# 1996 E36 328 Sport in Aqua Metallic + Orange Peel = Machine sanding & 3 days work!



## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

*1996 E36 328 Sport in Aqua Metallic + Orange Peel = Machine sanding & 3 days work!*

Rookie had contacted me about some orange peel woes he was having with his rather nice individual 1996 E36 328 Sport in aqua metallic. He had the front end re-sprayed a while back and most of the flat panels had been flattened back and there were a few areas where the dreaded orange peel remained and he wanted this removed along with the paint on the rest of the car corrected.

*Day 1- Friday*
Paul dropped off the car around 6pm, these were the only shots i got on arrival (getting quite dark already)



















the car was just covered in the usual road grime and the wheels where covered in brake dust and a fair bit tar as i would find out later.

so I mixed up an inch of SSF with some maxi suds II










and foamed the car up, it was quite windy so a fair bit did go over me!



















while this was left to dwell i cleaned the wheels with autobrite orange zest cleaner 4:1 and a swissvax wheel brush










The car & wheels were then rinsed off at high pressure using the karcher and washed using the 2BM and dried using a miracle dryer. I then clayed the car using sonus green and last touch, there really wastn't much in terms on bonded contaminents on the car the paintwork was pretty smooth already with the lower areas picking up more of the contaminents.










I wanted to get the bonnet sorted at least this evening so I started by taking a few PTG readings










The readings confirmed that the bonnet had been re-sprayed










the front wings were reading between 350 and 500 microns which also confirmed that had been re-sprayed 3 times by the bodyshop!

Paul had told me about the orange peel on the middle ledge of his bonnet, this can be seen on the sloped area










so with the meguiars unigrit ready and soaking I began wet sanding with 2500 grit and following with 3000 grit




























I was monitoring the paint thickness after a few passes and around 8 mircons was removed. I removed the sanding marks using the makita and 3M Fast Cut Plus on a megauirs cutting pad










and this resulted in a nice sharp finish and no more orange peel










With the bonnet sanding complete I went round and corrected the rest of the defects on the bonnet, there were a few swirls and RDS



















The bonnet required 2 hits of Menzerna Intensive Polish PO85RD 3.02 on a Meguiars W8006 polishing pad with the polish spread @ 600rpm, 2 passes @ 1200rpm 5-6 passes @ 1800rpm then 2 passes @ 900rpm to refine which created this finish










The rest of the bonnet was then corrected




























I then removed the pastic trims from the front bumpers as I know (from experiencing of having an e36) that they are very easy to remove and saves taping them up and makes cleaning / dressing them easier (same with the rear bumper strips too)

I find the 3M black waffle polishing pad very good for polishing tight areas like bumpers as due to the softness and thiness of the pad it allows you to get the edge into the nooks and crannies, I always keep the speeds to 1500rpm and fast passes on the plastic areas to keep the heat down too.

some swirls on the front bumper










during polishing with Menzerna final finish PO106FF










Corrected










It was midnight now so I decided to call it a night and start again early tommorow

*Day 2 - Saturday*

Started @ 9:30 and set out to get the orange peel correction finished first, then i could focus on correcting the rest of the car.

So onto the wings you can see the orange peel in this pic










I also noticed some nice scratches on the n/s wing










so I had some Mirka 2000 & 3M trizact 3000 grit sanding discs ready, soaking in some fairly liquid










I sprayed liberal amounts of last touch onto the wing and procceded to wet sand the flat areas of the wing with light pressure on the PC on speed 2.










I kept checking my progress after 4 passes and once I was happy that the orange peel had been significantly reduced I did a few passes with the 3000 grit 3M trizact discs to make removing the sanding marks a bit easier.










This was repeated on the other wing too










There was quite a bit of orange peel on the thin flat sections on top of the doors and a little bit on the sides, so I wet sanded these areas by hand and the side flat sections by machine.





































Once all the sanding had been done I had only removed a maximum of around 5/6 microns of clear coat, it was also time to remove the sanding marks so I got out my sample bottle of 3M Fast Cut Plus 50417 which I got from Jim @ Autoperfection to see what it could do.










