E46 BMW M3 Correction @ Formula One Auto Care NYC

Formula1_AC@NYC

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Hey geeks! This is our first show n shine. I am an auto detailer at Formula One Auto Care in Long Island City, NY. Here is one of our latest jobs I wanted to share.

I recently worked on a 2005 Interlagos Blue E46 BMW M3. The M3 had been affected by our Northeast winters. The exterior was covered in a layer of dirt, grime & road salt.

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The owner explained that he would be putting the M3 up for sale in the near future and wanted to correct the paint to increase his chances of finding a buyer. After discussing with the owner his expectations and budget, we agreed a 1-step correction would be the best approach. We discussed coating the M3 with CQuartz Finest but because he was selling the M3 he didnt want to invest in the long term protection. The M3 would be topped with a coat of Collinite 845.

First area I tackled were the 19" BBS competition forged alloy wheels.



I Iron-X the wheels. You can see the heavy contamination. After allowing the Iron-X to dwell for a several minutes, I agitated the wheels to remove all the loosened contaminates. I then rinsed and applied a second application to make sure everything was completely removed.


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Next step was a foam dwell, followed by a two bucket hand wash.
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Cleaning the small details with a 1" boars hair brush:


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The exhaust is a small and overlooked detail that can significantly impact a car's overall appearance. I polished the exhaust tips with Optimums metal polish and steel wool #0000

Before:

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After:


The M3 was clay barred using Pinnacle ultra poly clay, rinsed & dried.

Next step was my test spot. I decided to use the trunk lid. My go to was Menzerna FG400 on LC pads with a GG6 DA.

50/50 shots:
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Porter Cable DA with 3" LC pads for the smaller areas


Wiped down with Carpro eraser and a coat of Collinite 845 applied:
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The next morning the owner came to pick up his M3 and was thrilled with the transformation. I was happy I could help him put his M3 on the market for a higher resale value. The M3 is looking really good for a 10 year old daily driver with 155,000 miles!
 
Very nice transformation!
What LC pad (white?) did you use and what size backing plate on the GG?
 
nice job, looks great. nice to see someone post here from my neck of the woods. lol
 
Very nice transformation!
What LC pad (white?) did you use and what size backing plate on the GG?

I did a test spot with LC 5.5" white & orange flat pads. The orange cut better and finished down nicely. I like to run the polisher slower (speed 4)

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nice job, looks great. nice to see someone post here from my neck of the woods. lol

Stop by sometime, we are in Long Island City.

Nice work!--and nice facility as well.

Thank you, we have some planned upgrades in the near future we are really excited about!
 
Beautiful work on a beautiful car! Those before shots are just plain painful to look at. And i agree about the nice looking work environment. Looks like LOTS of room to move around and that's a good thing.
 
Beautiful work on a beautiful car! Those before shots are just plain painful to look at. And i agree about the nice looking work environment. Looks like LOTS of room to move around and that's a good thing.

It pains me too when I see a car in such bad condition but also makes me excited when I get to transform them!

We can fit up to 10 cars in our shop at once. We have 3 wash bays, an area we use for interior detailing & a station with a scissor lift primarily for paint corrections.
 
I have that same exact car, I was hoping you did the cquartz as Im debating how nice it would look on that color.
 
The Bimmer is looking RIGHT...

If it's showing like that, I'm holding firm on price!!
 
Did you cover up the rotors or anything like that before spraying Iron X? I heard it's not good for it to touch the rotors.
 
That M3 is stunning. What an impressive turnaround. That is indeed a great work environment, lots of space, bet it isn't cheap to heat in the Northeast winters.
 
Impressive detail work on an impressive rare vehicle, this one is actually a well-sought Competition Package in exclusive Interlagos Blue paint work
 
Single step with a mid-heavy compound on relatively soft paint?! Nice work guys!
 
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