E90 M3

[E90_M3Ross]

Court_S said:

Yup, I’m doing the front and rear and dropping the side skirts too.

Even if yours isn’t crusty yet, just cleaning out any crap that’s collected and protecting it will be worthwhile. At least the 330i has a new subframe, so I don’t need to worry about that.

OK I'll look at getting the indy to do this when I also get the rocker cover gaskets done later in the summer.

[E90_M3Ross]

BenS94 said:

Quite an interesting article up on the current M3 CS. They've arguably chosen it's best angle...

Edit: Spotted your comment!

Edited by BenS94 on Tuesday 6th June 18:59

I'd totally ignore the weight figure to be honest. Yes, it's a couple of hundred kilos more than my E90 but it doesn't feel it to drive. It feels bigger (because it is) but in terms of playfulness and liveliness it doesn't. I bet it's a good steer..... And the journalist seems to say it is.

It's just a shame RE the noise. The induction noise on the E90 is utterly intoxicating.

[E90_M3Ross]

Car was going in for front tyres and a check over this week but no courtesy car so it's now going in week after next.

One question..... One advisory was a weaping rocker cover gasket. Quote for one replaced is £350, both banks for £530, so it seems prudent to do both.

My question is how bad does it look in this image? What would happen if I left it for a while? I had planned on doing it in July or August but half of me just thinks wait until winter or something.



Cheers.

[E90_M3Ross]

Cheers. I'll probably get it done after my holiday in September.

[E90_M3Ross]

d_a_n1979 said:

As my motorsport mechanic pal says; 'let it develop'

I think I'll get it done in August before my trip to Brecon Beacons. I assume they won't need to do an oil change with rocker cover gaskets?

All being well I plan to properly detail the car this weekend. I'm off work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so I plan to wash it, clay, polish (DA machine - probably 3 stages/compounds), then panel wipe it and ceramic coat it. Will do the wheels too. Going to be pretty arduous but I have the use of a garage this weekend so I can do it properly. Should get it looking good.

[E90_M3Ross]

bolidemichael said:

I think that you should respect the Welshie's pronouns and refer to Brecon Beacon by its chosen title.

Sorry, did I offend you

[E90_M3Ross]

RicksAlfas said:

E90_M3Ross said:

Car was going in for front tyres and a check over this week but no courtesy car so it's now going in week after next.

One question..... One advisory was a weaping rocker cover gasket. Quote for one replaced is £350, both banks for £530, so it seems prudent to do both.

My question is how bad does it look in this image? What would happen if I left it for a while? I had planned on doing it in July or August but half of me just thinks wait until winter or something.

Cheers.

Can you direct the oil on to the rear subframe somehow?

[E90_M3Ross]

The plan for the detailing weekend was go over tonight after work and at least wash the car and wheels so I could crack on tomorrow morning but considering I'm doing an 11.5 hour shift today and it's hot and the place I'm staying at has no air con I've decided to sleep in my nice cool bedroom this evening and drive over early tomorrow morning.

For those into detailing (Bolidemichael, I'm looking at you!) the plan is mainly the paintwork and wheels.

Wash the wheels, tyres and paint including all the shuts (door jams, bonnet/boot, fuel filler etc)

Clay bar

DA machine polish with heavy, then medium, then finishing compounds
Panel wipe the whole car ensuring no polish residue around any areas like badges, shut lines etc

Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light paint work and C5 the wheels and plastic trim (not much of that to be fair).

Once done, it'll get 2 coats of Gtechniq EXOv4.

Going to be a pretty boring and arduous weekend but the results should be good. I have access to a garage with loads of power supplies etc from basically tonight until Sunday night or even Monday morning. Hope to get polishing finished by tomorrow night, and then the coatings done Saturday, cure overnight and drive home on Sunday.

[E90_M3Ross]

Gallons Per Mile said:

You're planning to do the compounding in the wrong order. Start light and see whether you need to go heavier otherwise you're removing lacquer for no reason. IANAD but just remember that compounding is a very light version of sanding your paintwork down

There are some moderate scratches in some places which will definitely need a fairly heavy compound unfortunately, but yes, always finish with a "finishing" compound.

[E90_M3Ross]

Well today has gone well. Washed, clayed, 3 polishing stages and panel wiped. Next up..... Coatings!

The paint still has some scratches and blemishes but it is a LOT better than it was.










I'm knackered now.

The ceramic coatings will be done tomorrow

Edited by E90_M3Ross on Friday 16th June 18:39

[E90_M3Ross]

d_a_n1979 said:

That looks like glass! Fantastic job

Thanks. The coatings should add a bit more gloss tomorrow too. I'm tempted to coat the wheels in a minute as they won't take very long.