It has quite a similar consistency to menzerna powergloss, I applied a couple of blobs on a Meguiars W7006 cutting pad and spread @ 600rpm, 2 passes @ 1200rpm and 5 to 6 passes @ 1800rpm and then down to 900rpm for 2 passes to refine.










Really easy to work with and removed all the sanding marks in the first attempt and it also leaves a pretty good finish for an aggressive compound, I used this combo on the other sanded areas and followed up with Menz IP 3.02to remove any marring/trails/holograms and refine (found i had a few light holograms when FCP was used on the roof).

and no more orange peel










with the orange peel removal and sanding complete I then continued with the rest of the panels, from my PTG readings it looks like both of the rear quarter panels had been re-sprayed and some stage so the only original paint was the bootlid and roof, the re-sprayed areas were correcting nicely with Menz IP 3.02

Polishing the rear quarter










bottom of rear quarter corrected










Noticed a few RDS on the top of the rear quarter










These needed 3M Fast Cut Plus to remove and then refined with IP 3.02










I then set work on the rear of the car and noticed some compounding dust in the boot shuts










Must have been left there by the bodyshop, this area was cleaned with autobrite orange zest cleaner 10:1 and the swissvax brush along with the area behind the bumper rubbing strips which had a load of crap behind them!




























I went about polishing the rear bumper with the black 3M waffle pad and Menz IP 3.02 the speed was kept to 1500rpm and the 3M waffle pads disperse heat very well too.










Corrected










It was approaching 6pm and I had to call it a day pretty soon as my attendance was required at a family birthday party typical! so the last job I did today was to get the wheels thoroughly clean so these were clayed










there was quite a few tar spots on them










after a good claying session










*Day 3 - Sunday *

Started promptly @ 8:30am as I had the roof, n/s rear quarter, bootlid and lower panels to correct and then all the panels needed to be PO85RD'd!

So I started with the roof and the PTG readings where showing between 165 and 180 microns of paint so looks liked it was original paint showing a few scratches










and swirls



















So started with Menz IP 3.02 and a Meguiars polishing pad and this made a good improvement but the deeper marks still remained










So I stepped up to a cutting pad & 3M Fast cut Plus










This was then refined with Menz IP 3.02 afterwards.

I noticed a scratch on the bootlid










It was fairly deep but still only in the lacquer so I took some PTG readings and there wsa enough paint to play with so out came the unigrit! I started with 2500 and then finished with 3000



















there were a few other marks on the bootlid so this was polished with FCP which also removed the sanding marks and the scratch










The n/s rear quarter panel was also corrected



















With all of the bulk of the correction work complete I then began going round all of the panels with a 3M blue waffle finishing pad and Menzerna PO85RD which gives the best gloss from a finishing polish and doesnt take too long to do as you can work with larger areas and dont have to focus on defect correction just refining and enhancing the finish.










This was spread @ 600rpm, couple of passes @ 1200rpm and 5-6 passes @ 1700rpm with 2 passes @ 900rpm to refine, this was breaking down nicely too










This always adds that little bit extra in gloss



















The lower areas were corrected and refined too










I had previously removed all of the front & rear bumper trims










These were cleaned with orange zest cleaner but still had polish residue stuck in the textured parts, must have been there from a previous polishing session.










However I rubbed my secret polish residue remover onto the trim.... (can u guess what it is yet?)










And rubbed it in with a microfbre and removed to be left with a nice black residue free piece of trim










and the secret ingredient....










tesco's finest! Lol

The rest of the plastic trims where cleaned and dressed with chemical guys new look trim gel and rubbers dressed with 303 aerospace protectant, glass was cleaned inside and out with hd cleanse.

Dodo juice lime prime was applied to the car with a microfibre applicator on the tighter areas and via the PC and a finishing pad on speed 5 & 6 to the rest of the panels










The LSP of choice is my current favourite Victoria Concours wax, this was applied with the red side of a german applicator pad










It was dark by the time I had finished so didnt manage to get any after shots, here are a couple of random corrected ones I have



















and some photos taken by the owner Paul the next day


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## Silva1 (Sep 16, 2007)

nice work :thumb:
job well done

i guessed it work peanut butter


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Fantastic work, some serious sanding work, payed off though  :thumb:


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

Lots of hard work there!! Nice one!


