# E46 M3 Convertible with added Leather repair...



## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

Had this car with me for a week to do some work on consisting of a full paint correction detail, interior detail and leather repair too.

Car on arrival




























So on with the foam



















While the foam was dwelling i started with the wheels with WB




























Arches & Tyres were also cleaned with G101



















Shuts, badges and nooks & crannies were cleaned




























Roof was cleaned with G101



















And then rinsed @ medium pressure along with the rest of the car, followed by a wash using the 2BM the car was then clayed when still wet.

Started with bilt hamber soft but soon realised I needed to switch to something more aggressive as there was serious amounts of contamination and fall out on the car quite a few areas mainly the bonnet, bottlid and rear bumper had to be clayed twice and the paintwork was very rough to begin with.

This was clearly the first time in the cars 27K that it had met a claybar!










There were also some white spots of paint on a couple of lower areas that needed removing

Before










After










Once the claying was complete the car was rinsed again and dried using a miarcle dryer and last touch and taped up ready for polishing.

Took some PTG readings and the O/S door and rear qaurter panel had recently been re-sprayed and the bootlid was showing signs of a re-spray too










I started with the bonnet and managed to capture some of the defects as its not so easy to capture them on silver










There were quite a few deep marks and swirls on the bonnet so after testing a few polish and pad combos I settled on Meguiars M105 of a wool pad and this gave around 96% correction.

After










There were also some deeper marks on the bootlid too










After correction



















These were the only correction shots I maanged to get as the rest of the car wasnt too bad as the re-psrayed areas were only needed a few sanding marks removed and the rest was corrected with FCP on a 3M yellow polshing pad and refined with Meguiars 205 on a finishing pad.

Rear corrected and refined










The interior needed a bit of work





































So mats were removed first










And after a vaccum there were a couple of noticebale stains



















So the mats were liberally sprayed with fabriclean and water and then scrubbed with a brush to lift the dirt










And then extracted with the vax










Looking much better




























Footwell area was cleaned



















The main area on the interior that needed attention was the drivers bolster which was worn










So to begin with the seats were given a good clean with gliptone leather cleaner



















The area around the bolster was then masked up



















The whole bolster would then be re-dyed using the scuffmaster kit










A small amount was mixed with 10% water as per the instructions and applied to the bolster using a soft sponge applicator and each coat was then dried with warm air from the hear gun


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The bolster needed about 10 coats in total to ensure I got a nice steak free finish










Once completley dry the bolster and rest of the leather was conditioned with gliptone leather conditioner










Afters of the interior



















Exhausts were cleaned and polished with steel wool and autosol

Before



















After










Rubber seals treated to gummi pfledge










Glass was cleaned inside and out and sealed with carlack 68 glass sealant

and the LSP of choice for the paintwork was










Couple of afters I got in the dark




























FK1000 beading nicely too and the following shots taken by the owner a few days later when it stopped raining!


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## L.J. (Nov 9, 2008)

stunning work on a stunning car!

leather repair at 27k? that doesnt seem right unless the owner really thrashes it


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## MadOnVaux! (Jun 2, 2008)

Great looking car...and as above, i wouldnt expect the leather to go like that at just 27k....great reapair work though


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## Vyker (Sep 17, 2008)

Looks good, not sure about that leather repair though! 

Otherwise, great work again, and a good write up too


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## Cullers (Sep 29, 2009)

Lovely work. Well done on the seat too.


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## Dodoalan (Nov 24, 2009)

I wouldn't expect the leather to go like that at just 27k....great reapair work though.
Great result.


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

one of my most lovely cars ever great job nice debth on silver


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## WopaDoBop (Nov 9, 2009)

I'm almost certain i've seen those lasts pics on pistonheads....


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

very very nice work stunning as always... How do u find the leather dye BTW to use. and what is the match like for black or is it specific to the brand?


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

Ronnie said:


> very very nice work stunning as always... How do u find the leather dye BTW to use. and what is the match like for black or is it specific to the brand?


The leather dye is pretty easy to use I did the whole of my interior on my E36 M3 a couple of eyars back although the best method of application would be through a mini spraygun.

Colour is specific to the car although black is a bit more generec and a lot easier to match.


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Great attention to detail and the work on the interior complete's the detail for me, thanks for sharing as always.........:thumb:


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## No_Fear (Oct 15, 2009)

great work,the leather looks excelent.


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## andyteg (Mar 5, 2007)

Excellent work as always!


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## rds1985 (Mar 7, 2009)

fantastic job on that bolster and great beading!


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## Miholl (May 27, 2009)

Top job on the leather

Did you do that kind of job before...is there any danger of removing the paint while siting (for example in very hot weather...) or is this durable for years

Tnx for answers...


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

I've had a few BM's, and I found the leather started to go like that quite early on too..

The stitching by the seat back lift on coupes also goes..

Lovely job, keep up the great work and posts..


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## Nickos (Apr 27, 2006)

Awesome, i look forward to the future write ups


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## ben1988 (Jan 28, 2009)

lovely work mate and great work on the seat


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## karburn (Feb 1, 2008)

Very impressive. I would love to be able to send you the seat in my Benz that needs a bolster refinished. Great job. I would be thrilled with those results - the car looks brand new (probably better). :thumb:


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## Select Detailing (Feb 19, 2009)

Good job done on a cracking car, remember my old M3 Soft Top.

Very good repair to the seat.

Regards

Gareth


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## Breezy (Jun 24, 2006)

Miholl said:


> Top job on the leather
> 
> Did you do that kind of job before...is there any danger of removing the paint while siting (for example in very hot weather...) or is this durable for years
> 
> Tnx for answers...


Yes I re-dyed the whole of my interior on my silver grey leather seats in my E36 M3 around 3 years ago and no colour or dye has come off since then even in very hot weather its an excellent method for freshening up tired and worn leather and the best method of application would be through a mini spray-gun.

Here are some pics from my seats

Gliptone Liquid Leather Scuffmaster kit used on my E36 M3 silver grey leather

*Before*






















































*After:*


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

Flipping heck, that's some turnaround on the seats..........nice work...........:thumb:


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