BMW 330ci Convertible

[Shine On]

Newly aquired by its new proud owner, this lovely Beemer was mechanically up to scratch but has lived a life of Marks & Spencer car park washes, and the paint was flatter than a witches t.......textbook. The roof was also in need of some attention as it had absolutely no repellancy whatsoever.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06027Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06028Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06029Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06030Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06031Small.jpg


First job was to vacuum the hood to lift as much dust and debris as possible, then out with the Karcher foam lance (from C&S), snowfoam and APC, hammered on and left to dwell. I gave the roof a scrub with a soft brush before rinising the whole lot off, and following up with a two bucket wash using Hyperwash.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/IMG_3236.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/IMG_3239.jpg

Once initially cleaned, it was apparent the car was plastered in tar deposits from the rub strips down. So, out with some AG tar remover and spent some time getting that off before going over the whole car with Sonus Grey. Being a city car all its life means it was pretty minging. Washed quickly again, rinsed and dried before taping up. At this point I treated the rood with 303 fabric protector, left to dry.

The car was fairly evenly covered in swirls, nothing too deep but quite dense. Starting at the bonnet, this is what was typical.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06035Small.jpg

A bit of experimenting, this was achieved (and the paint wasn't as hard as other E46's I've dealt with, including my own).

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06036Small.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06038Small.jpg

On around the car:

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06039Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06040Small.jpg

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06041Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06044Small.jpg

The only odd bit was the boot lid. Paint depth readings were no different from the rest of the car, the colour was spot on, yet the paint definitely looked as though it had a different 'texture' to it (can't think how else to describe it), and it was considerably harder than everything else. Strange.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06046Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06047Small.jpg

Once finished, HD Cleanse followed by Concours to finish. CG New Look trim Gel on trim & tyres, exhaust tips polished with NXT metal polish, glass polished with Einzett glass polish and wheels covered in CG Jetseal 109.

It was a long day and the sun had dropped behind the buildings when I finished (didn't help being in a square in South London, surrounded by 3 story buildings!). But the car looked lovely, dripping wet and very glossy. The customer was over the moon with it and has promised to send me some pictures taken in the sunshine when she has some time.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06051Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06053Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06054Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06055Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC06056Small.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/IMG_3265.jpg

Thanks for reading.

[AndyH]

Lovely car.

Weird about the boot though??? Possibly a factory defect?

Great finish on the Concours!

[Pad]

good stuff, especially liking the last shot. Do you use the touring as your work car? :cool:

[Gaz W]

Very Nice! :thumb:

[Shine On]

good stuff, especially liking the last shot. Do you use the touring as your work car? :cool:

I certainly do Pad, hence my presence on E30zone. I do love my Bimmers, and I've got some cunning plans for the Touring ;)

[Neil_S]

Its a stunning car, looks perfect now.

Shame we don't have some nice weather to really enjoy a car like that.

[Pad]

I certainly do Pad, hence my presence on E30zone. I do love my Bimmers, and I've got some cunning plans for the Touring ;)

excellent, I'm on my 5th 325 now.... cant seem to leave them alone.

[d6dph]

As always Paul, Cracking work. Nice to see the estate... sorry Touring being put to use :D

[Shine On]

Pack it in....estate indeed.

[Phil H]

excellent! awesome work!

[range rover dea]

wet:thumb:

[Envy Valeting]

Looking very good sir, and nice to see a blue one...may have to read back but what did you use on the hood out of interest?

[Shine On]

The 303 fabric protectant. Tis very good. I wish we could have got a Topaz Blue Bimmer, I like our Silver Grey, but its no match!

[Chris_VRS]

spot on chap:thumb: ..lovely colour to work on too:cool:

[dino]

Very nice work!

Im looking at E46's at the mo. Would love a 330 conv but running costs are too high for me plus i've seen a 320cd sport coupe that i'm lusting over lol

[Clark]

:thumb:

[Shine On]

Very nice work!

Im looking at E46's at the mo. Would love a 330 conv but running costs are too high for me plus i've seen a 320cd sport coupe that i'm lusting over lol

Thats what I bought (a 320cd Sport with the full M-tech goodies thrown at it ;) Couldn't justify the 330cd running costs)

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z142/shineondetail/DSC05372Small.jpg

[Nica]

Very nice detail, like the way the blue seems to glow oh and that last picture looks very nice :thumb:

Thank you for sharing

[streaky]

Very nice work. The car looked great.

[blueshoe]

great result on the car!:thumb:
I'm a newbie on here :o I have exactly the same car and colour too. I have a few questions which I was hoping you can answer. I've noticed that my roof also doesn't repel any water. Is the AG stuff the best to use?
I don't have a PC and so I have used AG SRP which removed 70% of the swirls. How can i get rid of the other 30%? Are there any products you can recommend?

[mouthyman]

very nice, lovely colour

[dirk]

looking good now mate