E46 in and out detailed

[rex79gt]

this is a german lady, manufactured by BMW, code E46
most likely this is a 10 years old car which need a full detailing service for maintenance

side view

the wheel

yes, this proves the engine bay is untouched over 10 years, probably

dirt trapped

interior


closer look

common problem for rubber interior cars

leather crack hmm

paint condition is quite rough

swirls detected

scratches

hmm.....

place to b detailed soon

think i spotted a dragon look thingy



therefore the progress for my detailing treatment on this german lady:
1, ONR wash 1 bucket of water, MF clothes as well, OPC for heavily dirty parts
2, clay, ONR as lube, was using PG clay no.3, as the paint surface is extremely rough which every finger tips can feel the roughness of the paint
3, compound, meguiar's M105, wool pad, speed 1 speed 3 then speed 1
4, compound, meguiar's m105, LC compound pad, speed 1 speed 3 then speed 1
5, polish, meguiar's M205, LC polishing pad, speed 1 speed 2 then speed 3
6, Opti seal, for paint, trim, window, lamps as well
7, wax with Meguiar's NXT 2.0 syn wax

for interior:
1, leather repair kit
2, vacuum
3, Steamed the interios using new toy karcher steamer
4, protected with meguiar;s nature shine protectant

wheel after

engine bay

closer look? no problem

cracks? gone


maximum reflection

more shots

this should proves how much the paint has been restored

thanx to the owner for being so patient leaving the car for 3 days which i;ve spent like 14hours for full detailing job

thanx for viewing!!!

Rex's Detailing world: E46 in and out detailed

 

[kc's]

nice work pal

 

[Monster Shine]

Great job, looks fantastic. I love E46s.

 

[Meghan]

I love that older model BMW over the new ones, I would take this one any day. Nice work on that detail, she looks much better!

 

[donb]

Very nice work. The leather seats look great! Nice!rops:

 

[pixelmonkey]

I am open to giving praise to a project that blows me away. I'm not sure what the customer requested, expected or paid for when the car was delivered.
The following are my thoughts from what I see in the photos.

I hope these are taken as helpful pointers and not a form to demean you.
A good point would to be post the information of what the customer request when making a thread in the Show N' Shine section to give everyone a better idea for how much work went into the completed job.

Here are my thought


before photos... good shots.
my attention from the interior shot is fixed on the ash tray cover with scratches in front of the shifter.

the paint problem shots aren't bad. good job highlighting the defect areas.


after shots.

Engine bay shot 1
I see several areas that appear untouched. strut tower bolts, hindges for the hood and rubber trim next to the firewall

Engine bay shot 2
the core support, hood pin alignment holes, plastic shrouding for the grill all have "left-overs" that likely could be removed with a bit of scrubbing with a soft bristle brush or boars hair brush.

Under Hood shot
grime and dirt still present

Gas cap shot
the edge of the fuel cap,below the pop sensor and the rubber boot for the fuel neck all have grime that can likely be removed with a light scrubbing with the above mentioned brushes.

Interior shot 1
the carpet looks good! door sill and rubber trim have a few discoloration points that could be lighting, but could need attention. The gloss on the center trim of the dash could use a bit of hand polishing.

Interior shot 2
not much difference from shot 1. reflection or smudge on the radio screen, and ash tray cover that was taken in the before photos *almost as a highlight for before/after* appears to have been wiped, but nothing more.

Leather seat photo
Doesnt look bad, but the seat belt latch still needs attention

Reflection shot 1
Paint looks great and i think the one smudge is a reflection of something from the portico, but the trim between the roof and body appears to have some left-overs.

reflection shot 2
roof looks great. palm trees and glass look good here.

reflection shot 3
car from front. appears the black plastic air dam below the silver bumper was untouched.

final reflection shot
car from the rear. I think this is the best after photo from the collection. reflection above the fuel door, tail light and bumper "pop"

I hope you see it as helpful and the powers at autogeek offer review, support and suggestions without deleting this post.
chris<pixelmonkey>

 

[SkateForGirl]

Nice work. You really revived this car in and out.

 

[rex79gt]

thanx for all compliments here

especially appreciate pixelmonkey;'s comments, will do improvements and pay more attention for future works...

 

[opie_7afe]

nice job, as chris said in one of the best examples of constructive criticism ive seen in a while could use some more attention to detail and he covered it!, one issue i see that chris did not point out, why do the seats look like they were "spray painted" i know you did not spray paint the seats and looks like its lighting but just wondering about that. all in all though it does look much better and you really made that silver shine which is hard to do...

 

[rex79gt]

nice job, as chris said in one of the best examples of constructive criticism ive seen in a while could use some more attention to detail and he covered it!, one issue i see that chris did not point out, why do the seats look like they were "spray painted" i know you did not spray paint the seats and looks like its lighting but just wondering about that. all in all though it does look much better and you really made that silver shine which is hard to do...

well i do take that as useful tips which i do not treat as criticism at all

bout the seat, its spray based repair but it serve the purpose to repair leather cushion seat, its my 1st time i tried as well so may not b 100% like nothing happened b4

 

[Kristopher1129]

Ouch...that engine after shot is not doing you any favors, man. Everything else came out nice.

The sprayed seat looks a little funky to me. Paint looks great!

Not sure what your process is when cleaning an engine. But I wasn't even sure that was an after shot at first. I had to scroll back and look at the before to be certain.

Not trying to give lessons, or bash your work. You certainly overall did a nice job. But, you have to be more thorough with the engine. It also appeared as though you didn't use a dressing to put some life back into the plastic and rubber.

What was your process on the engine? Maybe we can give some guidance if you are up for it??

 

[BobbyG]

This car started off as a plain Jane but with the proper amout of time and skills it's been transformed into a true gem.....

Gorgeous rops:

 

[Robert8194]

Great job.

 

[rex79gt]

Ouch...that engine after shot is not doing you any favors, man. Everything else came out nice.

The sprayed seat looks a little funky to me. Paint looks great!

Not sure what your process is when cleaning an engine. But I wasn't even sure that was an after shot at first. I had to scroll back and look at the before to be certain.

Not trying to give lessons, or bash your work. You certainly overall did a nice job. But, you have to be more thorough with the engine. It also appeared as though you didn't use a dressing to put some life back into the plastic and rubber.

What was your process on the engine? Maybe we can give some guidance if you are up for it??

i hav to admit i din spend enough time for the engine bay probably juz 30 to 40mins wipe n brush with OPC, will do improvements for engine detailing

 

[DavidJ021]

Agreed with other AG members, some issues were missed but overall not bad.rops:

 

[Kristopher1129]

i hav to admit i din spend enough time for the engine bay probably juz 30 to 40mins wipe n brush with OPC, will do improvements for engine detailing

getem next time! lol rops:

 

[Alex Boyce]

That came out looking really nice, great photos of your work as well.

 

[rex79gt]

appreciate for all views here, getem!!!

 

[Rhudeboye]

Nice work. i miss my little E46

 

[rex79gt]

does everyone agree e46 is best looking 3 series that last long enough? lol