Neglected 03 BMW 330ci.

D

DSMu4ia

New member
330ci, I believe 2003. 50k-ish miles. Owned by a Doctors wife who "washed it every week" which meant, I drove it through the car wash every week or so. Never hand washed, waxed, or anything of the sort in its life.



I definately had my work cut out for me, luckily the paint was in good condition under the dirt.



Process:



Remove wheels and clean with Eagle1 All wheel cleaner, clean wheel wells with Simple Green.

Wash with Dawn, Clay with Opticlay, and Wash with Meguires NXT wash.

Polish with SSR 2.5 (Excel green pad)

Polish/Seal with Klasse AIO (Excel blue pad)

2x coats of Meguires NXT liquid.

NXT glass cleaner on the windows.

303 Aerospace protectant on dash/interior.

Interior vacuum'd and extracted with Bissel LGCM and hot water.

Poorboys Bold N Brite on tires.

Meguires Mag polish on exhaust tips.

Stoners Tarminator on some tar spots.

Engine got the hose treatment, followed by Simple Green and agitated by a small brush. Finished with CD-2 Engine Detailer spray.



Whole process took about 8 hours, but I'm slow and like to take breaks. Maybe 6 hours total.



Some random befores:



how_to_clean1.JPG


got_Tar.JPG


wheel_bef2.JPG


before2.JPG




Clay after ONE pass on the lower panels:

clay_one_pass.jpg
 
^^Agreed. GREAT work.



Do you leave the car on the hydraulic jack all the time or did you eventually put it on some jack stands?
 
That doesnt even look like the same car. Nice work man. Makes me nervous to work without stands, but I've never had a car fall either.
 
I hate cars like those...never reallly taken care of. Man, you did one heck of a job!!! WOW it looks brand new again. The owner must have been thrilled!! :getdown
 
Terrific transformation! The engine looks perfect and the paint swirl free!



A question-when you remove the wheels, do you use a torque wrench to tighten the wheel lugs to factory specs?
 
Excellent Job! Those lower panels and wheels were sick! I can really tell the flake is poppin from the pics. I am hoping that will be my next car!



Greg
 
Scottwax said:
Terrific transformation! The engine looks perfect and the paint swirl free!



A question-when you remove the wheels, do you use a torque wrench to tighten the wheel lugs to factory specs?
Click to expand...



Yes I do, most cars are around 90ft/lbs in my experience.



I usually remove the wheels on most cars, I'm pretty quick at it, and its so much easier than having to fight in between spokes. Not viable for many of you mobile detailers, but I only work from my home.



Thanks for all the props..means alot! :)
 
G- Twenty said:
You "clayed" the dirty car?



I thought you cleaned then clayed eighter before or after drying?
Click to expand...



I wash the car fully once, then clay the car, then wash again after claying. I use the car soap solution as my clay lubricant. Needless to say this car went through a bar of clay. Matter of fact my last few details have went through a bar of clay each. I need to find a good source for it.
 
Looks brand new again :xyxthumbs I really like that car, read that it handles almost as good as the M3.



Those are some ugly counterweights (?) on the wheels, really detracts from the look of the alloys. It's funny when a car is just detailed, small things like that tend to stand out.



Btw, why the AIO step?
 
Jackstands.. of course. I had to use flat-top ones due to the underbody requirements of this specific BMW.



AIO cleans up any marring from SSR2.5, cleans, and leaves the paint smoother/deeper/more wet in my experience.



I work not only on exteriors, but I do a little bit of work for locals with turbo cars such as DSM's and Turbo Honda's, taking wheels off is simple. :)
 
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