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  1. #1
    Super Member TTQ B4U's Avatar
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    Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    So my friend Rick who I've done several other cars for brought me his baby. This is hands-down the very best looking car for it's age that I've seen in a long while and perhaps the most desirable for me to pick if I could hand-pick one to have of my own. Truly timeless and stunning IMO. Inside and out this car is in better shape finish wise than most 1-2 year old cars I've seen. The Nappa Leather is as fine and soft and like new as the year is rolled off the line.

    This is his 2002 BMW M3 in Imola Red. As you can see, it has several subtle but tasteful modifications. What you can't see is the small VF Supercharger system located under the hood. I can't speak first-hand to it's performance but just a roll down the street to turn it around I can feel it's added power and torque ready to jump off the line. This one sounds awesome too but dare I say it looks better than it sounds.

    It's a garage queen seeing less than 5k miles per year and likely more wipe downs than washes. With that came years of swirls that while still looking good overall, the vehicle did lack that pure wet shine that comes with flawless paint and being a solid red would really awaken once polished and coated.

    To accomplish what he was looking for, Rick went with my Premium Polish Enhancement. We selected this as the paint is older and measured thinner than a full dual-stage correction would allow for comfort. Good news is the swirls weren't deep given they were done by hand simply wiper her down and I knew I could address them with relative ease.

    From there he went with a dual layer coating from Cquartz. I added in a nice trim coating over the few black-bits including the windshield cowling at no charge and also gave it's engine a decent once over and the trunk a solid vacuuming.

    So what does all the above translate to? Well, mother nature fought me off and odd with showers and mixed lighting but I think the pics show it off pretty well.


    As you can see, it was a swirl city:








    OMG that ride hieght and stance looks so good. He does have to raise it up a bit as it did rub just a bit over his new Firestone Tires. Not a big deal as it's only about 1/2" or so away from perfection.









    I think the design is timeless and that this is perhaps the best looking front end on the 3 Series period.






    18 years+ old and I am not kidding, there's 2 small chips on the entire car up front. The clear bra on there looks flawless as if it were done last week.












    I LOVE the color and the pure red done up with a great polish and coating is dripping wet in appearance.









    Mother nature and her mixed lighting but I still love this rear....






    The quality of some BMW finishes leaves a lot to be desired but this one is nearly perfect in terms of clarity. Orange peel is near non existent.









    Perfection in correction achieved. only a few trace marks are left in just about 2-3 places.






    Many thanks again to Rick for the continued trust in my work. Looking forward to giving the M5 a refresh next week.


    My Process:


    • Wash/Decon with Iron-X and Nano Mitt Medium
    • Polished with a Rupes Mille & a Nano both teamed with Yellow Mille Pads & a Flex 3401 with Orange Hexlogic Pads and CarPro Essence
    • Paint sealed up with CarPro Cquartz UK 3.0 in 2 layers with 1hr between them
    • Glass polished with Griot's Orange cutting pad and Griot's Fine Glass Polish
    • Glass Sealed with Rust-Oleum Never Wet for Glass
    • Tires Dressed with Meguiar's Hyperdressing
    • Trim dressed with WETS and wear applicable such as the grill and cowling, Meg's D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Spray was used
    • Wheels hand polished with CarPro Essence for added gloss and slight clean up with it's AIO property as some protection
    • Lower Grill & Side vents along with bits Under the hood treated with Meg's D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Spray
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  3. #2
    Super Member 57Rambler's Avatar
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    That is one sweet ride and your work really makes the red pop. That side reflection shot is just crazy !

    If you don't like the current weather pattern, don't look at next week's forecast ... we're in for more of the same.

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  5. #3
    Super Member Klasse Act's Avatar
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    O M G Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely StunningGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely StunningGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    Although I'm just not a fan of the color red on 99% of cars, except for the 1962 Bel-Air "bubbletop", there's no denying the SHIMMER of that paint! That said, the E46 M3 is in my personal top 5 for modern cars and I had "a moment" when I saw that profile shot with those rims, NAILED ITGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely StunningGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely StunningGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    Great job on the car, now let's hope the owner doesn't let the paint get that bad againGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

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  7. #4
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    Great work and great car. The E46 M3 is one of the most handsome looking cars ever made IMHO.

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  9. #5
    Super Member Klasse Act's Avatar
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    https://cdn.bmwblog.com/wp-content/u...lue-BMW-M3.jpg

    Laguna Seca Blue is my favorite color! Funny thing here, lighting REALLY changes this colorGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning
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    2022 Elantra N Cyber Gray
    Some say..."He likes Swedish fish because they're made with caranuba wax"

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  11. #6
    Super Member TTQ B4U's Avatar
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    Quote Originally Posted by Klasse Act View Post
    https://cdn.bmwblog.com/wp-content/u...lue-BMW-M3.jpg

    Laguna Seca Blue is my favorite color! Funny thing here, lighting REALLY changes this colorGorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning
    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    He was looking for a LS Blue when he bought this but they just weren't out there. His LeMans Blue M5 is coming to me for a refresh next week. I coated it 1-2 yrs back but it's a year round daily for him so it's time.

    I just love PURE Colors when they are dripping wet like this one

    2019 Pearl White Accord 2.0T Touring (mine)
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    Snowflake Pearl White CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus(wife)
    2010 Urban Platinum Metallic CRV EX-L & 2014 Mica Black Metallic Toyota Corolla S (kids)

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  13. #7
    Super Member Sizzle Chest's Avatar
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    And another stunner! Very well done!
    Scott Harle
    Autodermatology
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    Super Member Loach's Avatar
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    This is incredible, really fantastic shots of the car as well, thanks for sharing your work with us TTQ! I had the pleasure of driving an Imola supercharged M3 like this years ago, quite the fun beast to take for a spin! This one is really well sorted, tastefully modified, absolutely love it. Really looking forward to the LeMans M5 coming up!

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  17. #9
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    Side reflective shot is incredible. Beautiful work

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  19. #10
    Super Member 2wookies's Avatar
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    Re: Gorgeous BMW E46 in Imola Red; Truely Stunning

    Man that looks awesome, well done.

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