# Bmw m3 csl



## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

So, my second detail having first practiced with my new DAS 6 PRO on the wife's Yaris a couple of weeks ago! I http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=185523

With my car also looking a little shabby from a lack of attention of late, I now felt confident enough to have a go at detailing my 2004 BMW M3 CSL. So i've just spent the best part of 3 days over the past 2 weekends bringing it back up to scratch!

I use my CSL as it was designed to be used - on track. Unfortunately this means that the car is exposed to a harder time than a lot of road cars are subjected to and as such picks up a lot of stone chips to the front end as well as tar and rubber deposits. In addition i load up the car with spare wheels, a jack and other spares for track days so the interior can take a beating too!


















Thankfully i paid for my CSL to receive a full paint correction in 2009 by a highly respected detailer and i have since taken great care when washing to try and maintain the paint as best as i could. This has paid off as i found the paint to be in reasonable order upon closer inspection so saved me having to try and correct the hard paint too much!

I made a small start a few weeks earlier when i tackled the engine bay: http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=184680

*Day 1 - Before:*










Dead flies welded to the bonnet!









Stone peppered corner splitter









Plenty of tyre rubber deposits









Tar spots









More rubber marks









*Work starts!*

Pre-wash with Valet Pro pH Neutral Snow Foam









Paying attention to badges with Meguiar's APC and round brush









Fuel flap housing and door/boot shuts also done









Car then jetted off before washing using 2BM with Meguiar's Shampoo Plus & sheepskin mitt.

Car then dried before de-tarring with AG Intensive Tar Remover


















Car was then washed/rinsed once again.

Clayed with Meguiar's Mild Detailing Clay using Last Touch Spray Detailer as lube









Car jetted off and early indications of paint condition looked ok









Carbon fibre roof reflections looked rather dull/fuzzy









On closer inspection I found the car to be in reasonable condition although the dull lighting conditions didn't help me much with spotting imperfections. There were swirls evident as well as a few isolated scratches and this was more apparent on the carbon fibre roof due to it's colour. Sadly i do not have many paint comparison photos as they were too difficult for the camera to detect them! :buffer:

As it was my first time on this car i decided to play it reasonably safe and elected to carry out a 2 stage process of using Menzerna RD3.02 Power Finish with a polishing pad on the roof, bonnet and boot then refining with Menzerna 85RE Final Finish on a finishing pad. For the rest of the car i used only the 85RE with a finishing pad single stage. The only exception to this was the use of a compounding spot pad on the front bumper due to its pock marked appearance! The front bumper was a real pig to do! :wall:

Roof first pass with Menzerna RD3.02 & polishing pad









Roof, boot & front end of car done by the end of first day









*Day 2 - the following weekend*

Ready to crack on with the rear and sides after a quick wash/dry process









DAS 6 PRO with 85RE Final Finish & finishing pad 









Rear light cluster showing swirls


















Rear lights after correction


















I had a 'mishap' when a finishing pad had a blow out! I think i was using too fast a setting... 


















With paintwork almost done it was time to try and make the front end look better - polishing the carbon fibre kidney grille surrounds









Headlight covers









It was at this point i noticed that the headlights looked a little manky inside the housings themselves so i got a little carried away and began dismantling them to get inside!









A quick clean with APC still didn't make the shrouds look that good so i decided to coat the them with Gtechniq C4 Permanent Trim Restorer to restore some blackness









Definite improvement and less marks on the outer cover too!









I also decided to clean and treat the kidney grille insert slats using C4 and there ended day 2!









*Day 3*

Impressed with my first use of Gtechniq C4 the previous day, i decided to apply it to a few other areas.

Firstly i decided to clean and coat the areas visible through the kidney grilles









Fan assembly cleaned prior to application of C4









Blade 50/50









All done - the sheen lessens when it dries









Fan guard back in place









Bonnet vent before C4









Bonnet vent after C4 application









Pause for a quick roof reflection 









Onto the wheels/arches next. I had only recently removed the wheels and cleaned the arches so these didn't need too much work.