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## CupraRcleanR (Sep 2, 2007)

Cracking write-up and attention to detail. Some great skill on offer there.

Thanks for sharing and the explanation and products used most helpfull. spot-on.


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

Nice work there mate. Ive met rookie( bought some bits off him and he's a nice chap.


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## Barchettaman (Dec 16, 2007)

Cracking write-up and an excellent job - really enjoyed that, thanks for sharing it.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Superb work and an excellent write up :thumb:


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

excellent post and great results - the step by step erite-up was very useful :thumb:


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## declanswan (Feb 27, 2008)

how come you left the tyres??


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

as i was doing the write up i thought people might fall asleep but im glad its been of some use!

and paddy yeah Paul is a nice chap 

and yes I know the one thing i forgot to do was dress the tyres I was still applying the wax when Paul turned up to collect the car!

will see if Paul can get some pics with the tyres dressed...


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## SURFERROSA (Feb 7, 2007)

What a bit or work there. Very impressed I am and I really enjoyed the write up too. I take my hat off to you Breezy:buffer: 

Hope you enjoyed the party!!

JOHN


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## fordy (Mar 6, 2007)

Really good detailed write up, thanks for sharing...miffed by the peanut butter by i dont have any unpainted trim on my car that gives me any issues to even try it on :thumb: 

PS. If it was crunchy i may get some in, just incase!


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Super detail and a very enjoyable write up, I enjoyed reading this one mate.

Thanks for sharing:thumb:


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## CK888 (Apr 23, 2006)

That's a cracking write-up, excellent paint correction mate:thumb:


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## Kap01 (Aug 12, 2007)

Fatastic Work!! LOOKING great...


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## Mossman (Jan 10, 2008)

Many thanks for posting a cracking detail report! 

Superb work!


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## Pad (Jun 27, 2006)

excellent work mate, really enjoyed reading that.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Nice write up mate and an excellent finish and attention to detail.


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## Pad (Jun 27, 2006)

by the way, where did you get the sanding discs from? I only use a rotary for polishing but have a 5 1/2inch DA sander, will they be ok on there? Got a whole car to do soon and I fear my 3000 unigrit will kill me if I have to do it by hand...

Cheers


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

great work, very nice gloss now


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

Pad said:


> by the way, where did you get the sanding discs from? I only use a rotary for polishing but have a 5 1/2inch DA sander, will they be ok on there? Got a whole car to do soon and I fear my 3000 unigrit will kill me if I have to do it by hand...
> 
> Cheers


I got a box of 20 mirka discs from ebay and a pack of 5 3M trizact discs from my local 3M supplier, I think the cheapest place to get the discs is Smart Express amd yes sanding a whole car by hand will take a lifetime!


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Best non pro write up I've read in a while. I like the colour and it's great now that it's polished up. Well done Breezy! :thumb:


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## AndyC (Oct 25, 2005)

Cracking job - wouldn't mind some wetsanding tuition if you're up for it?


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

AndyC said:


> Cracking job - wouldn't mind some wetsanding tuition if you're up for it?


Yeah sounds good mate although there isnt that much to it really, just dont spend ages on one panel like you would when polishing with the pc otherwise the panel will probably end up becoming very shiny pretty soon!


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## Tyrrell (Jan 29, 2007)

need tyre shine !!! apart from that looks really good mate!!


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## kings.. (Aug 28, 2007)

great work there... gotta love the E36 Sport


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## Ray in Kingwood (Feb 16, 2008)

What a great post. I really enjoyed that.Outstanding work!


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## saxoboy07 (Oct 20, 2007)

Amazing job on the bmw love the colour of the car:thumb:


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## 328i-sport-ross (Oct 17, 2007)

Very nice work once again mate!
I got hold of a rotary this week,going to practise on my old mans 4motion before i let it loose on mine lol


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

328i-sport-ross said:


> Very nice work once again mate!
> I got hold of a rotary this week,going to practise on my old mans 4motion before i let it loose on mine lol


go easy with the rotary mate!

and cheers for the comments guys


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## NKS (Feb 22, 2007)

Stunning work and an awesome write-up :thumb:


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## Bigears (Feb 5, 2008)

Nice correction job, write-up and some really good pics. Thanks for taking the time and effort.

