# BMW 3-Series M-Sport CARBON BLACK



## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Since about this time last year, I promised the boss I would detail his car one weekend and bring it back looking like new. [As I did with the other bosses X5]

Being Carbon Black, the sponge and chamois has left its mark, quite literally on the paintwork.

The car started off like this










Wheels were in particularly bad condition. 2 hours on a Friday night saw a decent turnaround.





































Pressure washed, soaked with VP Bilberry and agitated with the Vikan long spoke brush and a nylon toothed detail brush.










Typical bodywork shots show a little attention needed.




























Quite a lot of deep scratches in the paintwork










Engine bay was very dirty. A fair amount of road debris and leaves in here to be cleared out before any work continued.














































All electrical components were cling filmed to avoid unnecessary overspray from the pressure washer on 'low'.
Firstly AG Engine and Machine Cleaner was sprayed all over and left the penetrate for a few minutes.
Silverline detailing brushes were used to agitate.
Engine bay then rinsed with the PW.
Cling film removed, plastics and other components wiped over with a dry microfibre cloth before being dressed with 303 Aerospace protectant.
This gives a nice, satin, non-greasy finish.














































Just like new. :thumb: I was pleased with the results.

Now back to the paintwork.
I know I had my work cut out, and Jim W kindly lent a hand for a couple of hours with the Chicago Rotary and his arsenal of kit.
[This ended up being about 6 hours help - which I really appreciated - THANKS JIM!!]

First task was to carry out a paint inspection with the Paint Thickness Gauge and record the results so we knew what we had to play with.










A little diagram I prepared the night before and noted all the PTG readings on.

Typical swirlage and scratching on the bonnet in this shot










Jim concentrated on the bonnet and roof with the rotary whilst I machine polished the sides and boot with the Porter Cable loaded up with Menz Intensive Polish on light cutting/polishing pads.

The rotary made light work of those panels, though a few stubborn deeper scratches remained.

End of day one we had the car tucked up in the garage out of the rain looking pretty good. Glazing and protection to follow the next day.










Sunday morning I applied Poorboys Black Hole to the whole of the paintwork and buffed to a nice gloss before applying a layer of Raceglaze '55' wax.
This was left on for just under 10 mins on each panel and buffed with a thick pile MF.

The car was rolled out into the sun for all to see.










Tyres dressed with Megs Endurance Tyre Gel applied with a foam applicator and left to dry.




























Remember the dull bonnet earlier?



















And with the hood popped



















And I leave you with this. 
Suffice to say, one happy owner on Monday morning.


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## Ste T (Jul 17, 2008)

stunning, the first word that pops into my mind, great work bud


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## DubbedUP (Oct 2, 2007)

Absolutely stunning! Excellent work...


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## 888-Dave (Jul 30, 2010)

Very nice buddy, I do hope your boss appreciated the hours you put into it, Where did you get that diagram from?... great idea :thumb:


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## Focuslicious (Jun 29, 2010)

Very good job


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## Andy. (Apr 11, 2010)

You well and truly brought that beamer back to life.


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## Ian2k (Apr 13, 2009)

Awsome result for 2 hours work


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## DimGR (Jun 7, 2009)

someone is getting a raise


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## SubtleAggressiv (Jul 17, 2010)

That looks beautiful! Will be getting some of that 303 aerospace protectant in the future, the engine bay looks perfect.


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## RICKY-M-M (Dec 5, 2007)

Stunning work! Im for buying a 330ci sport in carbon black next week. 

What do you think of the Poorboys Black Hole?


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Nice work mate


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## Eddy (Apr 13, 2008)

Amazing is all I can say, looks stunning.


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## Phil23 (Nov 29, 2008)

Great job there. Looks great out in the sun.


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Absolutely Awesome, what a transformation!! Excellent work:thumb:

Nick


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## grayfox (Apr 15, 2008)

swear thats added ££ to the resale value, great job!! your boss should give you a raise


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Great work, looks excellent now! How did you find the PC on the doors, wings etc? Several hits with IP required to get the correction you were after? Only ask as I will be using my DAS6 to correct my 1 series in sparkling graphite.

Thanks for the write-up


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## Tricky Red (Mar 3, 2007)

Nice job matey. Looks quality now. Enjoy the match on Sat. 

I might have a surprise to demonstrate to you soon.


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## FrazzleTC (Jul 4, 2009)

Lovely work, amazing transformation! Very nice colour too!


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## c16rkc (Apr 15, 2010)

It actually looks like a different car, it's that good!!

Well done!


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

Fantastic work, very well done! :thumb:


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## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

Nice job :thumb:


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## Czechboy (Jan 24, 2007)

Did you have any luck getting out the 3 scratches on the passenger wing? What did you use?

Amazing transformation


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## Deeg (Mar 30, 2009)

Stunning work there! :thumb:


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

RICKY-M-M said:


> Stunning work! Im for buying a 330ci sport in carbon black next week.
> 
> What do you think of the Poorboys Black Hole?


I think the paintwork was at such a level that the PBBH didnt really make much difference. Added some gloss though.
I would like to try it on a car that had not been machine polished though to see what results you could get.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Tricky Red said:


> Nice job matey. Looks quality now. Enjoy the match on Sat.
> 
> I might have a surprise to demonstrate to you soon.


I'm intrigued mate!
Tell me more.....at least give me a clue!


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Czechboy said:


> Did you have any luck getting out the 3 scratches on the passenger wing? What did you use?
> 
> Amazing transformation


Very good improvement though not removed completely.
Menz Intensive Polish on a yellow Sonus SFX1 pad followed by SFX2 pad and black hole made it only noticeable very close up.:thumb:

At the point where only someone washing the car would see it!


