to know is how you used SIP/orange pad without following it with a more intensive polish to clean it up? must have some skill with that rotary or I am using the wrong product

 

No, I just don't have any PO106ff/fa