BMW M3 Detail

[Woodie]

This weekend I got to spend some quality time with a 4-door M3.

The car before being washed and clayed, showing signs of normal dirt and grime from daily driving.











Some evidence of previous detailing/waxing efforts





The now standard pre-foaming



What was quite amazing was how differently the foam reacted on the normal metal painted areas versus the non-metal (not sure of actual material) front fenders. More on the fenders later.



After washing and claying









Got an idea of paint thickness to see if there were any specific thin areas to watch out for. The paint was fairly standard, except for the right rear panel which had some repair work done to it and was therefore returning much higher readings. As mentioned earlier, the front fenders aren't metal, so my PTG which can only handle ferous and non-ferous metal surfaces did not play along. All readings are reflected in microns.

Front fender



Normal range





Slightly thinner, but still within spec



Repainted panel



Then came plenty hours of work. I was focussed on the task at hand, so didn't take any photos along the way.

Unfortunately, the car went into limp mode (not electronically - see photo below), and I couldn't move it out of the garage for proper full sun shots.



Some shots I managed to get of the finished product while still garaged and partially lit by natural light.



















And finally - my companion for the day. One of the most affectionate, friendly and chilled cats I have ever come across.



Thanks for looking.