Tyre sidewalls cleaned with Meguiar's APC and stiff brush before being wiped with Zaino Z16 Perfect Tire Gloss









Arches cleaned with APC and old microfibre wash mitt









Arches then treated with Meguiar's All Season Dressing









The Supersprint exhaust received some work next









Washed with Meguiar's APC









Polished with AG Metal Polish









Onto the interior - over mats removed, vacuumed and scrubbed with Meguiar's APC and brush









Wiped down and vacuumed again









Then dried in the sun









Interior carbon fibre door panels lightly polished



























Foot pedals cleaned with Meguiar's APC & brush









Dash & interior plastics wiped down with mild APC solution









Windows cleaned with 3M Glass Cleaner spray









Alcantara seats were cleaned using Raceglaze Alcantara Cleaner, including this baby milk stain on the rear seats (yes, baby milk lol!)


















Alcantara trimmed steering wheel wiped down









Interior trim & plastics treated with Werkstat Satin Prot



























Mats replaced - interior done!









Finally with daylight beginning to fade i turned to the protection stage.

Bonnet vent looking good









A final rinse off to be rid of all polish dust & residue


















Car was then dried with a PB Luxury Drying Towel before applying the protection.

I plumped for the Werkstat Acrylic Jett from recommendations that it would work well on my mid-tone metallic grey paint.









One coat applied









Luckily the light remained long enough for me to apply a second coat before calling it a day after 3 days and some 25 hours or so of work!

*After:*























































Job done - tucked away ready for this coming weekend's trip to the Nurburgring 









Thanks for looking!

Rob :wave:


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## TomV6 (Feb 16, 2010)

simply stunning, and a top job with an interesting choice of products used


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## ash888 (Apr 29, 2010)

Lovely Car mate! top class job too


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Great attention to detail and write-up, big fan of the CSL as well. Well done :thumb:


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## ChrisJD (Apr 15, 2009)

Excellent write-up:thumb:

Great job too, the car came out looking very tasty. Not sure about the pink wheels on track though

How do you find the 3M glass cleaner? I have been using that recently and think it works really well as a cleaner, but the spray/foam action goes everywhere. The glass process was always the last, but now I end up having to wipe over the bodywork to clear up the over spray.

Chris.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Lovely car, Lovely detail.:thumb:


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Nice work mate


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## John @ PB (Aug 25, 2010)

Nice work there. 

Did you just use Acrylic Jett, or did you use Prime first? 

(one tiny tip - don't lay the machine/pad on its side: always keep the pad facing upwards  )


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

Nice job on a nice car.

You're braver than me though, putting any type of product on your pedals :doublesho


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## toosmiles (May 5, 2007)

wow m8,awesome write up and an excellent job
love these cars


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

Nice work Rob:thumb:


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

Very nice work Rob, liking the black wheels:thumb:


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## Homer J 727 (Oct 6, 2009)

Awsome car mate, all that money and no radio lol


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Wow. 

Such a shame it got all that now it's going to be all undone going to and on the ring!


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## Heavertron (Mar 31, 2010)

Nice work. I've had track time with the CSL and found it much improved over the E46 M3. The back end is not as light for starters. I've never seen the parking sensors before, were they an oem option? :thumb:


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## Mike_T (Aug 2, 2010)

Homer J 727 said:


> Awsome car mate, all that money and no radio lol


You'll never even think about switching on a radio in a car like this mate... :car:


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## Dodoalan (Nov 24, 2009)

Great looking motor,and write-up.


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

very nice work


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## nicp2007 (Apr 25, 2007)

excellent work there mate :thumb: very impressive stuff, 

my "ring" toy aint been cleaned since my last trip last august :lol:


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## Deanvtec (Mar 3, 2008)

Very nice detail bud, Car looks great again now, I look out for you at the Ring this weekend as I'll be out there aswell, Ill come over and say Hi if I see you.:thumb:


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## 500tie (Oct 15, 2009)

Awesome car and a good detail with some very good products used.. Makes a change to see a car like this actually being driven for the purpose it was made.


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## UBRWGN (Nov 25, 2007)

Brilliant car and writeup. :thumb:
Glad to see your using it for what it was built for as well. Sadly the CSL was not made available in North America.


