Spring Detail: 2005 Carbon Black M3

[GoCubsGo]

History:

This is my personal ride which I try to maintain pretty well since I am an Autopian, but Spring called for a full detail so here`s the write-up.

There was some minor marring/RIDS on the mirrors, bumpers and a few panels. Overall it turned out great and I am now a big fan of Menzerna Power Lock, great sealant to work with (easy on and beyond easy off), it displays great depth and left the finish slippery as anything I have ever used. I had a sample tub of Dodo Super Natural I had not tried so I topped Power Lock with the DSN and it lived up to expectations.



NOTE 1: I conducted the detail in Michigan last week and the weather didn`t cooperate for the after “sun” pictures. I drove back home to Chicago over the weekend, did a quick ONR wash then took the sun/reflection shots. BTW: After driving almost 300 miles through on and off rain barely anything clung to the finish, I am really happy with my LSPs.



NOTE 2: My $150 camera doesn`t do justice to the wet look Power Lock gives off. This detail has justified the purchase of a DSLR camera (along with a photography class) from my end so I can illustrate better results going forward.



CORRECTION PROCESS:



Wash #1:

Gilmour Foamaster

DP Xtreme Foam Formula



Clay:

Sonus Green with ONR clay lube



Polishers:

PC7424 and PC7424XP (4" and 5.5" pads)



Polishes:

M105 or Menz PO83 as needed - LC Orange Pad

Menz P106FA on all panels (single pass) - LC White Pad

Menz PO87MC on all panels (single pass) - Uber Black Pad



Wash #2:

ONR (2 bucket method)



Final Surface Prep:

Menzerna Final Inspection (MFI) on all panels.



Sealant:

Menzerna Power Lock - Uber Black Pad (speed 2.5-3)

Applied back to back to ensure full coverage.

Additional layer added after 18 hour cure time.



Wax:

Dodo Super Natural x 2 - By hand





PROCESS WITH PIX:



The Lineup:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Lineup.jpg



Wash #1 (Foam Bath):

I added a little ZEP Citrus Degreaser to ensure the previous sealant/wax was removed.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Foam1.jpg



http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Foam2.jpg



Clay:

The majority of the panels had minimal levels of contamination, but the lower panels behind the wheels were as expected.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Clay.jpg



Engine Bay:

P21S TAW followed with CD2 Engine Detailer.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/EngineBay.jpg



Interior:

Aerospace 303, leather treated with Zymol Leather Cleaner and Zymol Leather Conditioner.

(The lighting isn`t ideal, but it turned out really nice)

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Interior.jpg



Wheels/Tires:

The summer wheels are treated with 4-6 coats of FK1000P during the off-season.

The tires are dressed with Opti-Bond Tire Gel.



NOTE: I tried out Armor All Wheel Protectant a couple months ago (due to the hype) and initially it worked great, but was completely useless after 3 weeks. I had an extra can of the Armor All Wheel Protectant laying around so I used it up during this detail, but I won`t be picking up any more.

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Wheel.jpg



A Couple Pre/Post Correction Shots:



Bootlid (Before):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/BL1-Before.jpg



Bootlid (After):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/BL1-Post.jpg



Rear Bumper (Before):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/RB-Before.jpg



Rear Bumper(After):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/RB-Post.jpg



Left Front (Before):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LF-Before.jpg



Left Front (After):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LFPost2.jpg



Right Mirror (Before):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/RMirror-Before.jpg



Right Mirror (After):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/RMirror-Post.jpg



Left Mirror (Before):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LMirror-Before.jpg



Left Mirror (After):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LMirror-Post.jpg



Left Side (Before):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LS1-Before.jpg



Left Side (After):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LS1-Post.jpg



Left Rear (Before):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LR-Before.jpg



Left Rear (After):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/LR-Post.jpg



Reflection/Sun shots:



Bootlid:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-BL1.jpg



Roof 1:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-Roof1.jpg



Roof 2:

(I don`t wash my car here, just use the parking lot for my ONR washes...plus I love this shot).

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-Roof3.jpg



Hood 1:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Hood2-Post.jpg



Hood 2:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/Hood1-Post.jpg



Right Front:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-RF.jpg



Ride Side:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-RS.jpg



Right Rear:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-RR.jpg



Left Front:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-LF.jpg



Left Side:

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-LS.jpg



Final Overalls (cloudy day):

http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-Hood2.jpg



http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv248/trudnick/2010%20Spring%20Detail%20M3/After-AFull.jpg



Thanks for looking.

[imported_artikxscout]

car looks great. You have my dream car :)

[Thomas Dekany]

Excellent work and a very nice car.

[tlc0706]

Great work / Great car

[solekeeper]

Nice addition with those ZCP wheels.



Very cool color, nice work.



I just got my e46M about 3 months ago :)

[LS1-MEX]

i love the m3......

[GoCubsGo]

car looks great. You have my dream car :)

Thanks, it was my 40th b-day present to myself last year and I could not be happier.




Excellent work and a very nice car.

Thanks!




Great work / Great car

Thank you much!




Nice addition with those ZCP wheels.



Very cool color, nice work.



I just got my e46M about 3 months ago :)



Thanks, OEM ZCP`s are worth it (good eye btw). Congrats on your M3.




i love the m3......



Fun car to drive. Thanks!





My Canon EOS XSi will be here in 2 days so I hope to have some better shots posted soon.