# Shine On: BMW E39 M5



## Paul-T (Nov 2, 2006)

I've been doing a lot of maintainence jobs lately (when I've not been away playing!), so this little beauty to do was a treat. Its one of my favourite all time cars, something I look forward to owning at some point. Its not exactly standard either, and as Rob the owner is a member here, I'll let him field any questions in that department 

I'll start by saying this car had some of the hardest paint I've dealt with, and as a result took a full 2 days, something I certainly wasn't expecting and haven't found on other E39's.

Here at the start, it looked pretty good if not a little dull and lacking in depth, but the swirls and marring were very evident in direct sunlight or under the Brinkmann.


























































Washed, de-tarred, clayed, washed again - the usual. Taped up (minimal taping required, hooray!) I set about trying to correct the paint.

Long story short, it was ridiculous. The front end had been repainted about 12 months ago, but all the original part was just silly hard. I would have stuck with Powergloss on a megs cutting pad (via the rotary), but the dust was unbearable, so I ended up sticking with Menz IP 3.02, needing two hits everywhere on a cutting pad, followed by a finishing pass with Final Finish PO85RD to perfect. It was taking forever. Rob was a great host though, keeping me topped up with caffine all day.

A wonky 50:50









Some before and afters:




































































I think Rob will agree it looked more obvious to the naked eye, but the depth of the polish back half made it look like a different colour to the front half!










Polishing finished, CG EZ Creme Glaze was applied via PC, then buffed off. This was followed by 2 coats of Jetseal 109, and finally a layer of 50/50 paste wax. Wheels were treated with Jetseal, glass cleaned, tyres dressed with CG New Look Trim Gel. The exhaust tips were polished with NXT Metal Polish, and have a feature I've never come across before. Its an aftermarket performance exhaust, and the tips have a stainless insert that give a lovely asthetic finish, as well as wiping clean very nicely inside and out.

The setting falling sun gave me the chance to take a few pictures of the now dripping wet looking paint, although Rob is a talented photographer and was snapping away, so hopefully he will share some of his snaps that will no doubt be better than mine!

Bootlid









Roof









Bonnet

































































































Thanks for reading, and Rob, thanks for your hospitality.


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## pete330 (Apr 18, 2006)

Nice work
Nice car

Shame about the alloys

Hate seeing M5`s with CSL type alloys
It looses its mean look


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## Paul-T (Nov 2, 2006)

I don't agree at all there Pete, but its all subjective. The stance was perfect in my opinion, sat on coilovers as it is.

Besides, this car gets used a lot on track, and using the genuine CSL alloys (which these are) saves a massive amount of unsprung weight.


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Very Nice. Looks Superb :thumb:


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## -ROM- (Feb 23, 2007)

So come on then let's have the vital stats, what aint so standard about it...


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

Reg m8 puuurrfect as always.. IMO the CSL rims with the dish on the rears looks mean as heck.. I really love that shape of 5 and TBH I think its is better looking than the new M5 which is a bit disproportionate to the standard 5 series


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## Ali (Apr 5, 2006)

Love them!


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## Paul-T (Nov 2, 2006)

rmorgan84 said:


> So come on then let's have the vital stats, what aint so standard about it...


KW Coilovers, Hayward & Scott custom exhaust, remap (taking it to around 450bhp) and some monster brakes which address the one real poor area of the M-sport approach. Oh, and more weight saving inside by ditching the huge electric armchairs for some delicious Recaro wingback seats - saves around 30kg per seat apparently!

On sound alone it had me weak at the knee's - sounds like a NASCAR!


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## spectrum (Mar 6, 2007)

nice one Reg, see you live in the metropolis of Basingstoke too!


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## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

great job mate. Have have the same view on PG - and have tried a couple of things to tame the nasty dust.


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## Jakedoodles (Jan 16, 2006)

Top work chap.


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Superb work :thumb:
A great car in a great colour and looking fantastic post detail


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## ChuckH (Nov 23, 2006)

Great car Great wheels And a Fantastic job on a brilliant coulor Nice one Reg !! :thumb: :thumb:


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## Paul-T (Nov 2, 2006)

spectrum said:


> nice one Reg, see you live in the metropolis of Basingstoke too!


Pamber Heath to be honest, a don't like to see neighbours!


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## adb (Jul 13, 2006)

lol i was thinking i really like the look of it and couldn't put my finger on what it was that was different until you mentioned the alloys - they really suit it IMO. I'm not usually a fan of that shape M5 but that looks lovely.

Great correction too!


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## rockape (Feb 18, 2007)

awesome finish. i think the alloys suit the car very well:thumb:


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## Yeungster (May 9, 2007)

Awesome work there! Really should get my car detailed at some point!
I think the car looks just fine on those wheels, but know what you mean


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## fjk (Oct 13, 2006)

Just luvly, everything, car, colour, wheels and a bloody good job done too, me like big time


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

pete330 said:


> Nice work
> Nice car
> 
> Shame about the alloys
> ...


How can you be talking about a mean look when you drive the hairdressers version of the 330? 

Fantastic work mate, not exactly a small car either so i can imagine how soul destroying it must have been taking forever to correct the paint, but you get out of it what you put in! :thumb: :thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Very nice work mate, clearly shows the power of the polisher in the correct hands - transformed the finish beautifully. 

Know what you mean about the PG dust, can be worse than the "dry" G3 sometimes, but its a very worth compound... If only we didn't need to clean up all the dust afterwards...


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

pete330 said:


> Hate seeing M5`s with CSL type alloys
> It looses its mean look


Personal taste and all, I guess - personally I think the car sits very well indeed on these wheels and really like the slightly different look from the standard M5. And if the owner's happy, thats what counts


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## djohn (Mar 30, 2007)

Must admit I like those wheels too. Lovely job and can't fault it except its not mine.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Nice work there fella!


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## vpricey (May 8, 2006)

pete330 said:


> Nice work
> Nice car
> 
> Shame about the alloys
> ...


How come Pete?? I thought Stevie's M5 looked ace as this one does with CSL wheels!!

Great finish BTW, love the reflection shots!! Nice one!:thumb:


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## d3m0n (Feb 19, 2007)

wow, now that is a "Proper" mans car...love the E39 M5, would love to have one, but i think the insurance and the thirst of the engine would be a little too much for me.....

Top job

I note what you said about the car looking a different colour after one half had been polished, i had the same thing when the great AndyC did my bonnet for me....it looked as if i had a new bonnet in a slightly different shade on the car...


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Very nice and a lovely colour:thumb:


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