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## littlejack (Jun 11, 2008)

What else can i say but WOW!!!!!!!!
Great car and a great detail as well you've got to love the E46 shape

steve


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## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

Thanks for all the positive comments guys - much appreciated :thumb:



ChrisJD said:


> Not sure about the pink wheels on track though
> 
> How do you find the 3M glass cleaner?


LoL - my 'pink' wheels are a source of much debate over at CSLRegister.com! :lol:

I found the 3M very good and didn't have too much issue with overspray. I hated how it smells though - very strong chemical scent



John @ PB said:


> Nice work there.
> 
> Did you just use Acrylic Jett, or did you use Prime first?
> 
> (one tiny tip - don't lay the machine/pad on its side: always keep the pad facing upwards  )


Hi John, no i didn't use Prime as i didn't think it was needed as i was machine polishing. Would this help with the overall effect? I ran out of time and only managed 2 coats of Acrylic Jett and no Glos either 

The DA machine was only on it's side for the pics 



Gleamingkleen said:


> Nice work Rob:thumb:


Thanks Jay - i learned a few tips from a 'highly respected detailer' 



Homer J 727 said:


> Awsome car mate, all that money and no radio lol


It did - i removed it as i never used it and you can hardly hear it over the Supersprint exhaust anyway.



Heavertron said:


> I've never seen the parking sensors before, were they an oem option? :thumb:


Yes, it was one of the 4 main options available when the cars were sold.



Mike_T said:


> You'll never even think about switching on a radio in a car like this mate... :car:


:thumb:



Deanvtec said:


> Very nice detail bud, Car looks great again now, I look out for you at the Ring this weekend as I'll be out there aswell, Ill come over and say Hi if I see you.:thumb:


Nice one - no worries. I'll either have the black or red rims on :driver:


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## Ducky (Mar 19, 2007)

Very nice mate, what do you think of the Alcantara cleaner; might grab some of this for my car if it's good?


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## Deanvtec (Mar 3, 2008)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deanvtec 
Very nice detail bud, Car looks great again now, I look out for you at the Ring this weekend as I'll be out there aswell, Ill come over and say Hi if I see you. 

Nice one - no worries. I'll either have the black or red rims on 


Cool, hopefully see you passing us at some stage somewhere around the track first, be good to see your csl in action.:thumb:


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Fantastic car, great job.


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## CleanDetail (Mar 7, 2009)

Love it! Also love the car, One of the better Bmw's ever made. In My opinion....

Keep up the good work.

Nick


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## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

Ducky said:


> Very nice mate, what do you think of the Alcantara cleaner; might grab some of this for my car if it's good?


Seemed to do a decent job. Didn't smell of much but it does have anti-bacterial properties built in on reading the label.



Deanvtec said:


> Cool, hopefully see you passing us at some stage somewhere around the track first, be good to see your csl in action.:thumb:


Cool - give me a shout and i'll take you round for a lap or two :thumb:



Nick_CD said:


> Love it! Also love the car, One of the better Bmw's ever made. In My opinion....


Thanks Nick - of course i'm inclined to agree


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## MilesBetter (Aug 9, 2010)

Lovely car, very nice :thumb: ...If didn;t have the Evo would be tempted by one of these or an RS4


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## SubtleAggressiv (Jul 17, 2010)

This is a keeper - im subscribed :thumb: I love how subtle but aggressive the car looks <--- see what I done there :lol: 
Youve done an excellent job on your car, is it a daily driver or just mainly track use and occasionally driven on the road?
Thanks :wave:


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## Estuardo_VW (Aug 20, 2007)

awesome job and beautifull car! is one of those cars that you never want to sell

I have a question, what is the kelvins temperature that you have in your HID?


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## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

SubtleAggressiv said:


> This is a keeper - im subscribed :thumb: I love how subtle but aggressive the car looks <--- see what I done there :lol:
> Youve done an excellent job on your car, is it a daily driver or just mainly track use and occasionally driven on the road?
> Thanks :wave:


LoL. Cheers!

It used to be my daily driver for a year or so but is only used for fun at weekends or for track days/Ring trips now. It was surprisingly practical when used as a daily driver!



Estuardo_VW said:


> awesome job and beautifull car! is one of those cars that you never want to sell
> 
> I have a question, what is the kelvins temperature that you have in your HID?


Thank you - i plan to keep for a very long time! 