Think I'll be a bit stiff tomorrow though

[E90_M3Ross]

bolidemichael said:

Missed a bit...

You're so predictable

[E90_M3Ross]

Ended up coating the wheels with Gtechniq C1 and also used some for the plastic trim and the rather faded wiper arms. I've done the hard work now, just the paint to coat tomorrow.

Before/after photos - note how much darker and fresher the plastic looks. I've used this stuff before on plastic and even after 3 years it still looked box fresh.









Final pic of the day!

[E90_M3Ross]

cerb4.5lee said:

Agree and it looks fantastic Ross. Great work.

Thanks Lee

[E90_M3Ross]

bolidemichael said:

Actually, it's a great job with the C1 on trim.. aerospace 303 usually gets called in for this job, but you find C1
to be more effective? I may give that a go on the Merc.

I use 303 for the interior but for exterior there's absolutely no comparison, C1 is in a different league. 303 might last a month or so, this will last at least a few years. Just thoroughly clean the trim (wash, clay bar, panel wipe) and apply C1, buff off within a minute or so. Job done.

[E90_M3Ross]

bolidemichael said:

E90_M3Ross said:

bolidemichael said:

Actually, it's a great job with the C1 on trim.. aerospace 303 usually gets called in for this job, but you find C1
to be more effective? I may give that a go on the Merc.

I use 303 for the interior but for exterior there's absolutely no comparison, C1 is in a different league. 303 might last a month or so, this will last at least a few years. Just thoroughly clean the trim (wash, clay bar, panel wipe) and apply C1, buff off within a minute or so. Job done.

Amazeballs. The C5 worked really well on my alloys.

C1/C4/C5 are all the same product

[E90_M3Ross]

All done (well, a few hours ago now). Today was nowhere near as arduous.

1 coating of Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light (takes about 30mins to apply), then wait 2-3 hours, then 2x layers of Gtechniq EXO V4 (again, about 30mins to apply each layer).

24 hours to cure so it's stuck indoors still. It is looking very glossy and shiny....and the swirl marks have gone, few stone chips and deeper scratches but overall it's really good.

[E90_M3Ross]

Gallons Per Mile said:

It looks extremely shiny, well done!

Thanks

I think total time spent was a good 15 hours. And I didn't even touch the interior or engine bay

Still, it's done now! Should be looking good for a while now. I am really, really happy with the results, the spidery swirl marks that are present in basically any car of this age have gone almost completely, just a few deeper blemishes which can't be removed.

Also polished the exhausts and used Gtechniq CSL on those too (inside and out) as the coating is good for over 200deg celsius so hopefully will keep that cleaner too.

You can't clean the car for 7 days after EXO..... I don't want to think about cleaning it again for now

[E90_M3Ross]

Court_S said:

That looks stunning, but I love a good weekend getting stuck into cars cleaning them.

Polishing is definitely my least favourite task (well, anything beyond a single stage is) but the gloss after is always worth it.

Thanks. Yes, it was pretty arduous work but it's done now. It's still in the garage. They say 24 hours for EXO to fully cure, but reading online it says wait at least 12 hours before getting wet. 24 hours would he about 2pm, at which point we're due rain here

I suspect I'll probably leave a bit earlier.

At least if I go to recoat it in the future it should hopefully just need a very light single pass with a soft cut compound rather than a 3 stage marathon providing I look after it!

[E90_M3Ross]

d_a_n1979 said:

E90_M3Ross said:

bolidemichael said:

Actually, it's a great job with the C1 on trim.. aerospace 303 usually gets called in for this job, but you find C1
to be more effective? I may give that a go on the Merc.

I use 303 for the interior but for exterior there's absolutely no comparison, C1 is in a different league. 303 might last a month or so, this will last at least a few years. Just thoroughly clean the trim (wash, clay bar, panel wipe) and apply C1, buff off within a minute or so. Job done.

Agree

I used 303 on the engine bay plastics when I detailed it a month or so back... It's already faded...

I'll do what I did with my F01 and use AGs Vinyl/Rubber Care; no idea what's in it but that lasts so much longer and seems to soak in better too!

Ad for exterior black trims Gtechniq C4 is unbeatable IMO

Yes, C4 (which is absolutely identical to C1 and C5) is by a mile the best product I have found. I was tempted to use it on engine bay plastics but it seems too pricey for that laugh: That said, I've got plenty left as I had a 30ml bottle and only used about 15ml or so.

I'm so, so happy with the results of this weekend. Car looks absolutely mint now. Could do with new wheel centre caps, mind!