Daily Driver Restored Inside and Out - 2010 BMW X3 Jet Black - Paint Correction - Coating - Interior - Attention to Detailing Peoria

[zmcgovern45]

The owner of this vehicle is a repeat customer. After performing a complete interior and exterior service on another vehicle last year, we were asked to do the same for this one. This vehicle had survived the past 4 years with his daughter at school, and his wife was going to be driving it throughout the upcoming year so they wanted it cleaned up and "rescued from the way a teenager left it".


This car was in need of a great amount of work. The paint was dull and damaged from years of poor car washing, and the interior was in need of a deep cleaning and decontamination. While not perfect, the paint yielded an incredible transformation with a two-step correction process that drastically improved the color and clarity making it look years newer. The paint was protected with a ceramic paint coating for added gloss and durable protection. The interior was thoroughly cleaned to revitalize the leather and plastics. In the end, it looks like a completely different vehicle.






Process


Engine
Rinse
Cleaned with D101 and D108 with various brushes
Rinsed
Blown dry with Blaster Sidekick
Dressed with 303


Exterior
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner and Tire Brush
Wheels: Sonax FE, Wheel Woolies, EZ Detail Brush & other brushes
Foam Pre-Soak: CarPro Iron X Snow Soap via DI Foam Lance
Wash: CG Citrus Wash & DI Rethickulous Wash Mitt
Chemical Decon: Iron X Lemon Scent
Mechanical Decon: Medium Grade Speedy Prep Towel with Glide for lubrication
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Masked off delicate areas
Compounding: D300 & Meguiar`s MF Cutting Discs via G21, LHR21ES, and LHR75e
Polishing: HD Polish on White Rupes Pads & M205 on White LC Pads via G21, LHR21ES, and LHR75e
CarPro Eraser Wipe down
Paint Coating: Optimum Gloss-Coat
Wheel Sealant: CarPro HydrO2
Glass: CarPro Eraser
Tires: CarPro PERL (1:1, 2 coats)
Exhaust Tips: CG Metal Polish


Interior
Blow out cracks and crevices with compressed air
Thorough vacuum
Carpets cleaned with ONR and APC (Meguiar`s D101 10:1)
Hard Surfaces cleaned with steam & Einszett Plastic Reigner
Leather cleaned with D101 & Leather brush
303 applied to all surfaces


Feel like I am forgetting some stuff, but that is the majority of it... we had this car for 10 days so it is all kind of a blur.










The vehicle arrived with a considerable amount of dirt and debris covering every surface































As always, we begin with cleaning the tires. You can see the thick layer of dirt and grime that had accumulated on the rubber.









After several rounds of cleaning, the white residue and brush indicate the tires are properly cleaned.









We then turned our attention to the wheels, where a large amount of dirt and brake dust had built up. The wheel cleaner helped to break down the grime before we started cleaning with our brushes.












After the wheels and tires were cleaned and sealed, we begain cleaning the paint. The car was soaked with a heavy mixture of shampoo and degreaser to help break down the loose partcles before washing. The car was then thoroughly washed, chemically decontaminated, mechanically decontaminated, washed again, and then dried.









Once cleaned, I began my testing on the paint to find a combination of products that would yield the best results. The difference was going to be great on this paint.









We proceeded to restore the paint one panel at a time. Here you can see the obvious difference in color and clarity in the hood after just compounding.









50/50 on hood









There were still a considerable amount of deeper defects remaining throughout the car, however the gloss is not hindered by these remaining scratches.









Hood before









Hood after compounding... the hood had a large amount of RIDS that appeared to be from objects being placed on the hood.









50/50 on fender after compounding. Again, notice the deep black that is being restored














Door before









Door after compounding. Noticeable haze/marring is present after the heavier cutting process. This is later refined with a finishing polish.









Door before









Door after compounding. Noticeable haze/marring is present after the heavier cutting process. This is later refined with a finishing polish.









Checking our work in the sun. The paint was looking much better









Bug guts have etched into the paint in several areas. Keep in mind this is after the vehicle has been thorough cleaned and decontaminated. The stains that you see are not above the surface, but rather acid stains that have penetrated the paint causing permanent damage.









A great deal of the damage was removed, however some was deemed too deep to safely remove.









Once the vehicle was compounded, we proceeded with polishing. This process removes any haze left during cutting and restores a clear finish that is even deeper and darker.












The paint was carefully wiped down with a solvento to remove any residual oils from the correction process, and was then coated with a ceramic coating for added gloss and long-term protection.









I then turned my attention to the interior where the leather was deep cleaned to remove years of grime. This process restored the original color to the leather and also left it feeling softer.












The carpets were lightly soiled and there was dirt and debris throughout.

[zmcgovern45]

The interior was thoroughly vacuumed, carpets were cleaned, and all hard surfaces were scrubbed and wiped down.













The car is now deep and dark with crystal clear reflections.























As always, thanks for reading!

[Stokdgs]

Zach,
That is absolutely Beautiful !!!!
Nothing looks better than Jet Black perfectly corrected, polished, and coated !!!
Another Black, Rolling Mirror on the streets of Peoria, IL...
Inside and Out, you Killed it !!!!!!!
Thanks for the awesome work, write up and pics !
Dan F

[Oldfordisbetter]

Awesome job Zach. Turned out great.

[Paul Mitchell]

Great job and great photos!

[JSFM35X]

Great job. Thanks for sharing all the details.

[SYMAWD]

Fantastic job. I work at a BMW dealer and every 1st gen X3 that comes in is disgusting and in terrible shape. You made this look like new.

[zmcgovern45]

Thanks everyone!

[Accumulator]

I love reconditioning jobs on daily-drivers!

zmcgovern45- Great work, and I commend you on not overdoing the correction.

How did you choose between the HD Polish and M205? I found it interesting that you used both...

[Ronkh]

Looks better than the day it was delivered, I`m sure.

[Pats300zx]

Amazing work Zach !!!

[jimmie jam]

WOW, outstanding result!

[AndrewBigA]

thats alot of swirls! piece of cake for you! nice job bud! i bet your glad that its over!!

[Bunky]

Great job!

[zmcgovern45]

Thanks guys!

I love reconditioning jobs on daily-drivers!

zmcgovern45- Great work, and I commend you on not overdoing the correction.

How did you choose between the HD Polish and M205? I found it interesting that you used both...

Thanks! Well, the M205 was used on the hood and produced a mar free finish, but it took a bit more care to finish down as well on the sides of the car for some reason... HD polish proved to be quicker and easier to use on those panels in this particular case.

thats alot of swirls! piece of cake for you! nice job bud! i bet your glad that its over!!

Always glad when a job is finished, but this wasn`t too bad. We had it for such a long period of time that we only had to work a couple hours here and there to get it done... made it pretty stress-free.