Looking forward to seeing more of the same in the future.

Cheers :thumb:


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## MickCTR (Mar 4, 2006)

Superb. Really impressive work mate :thumb:


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## dw0510 (Oct 22, 2006)

Very good work


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## BILL (May 12, 2006)

really enjoy reading your posts Pav and this is another great write up :thumb:


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## Buzzsaw (Nov 4, 2007)

Excellent job


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## Pad (Jun 27, 2006)

Thanks for the info Breezy, presumably its the Mirza Abralon gear you bought? Will have a look on ebay as well.

Cheers


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## mouthyman (May 1, 2006)

looks great


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## Pad (Jun 27, 2006)

sorry to keep hijacking, but are these the right Trizact dics?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3M-Trizact-Fi...ryZ30923QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Cheers


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

Pad said:


> sorry to keep hijacking, but are these the right Trizact dics?
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/3M-Trizact-Fi...ryZ30923QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
> 
> Cheers


The trizact starter pack i bought was 50173 might be worth asking the seller what grade they are however I would recommend getting 2000 and 4000 grit mirka abralon discs


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## andyteg (Mar 5, 2007)

Excellent work! Can see the result of all the long hours of graft mate!


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## brayboy (Jun 6, 2007)

excellent work there, i like the tip about the peanut butter


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

brayboy said:


> excellent work there, i like the tip about the peanut butter


it really does work as you can see :lol:


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## ROOKiE (Jan 12, 2008)

I have to say a big thank you to Breezy for his efforts on my car.

There were a few things I was unhappy with following a recent respray, along with various swirl marks from years of harsh sponge washing.

I had seen Breezy's previous work over on the detailing section of E36Coupe, and I liked what I saw. I contacted him and the price I was quoted to have the work done was very reasonable indeed.

So I dropped the car off on Friday and collected it on Sunday. Although it was starting to get dark when I got there, I could already see the car was transformed. The colour of the car had so much depth and shine, much more than I had ever managed to achieve.

The swirl marks had been removed and a few nasty scratches were also removed. When I saw the car the next day in the light I was very pleasantly surprised. Even in direct sunlight I could not make out any swirl marks, and this in turn gives the paint a much deeper shine, and spotless reflection. I am not exaggerating when I say the car looks years, years younger. In fact it looks as close to new as it could for a 12 year old car! 

There are a few minor marks left, and as Breezy said to me it is probably 96% corrected. However with all the orange peel and defects Breezy had to contend with, he has done a simply fantastic job.

I would recommend this type of work to anyone that wants their car to look top notch. Breezy is a very friendly, helpful and dedicated chap. He has transformed the look of my car, and I am very grateful for the work he has done.

I will certainly use Breezy again in the future, and I could not recommend him highly enough to anybody else out there considering getting their pride and joy detailed.

Cheers again Breezy mate, I will be in touch when I need my next detail completed


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## davyboy944 (Dec 30, 2007)

Great job!


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## karburn (Feb 1, 2008)

Great work and a good tip about the peanut butter! I can see a future poll: "what brand of peanut butter do you prefer for polish residue removal" :lol:


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## The Apprentice (Nov 22, 2007)

karburn said:


> Great work and a good tip about the peanut butter! I can see a future poll: "what brand of peanut butter do you prefer for polish residue removal" :lol:


just make sure it's organic


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

yes well the peanut butter thing just seemed to be a myth but i have been using it very quite a while so though it would unveil its official polish residue removal properties!


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Real nice work, really made it look special again

I always prefered the 5 spoke (came with the cab or an upgrade) when they were new but i still looks a picture


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## Mr Singh (Apr 4, 2006)

Very nice work! 

I so need to get a rotary


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Fantastic work, your Sir are a real PRO


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## Justtourin1 (May 18, 2007)

Very niiiice, congrats to you.


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