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## Tabbs (Aug 3, 2009)

great job and turnaround :thumb:


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## pete5570 (Jun 11, 2010)

James_R said:


> I think the paintwork was at such a level that the PBBH didnt really make much difference. Added some gloss though.
> I would like to try it on a car that had not been machine polished though to see what results you could get.


It does make a difference on cars with swirls/non corrected. I can't fault BH, i use it on my dark blue Jaguar and even applied by hand (needs to be worked), it makes a big difference, the shine is brilliant even before waxing.


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## littlejack (Jun 11, 2008)

awesome job fella


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## davewhitt (Aug 30, 2009)

well that's made my mind up ,i'm having one of those ,great job with the car.


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## Jim W (Feb 3, 2007)

Well done James - car looked spot on when I saw it on the Sunday!

This pic is awesome:










Glad your boss was pleased!

...I'll try get back on a little later with a few of my pics.


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## Jim W (Feb 3, 2007)

My contribution..

Bonnet in a bad way:










50/50's after multiple hits with 85RD 3.02 and a 3M Compounding Pad:




























Moving up and on to the roof: Before and after:



















General afters on the bonnet:



















and finally, the Master at work!


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## Ojai (Feb 24, 2008)

Stunning work! Great depth.


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## Sti_Brumby (Aug 19, 2010)

1 word. stunning


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## cleslie (Feb 19, 2006)

Great work. Still prefer the E46 to the newer models.


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## Dizzle77 (Mar 27, 2010)

bloody hell! Looks like it's just been freshly painted.

Great work mate :thumb:


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## DSMGZT (Sep 3, 2009)

superb!


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Jim W said:


> and finally, the Master at work!


:lol:

He he. 
Sweat was dripping into my eyes at that time.:buffer:

Great help on bonnet and roof cheers Jim. I owe you one.


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Stunning job, how do you apply blackhole by DA Please?
Settings and time worked if possible please?
Thanks


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

I applied to pad as usual, spread over panel on speed 2 to cover evenly, then up to speed 5 until the polish becomes clear on the panel.
Couple of minutes work time per area.

Then buff to a shine.


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## alexskord (Jan 29, 2009)

good.very nice work


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## Andy_A. (Jul 25, 2010)

Great work!


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## MLAM (Jan 21, 2009)

Wow absolutely stunning!

I own a E46 myself and it's always great to see one getting the treatment they deserve.


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Very, very , very nice work mate!!!!

All this was done with a DA or did you hand polish also?


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## kendo89 (May 3, 2011)

Are you sure thats black :argie: looks a lovely dark blue in the light at end!!


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## Keith_sir (Jun 27, 2011)

Amazing mate. Loving the diagram with thicknesses marked down.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Demetri said:


> Very, very , very nice work mate!!!!
> 
> All this was done with a DA or did you hand polish also?


All done with Porter Cable 7424 dual action Demetri. :buffer:



kendo89 said:


> Are you sure thats black :argie: looks a lovely dark blue in the light at end!!


Yes its certainly carbon black.
You are quite right though, it has a blue flake which really pops when polished up - it really surprised the boss when I took the car back to him.



Keith_sir said:


> Amazing mate. Loving the diagram with thicknesses marked down.


Cheers Keith. :thumb:
It at least gave me an excuse to get the {very underused} paint thickness gauge out.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

amazing transformation guys, your boss should be real proud of yourself, you have turned the car around big times.

This carbon black colour, is that black or navy, looks blue once corrected in the sun, looks lovely, really the car looks like its been re painted.


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## J3FVW (Sep 28, 2009)

Lovely work


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## duffy02 (Mar 6, 2009)

great work mate.. were you paid or just brown nosing?!


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Top stuff mate!!

I've just started to use a DA and finding it quite difficult to get the stubborn scratches out. ( still a novice) The car doesn't look that bad and I don't think it needs a machine polish yet.
I used AG SRP and polished by hand followed by the AG sealer.
Next time shall I use the PB white diamond? If so when do I add it before or after the SRP or Sealer. I also purchased the CG Butter wet wax.
What to you reckon??


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Any advise you can give for cleaning the engine bay on a BMW 320i E46??

Just got the AG machine and engine cleaner, and to dress it the AG plasic and rubber care, Any good?


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Demetri said:


> Top stuff mate!!
> 
> I've just started to use a DA and finding it quite difficult to get the stubborn scratches out. ( still a novice) The car doesn't look that bad and I don't think it needs a machine polish yet.
> I used AG SRP and polished by hand followed by the AG sealer.
> ...


AG SRP + AG Extra Gloss Protection should be ok on their own.
Wouldnt bother with the PB or the CG BWW.



Demetri said:


> Any advise you can give for cleaning the engine bay on a BMW 320i E46??
> 
> Just got the AG machine and engine cleaner, and to dress it the AG plasic and rubber care, Any good?


AG Engine & machine cleaner + the vinyl and rubber care is what I used in the thread.
Click back a few pages - transformation was phenomenal!:thumb:


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

jeeze me! thats quite a finish, very very well done!


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Hi again

Apart from the products I mentioned is the any product that would bring up a decent shine on a silver or am I already using it.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Demetri said:


> Hi again
> 
> Apart from the products I mentioned is the any product that would bring up a decent shine on a silver or am I already using it.


My own car is silver Demetri. :thumb:

I have just done it with Menzerna 203s with orange lake country pads.
2 x Jeffs Acrylic Jett Trigger sealant
1 x Raceglaze '55' wax

You could use the PB white diamond on the silver after machine polishing and before the Sealant/ Wax.


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