"Do I need a new paint job?" - BMW 335i Resurrected and Coated

[zmcgovern45]

The owner of this vehicle contacted me with the hope that I could help bring some life back to this relatively low mileage 335i that he had just purchased. He was concerned that the paint may be in such bad shape that he would need to have it repainted. Upon my initial inspection, it was very clear that this paint needed a tremendous amount of work to restore it, however I was up for the challenge and even did a test spot for the owner to see if my paint correction process would meet his expectations. After seeing the test spot, we set a date for the appointment.... This vehicle went through my normal cleaning and decontamination process, and was then followed with an intensive 3 step paint correction process to remove the majority of surface defects and greatly improve gloss and clarity. After the paint was restored, a ceramic paint coating was applied to help provide years of durable protection, easy maintenance, and incredible shine! This was a long project, but the results were fantastic!


Process
Exterior
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner & Tire Brush
Wheels: Sonax Full Effect Wheel Cleaner & Various Brushes
Pre-Wash: CG Citrus Wash via Foam Lance then pressure rinse
Wash: ONR
Bug Removal: Meguiar's D103 and Stoner Tarminator
Paint Decontamination: Medium Grade Speedy Prep Towel with Nanoskin Glide as Lubrication
Tape trim and other areas of concern
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Compound/Cutting (twice): M101 with CarPro Flash Pads & Meguiar's MF Cutting Pads via Rupes LHR21ES and Rupes LHR75e
Wash & Oil/Residue Removal: Pre-Soak panel with 50% IPA, then wash with ONR
Polishing: M205 with Lake Country White Polishing Pad
Coating Prep/Polishing Oil Removal: CarPro Eraser
Ceramic Paint Coating: CQuartz UK
Exhaust Tips: CG Metal Polish + Protection via #0000 Steel Wool
Glass: CarPro Eraser
Tire Dressing: Optimum Opti-Bond


Interior
All cracks and crevices blown out
Thorough Vacuum
All vinyl and plastic wiped down with 303 Aerospace Protectant
All weather floor mats rinsed and scrubbed with Meguiar's D103
Leather (driver's seat): Steam cleaned, scrubbed with D103, steam cleaned
Glass: CarPro Eraser




Before


When the vehicle arrived, the defects were easily visible in the sunlight. Notice the holograms, swirls, and scratches on every inch of paint.
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During


As always, I started with cleaning the wheels and tires. In typical BMW fashion, these had plenty of brake dust built up on them. Sonax Full Effect wheel cleaner makes quick work of this mess by reacting with the brake dust and loosening it from the surface.
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A lot of filth coming from the inner barrels of the wheels
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Wheels and tires cleaned up. While they certainly look better, all of the wheels truly need to be refinished as they were simply neglected for too long and are beyond repair.
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The vehicle was pressure rinsed, foamed, rinsed again, and then thoroughly washed.
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After the wash process, I began with the decontamination. Notice the amount of bonded particles that were removed on just a small part of the hood. It is critical to ensure all bonded contaminates are removed prior to polishing.
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I began my testing on the hood. After much correction, the difference was incredible. No high powered lights needed to see this transformation!
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50/50 on the hood
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50/50 shot on the door after compounding
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Fender before correction
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Fender after compounding
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Top of rear quarter panel before correction
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Top of rear quarter panel after compounding
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Rear bumper before correction
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Rear bumper after compounding
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Trunk before correction
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Trunk after 1st compounding pass (notice the remaining defects)
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Trunk after 2nd compounding pass. Even better correction.
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[zmcgovern45]

50/50 on rear quarter with halogens.
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50/50 on rear quarter with LEDs. You can easily see the holograms on this panel with these LED lights. This is damage from a previous detailer who was incapable of using a machine properly (which is obvious by the overall condition of the vehicle
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50/50 on driver's door
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Driver's door before correction. Notice the complete lack of reflection
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Driver's door after correction. Clarity drastically improved!
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50/50 on driver's door
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Matt finishing up with the side skirts with the 3" machine. He spent 7-8 hours working hard with the 3" machine on this project... that is A LOT of work!
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Rear bumper before correction
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Rear bumper after compounding
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Fender before correction
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Fender after compounding
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This 50/50 shows the improvement made with our final finishing polish. The left side has been polished and is an incredibly deep blue and the right side shows the haze left from the heavy cutting process.
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After correction and coating, this paint looked fantastic!
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The next day I started with the interior. While the car was only scheduled for the basic interior cleaning, I cleaned up the leather on the driver's seat to show the owner how he can improve his leather on his own if he wishes.
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Exhaust tip before polishing. I am confident that these have never been polished due to the incredibly thick buildup on the inside of the tip.
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Making progress
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Exhaust tips all cleaned up
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After


This truly looks like a different vehicle. The paint is now full of life. Reflections are crisp and vibrant.
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Unfortunately it was a cloudy/rainy day, but you can still see how great this paint looks. I am very pleased with our results! About 24 man hours went into this turn around, and it was well worth it!
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As always, thanks for reading!

[trashmanssd]

Wow, What did they do to that poor car. They must had one those pay 100-150 bucks for 3 months of unlimited (tunnel) car washes and ran the poor car through every other day.That 50/50 shot of the rear quarter panel drivers side is horrifying.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

That thing a BEAT to hell! Amazing save, Zach!!! Fantastic work. I bet the owner was VERY HAPPY!!!!

[Sizzle Chest]

Excellent save and work! Very impressive! Nice!! The car looks completely different now. It was a mess!

[Paul A.]

I'll second that "WOW"! Beautiful restoration to flat paint again. I like your diagonally oriented 50/50's, something different in addition to showing the dramatic difference. That E93 owner must've been ecstatic and, no, no new paint needed...let's keep the original!

[David Hayward]

Awesome work. I love jobs where the owner is ready for a repaint in their mind and you bring it back like this. They always appreciate it more.

[Marc08EX]

Amazing work as always Zach!! That thing was trashed but you brought it back to life! What was the owner's reaction when he first saw his car?

[BRLAHTI]

your work is astounding.. and your write ups make it even better! keep it up!

[PreludeVTEC01]

Wow! What great work and turn around!!

[rms64]

Beautiful work!

Since I have this same car in the same color, I'm interested in if you took any paint measurements on this one?

Again, awesome job!

[mojo122]

Outstanding work...as usual!

[Genuine Finish]

oh my gosh... i am blown away! Your work is absolutely amazing and truly on its own level!!! awesome correction and great work bud! keep buffin!!!

[rodneypierce]

This right here just goes to show what a great detailer can bring back! Awesome job my friend!!

[expdetailing]

This is one of those projects that turned out so well that I wish I could see the customer's reaction.:xyxthumbs: