Track season is officially over in the Northeast so I finally decided that my cosmos black 98 M3 track car needed some proper TLC. I had never done a machine paint correction before so I borrowed my neighbors 7424, purchased some products, and got to it!
This is what I used and the sequence:
WASH ETC
- Removed plates and all beltline mouldings
- Wash #1
- IronX the entire car
- Wash #2
- Brought it in the garage, got it on jack stands and took the track wheels off. Washed them separately
INTERIOR
- Vacuumed everything
- 303 Aerospace Protectant on dash and other hard components
- Leathermasters on steering wheel and leather components
- 303 Fabric protectant on race seats
- Simply QD on the "back seat" and roll bar
- Put floor mats back in
- Door jambs etc - Klasse AIO
- All weatherstripping - 303 Protectant
ENGINE
- 303 Aerospace protectant on all plastics etc. It is usually kept tidy so I can keep an eye out for potential leaks etc.
PAINT
- Clayed: Using Mothers kit and then some extra Pinnacle I had laying around because 2 bars wasn't enough for this disaster!
- Swirl Correction: XMT3 and CSS Orange
- Fine Polish: Meg's Ultimate Polish and CSS White
- Sealant: Meg's M21 and CSS Black
- Wax: Collinite 845 and CSS Black
OTHER
- Side all mouldings got to marinate in Back to Black and got protected with 303
- Headlights got hit with 3M correcting kit on the drill
- Polished and repainted front grille
- Wheel wells and suspension parts addressed
- Exhaust cleaned up/polished
Overall I think it went well. Plenty of blemishes that are outside the scope of this operation, or outside the abilities of XMT3 and an Orange pad. I am unaware of this car's past paint history so I wasn't willing to go harsher just in case. Still not half bad for a track car
Any thoughts are certainly welcomed.
PICS
Fresh off the skid pad and track day at Lime Rock Park
IronX working its magic on brake dust
After wash #2
Cleaned engine bay
Cleaned interior
Clayed... totally gross
Before any correction
After XMT3
Before any correction
After XMT3 (I subsequently went back over this panel again)
After Ultimate Polish
After Collinite 845
Resto'd headlights
Mouldings back on
FINISHED PRODUCT back on street wheels
This is what I used and the sequence:
WASH ETC
- Removed plates and all beltline mouldings
- Wash #1
- IronX the entire car
- Wash #2
- Brought it in the garage, got it on jack stands and took the track wheels off. Washed them separately
INTERIOR
- Vacuumed everything
- 303 Aerospace Protectant on dash and other hard components
- Leathermasters on steering wheel and leather components
- 303 Fabric protectant on race seats
- Simply QD on the "back seat" and roll bar
- Put floor mats back in
- Door jambs etc - Klasse AIO
- All weatherstripping - 303 Protectant
ENGINE
- 303 Aerospace protectant on all plastics etc. It is usually kept tidy so I can keep an eye out for potential leaks etc.
PAINT
- Clayed: Using Mothers kit and then some extra Pinnacle I had laying around because 2 bars wasn't enough for this disaster!
- Swirl Correction: XMT3 and CSS Orange
- Fine Polish: Meg's Ultimate Polish and CSS White
- Sealant: Meg's M21 and CSS Black
- Wax: Collinite 845 and CSS Black
OTHER
- Side all mouldings got to marinate in Back to Black and got protected with 303
- Headlights got hit with 3M correcting kit on the drill
- Polished and repainted front grille
- Wheel wells and suspension parts addressed
- Exhaust cleaned up/polished
Overall I think it went well. Plenty of blemishes that are outside the scope of this operation, or outside the abilities of XMT3 and an Orange pad. I am unaware of this car's past paint history so I wasn't willing to go harsher just in case. Still not half bad for a track car
Any thoughts are certainly welcomed.PICS
Fresh off the skid pad and track day at Lime Rock Park
IronX working its magic on brake dust
After wash #2
Cleaned engine bay
Cleaned interior
Clayed... totally gross
Before any correction
After XMT3
Before any correction
After XMT3 (I subsequently went back over this panel again)
After Ultimate Polish
After Collinite 845
Resto'd headlights
Mouldings back on
FINISHED PRODUCT back on street wheels
