PetrucciM3 | BMW E92 M3 Jet Black Wash: Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Gloss Chemical Guys Heavy Duty Bucket Grit Guard Chemical Guys Super Fluffy Mitt Gilmour Foam Gun Clayed: Meguiar’s Medium clay Chemical Guys Synthetic Quick Detailer Paint Correction: Makita 9227C | 3M Backing Plate Flex 3403 rotary | Gloss-it 3 inch Backing Plate Meguiar’s 105 | Purple Wool pad/ LC Orange Pad Menzerna Super Intensive Polish | Purple Wool/ LC Orange pad Menzerna Nano Polish | LC White pad Menzerna 85rd | LC Blue pad CM5300 Fenix TK10 Detailer Domain Uber Towels Highline Paint Gauge Meter Protection: Jetseal109 LSP: Pinnacle Souveran Exterior Trim: Aerospace 303 Glass: Stoner’s Invisible Glass Wheels: EZ Detail Brush Swissvax Wheel Brush Chemical Guy’s Grime Reaper Surfcity Tire Shine Exhaust: Chemical Guy’s Metal Shine Engine: Various Brushes Chemical Guy’s Grime Reaper CD2 This beautiful M3 was scheduled for an exterior paint correction and engine detail. Just in time for Bimmerfest which will be held this upcoming Sunday in Pasadena. I’ve worked on a few jet black BMWs in the past before and I was prepping myself for the worst. This one was no stranger to the ultra soft BMW paint that everyone dreads. Boy was I in for ride. After the car had been thoroughly washed and clayed I looked for test spot that I could try a few combinations to see which would most likely work. I measured the surface of the rear quarter panel near the rear wheel, and I found 164 microns to be the general consu.. In the past I’ve had to use orange pads with SIP, with a few multiple passes to get the panel prepped for a finer polish. I first started out with a Lake Country white CCS pad with 106FA just see what it could do. I started out at 600 rpms then bumped Makita up to 1300 rpms then back down to 900 to burnish the finish. I checked my work with my H2O/IPA solution. That’s when the sweat started to form on my brow. Not only did it remove very few swirls but the panel was so soft that when I wiped away my solution I was leaving nice streaks that would not come off the panel. Every time I tried to wipe away the streaks I started to scratch the panel up again. I tried a quick detailer to see if I could get the streaking off, no luck. One wipe would remove the previous wipe but then leave another one to deal with. Round and round we go. I was thinking to myself that I would might have to do a no towel correction as I couldn’t get away from scratching the finish with my MF towels. At that point I thought I might not ever finish. Anyways, I found that one pass with 105 and SIP on a orange pad at 1500 rpms would remove a majority of the RIDs and swirls in the paint. That was great and all, but a white pad with 106FA could not finish down paint. So I tried my 3401 with a blue pad and 85rd and finally success. The combo I used was 105/orange pad SIP/orange pad 85rd/blue pad (Flex 3401 DA) and an IPA wipe down, as carefully as you can imagine, to remove the oils still left in the paint and to ensure a proper cleansed surface ready for the LSP. This combo worked great until I was about ¾ of the way of being complete with the paint correction. 105 and an orange pad wasn’t putting a dent in to the heavily swirled driver’s door. I pulled out a purple wool pad and combined 105 with it. I was afraid when I wiped away the polish I would have an even bigger mess to fix. But no, this worked excellent. There was barely any hazing, but a few RIDs still stood in the paint. I tried another swipe and again nothing was removed. This was quite frustrating at this point. So, I tried SIP on the wool pad for fun, and finally the clouds lifted and the weight that had been building up on my shoulders was released. To my surprise I found the panel with barely or no hazing/micro marring. Instead of grabbing the 3401 and blue pad I tried a white pad with 85rd see how that would do. Amazing, it finished down. How could this combination work now? My new combo that helped me finish off the car: SIP/purple wool pad 85rd/white pad Hopefully this can help anyone struggling with jet black BMW paint. Wash: Rear Fender - Before Rear Fender - 50/50: Rear Fender - Before: Rear Fender - After: Rear - Before: Rear - After: Trunk - Before: Trunk - 50/50: Trunk - After: Before: After: Driver's Door - Before: Driver's Door - After: Rear Driver Fender - Before: Rear Driver Fender - After: Engine Before:
Damn Man. You do a lot of BMW's LoL. Very very nice job man. I have never had to work on jet black and by the looks of things i hope i don't have to. The car came out stunning. Quick question, how did you manage to get back by the rear plate area? In the before pics that back panel was tore up and in the after it looked perfect. Some tight areas back there though. After photo are stunning as well. I really need another camera.
Fantastic Job. That car was rough. What happened? Auto car wash cycles? Looks like someone wiped it down with 400 grit sandpaper. Either way....car is hot. Love the rims. What kind of HP is that putting out? Again...great job as usual.
Amazing job what a gorgeous car. I don't know if I could own a black BMW I would probably go mental trying to keep it perfect.
The befores were nasty, but WOW, the afters have a fantastic depth, gloss and shine to it. Great work. Lovely M3 as well, nice choice on wheels.
Thank you for the kind words! I know right? I can't complain though, I'm loving it and I guess it helps that I have an old M3 myself hehe I used my 4 inch pads on my small gloss it backing plate. The rear end literally took me 3 hours to get back to shape. Thanks! Thank you! Unfortunately if you breathe on the car it is marred it's literally that soft. I would be thrown into an institution if I had to keep that car clean. Also, I believe that it's been in the shop for some work so that could explain some of the deeper imperfections. A lot of people just don't realize cars can get scratched up easy. It's currently holding the 650hp kit ESS offers. The old paints aren't that bad, I have a Cosmos and it's hard as a rock but not as insane to keep clean like the newer BMWs. But yeah I cry when it's covered in dust 20 minutes after I wash mine. Thanks! It has the 650hp S/C kit, I'll see if I can find the dyno sheet. Thank you guys! :applause2:
Thank you! Well not by choice really. I own an E36 M3 and my detailing work is really just word of mouth so I haven't been able to snag other makes. But, that doesn't bother too much, BMWs are my favorite cars, M3s in particular. Thank you!:worship2:
AWESOME work! :worship2: I can't believe how neglected that car was! :yikes: It looks a million times better, congrats.