Unfortunately, I cannot answer your question. The headlights are the OEM BMW Xenon headlights option but i do not know their rating.


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## Deanvtec (Mar 3, 2008)

glendog74 said:


> Seemed to do a decent job. Didn't smell of much but it does have anti-bacterial properties built in on reading the label.
> 
> Cool - give me a shout and i'll take you round for a lap or two :thumb:
> 
> Thanks Nick - of course i'm inclined to agree


Thanks for the offer, appreciated. Been in quite a few M3's but never around the Ring in a CSL, so I'll definately take you up on the offer of a pax lap. Hopefully it will be dry but the forecast shows rain at the mo.:thumb:


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## david_h (Sep 19, 2006)

stunning job and a stunning car.

One day I will own one.


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## smoki1969 (Oct 10, 2006)

Great looking car and an excellent result...


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## ianking (Jun 6, 2007)

Great job on a very nice car


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## AlanQS (May 6, 2009)

Sadly for me, no photos - your bandwidth has been exceeded apparently.


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## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

AlanQS said:


> Sadly for me, no photos - your bandwidth has been exceeded apparently.


All sorted now! :thumb:


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## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

Deanvtec said:


> Thanks for the offer, appreciated. Been in quite a few M3's but never around the Ring in a CSL, so I'll definately take you up on the offer of a pax lap. Hopefully it will be dry but the forecast shows rain at the mo.:thumb:


Forecast is improving - Friday and Sunday look ok, wet Saturday.

See you there! :wave:


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## AlanQS (May 6, 2009)

Thanks for the PM Rob. Well worth it for me. Absolute cracker!:thumb:

Were the carbon fibre door panels options on the car? And have you done anything to the centre console? Piano black trim perhaps?


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## 123quackers (Jan 29, 2009)

Fantastic!!

Great car!! best looking 3 BMW have done IMO..

How do you find the SMG... I had a manual M3 and tested 3 SMG's but couldnt get used to the clunk clunk type feeling with the box. Unless it was just bad cars I saw..:thumb:


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## John @ PB (Aug 25, 2010)

glendog74 said:


> Thanks for all the positive comments guys - much appreciated :thumb:
> 
> Hi John, no i didn't use Prime as i didn't think it was needed as i was machine polishing. Would this help with the overall effect? I ran out of time and only managed 2 coats of Acrylic Jett and no Glos either
> 
> The DA machine was only on it's side for the pics


Prime will add durability and its chemical cleaning properties will enhance the gloss of the paintwork. It's handy for doing door shuts, etcetera too.

Prime then Acrylic Jett definitely has benefits compared to Acrylic Jett alone.


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## glendog74 (Jan 11, 2009)

AlanQS said:


> Were the carbon fibre door panels options on the car? And have you done anything to the centre console? Piano black trim perhaps?


No mate - carbon fibre door cards and centre console as standard on the CSL. I have added carbon fibre dashboard strips as they fit well with the other bits 



123quackers said:


> How do you find the SMG... I had a manual M3 and tested 3 SMG's but couldnt get used to the clunk clunk type feeling with the box. Unless it was just bad cars I saw..:thumb:


I was exactly the same when i tested SMG M3s - i hated them! The CSL only comes with SMG so i had to accept it. I found that i quickly got used to it though and now would not wish to have a manual box. The SMG paddle shift makes complete sense on track and is a real revelation! :driver:



John @ PB said:


> Prime will add durability and its chemical cleaning properties will enhance the gloss of the paintwork. It's handy for doing door shuts, etcetera too.
> 
> Prime then Acrylic Jett definitely has benefits compared to Acrylic Jett alone.


Thanks for the advice John. I will give this a go soon as i have just returned from a Ring trip followed by a track day at Silverstone. Needless to say the car is rather manky now! :detailer:


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## John @ PB (Aug 25, 2010)

glendog74 said:


> Thanks for the advice John. I will give this a go soon as i have just returned from a Ring trip followed by a track day at Silverstone. Needless to say the car is rather manky now! :detailer:


Oh - one other wee tip - use the Prime on your exterior glass!


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## CelicaTsport (Dec 20, 2009)

one of my all time fav cars and as said before in this thread nice to see it being used for its purpose!


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