# The old girl got new paint



## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Hello DW

I thought id share with you my pride and joy. Its a 2002 e46 M3. This one rolled of the factory in carbon black. Carbon black is a stunning colour however it's a complete pig to keep it looking it's best all the time. The time came for a change and it took me about 6 months to decide on the final colour which is BMW individual u21 brilliant white. I love this paint it looks like alpine white from a far but on closer inspection you see the twist. I need to do a small correction next year so il use this thread as mini paint journal. I wont mention the products that i use as i will be coming on board as a sponsor early next year so we will keep that a surprise for now. I can tell you that nobody sells this brand in the UK :thumb:

So her is my blood sweat and tears










































Here is the paint


































Thank you for viewing


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## Ed_VeeDub (Sep 22, 2008)

nice color! looks smart


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## stumpy90 (May 13, 2014)

Wow!!


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## Kash-Jnr (Mar 24, 2013)

That looks good!!


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

Very nice!!

Do you have and before and afters??


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## ibiza55 (Feb 22, 2008)

Lovely jubbly


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## waxtrucker (Mar 21, 2014)

Nice job that well done


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Thanks guys for the kind comments, Iv just fitted a few new mods like a bbk and the hardtop has come in for winter.



Sicskate said:


> Very nice!!
> 
> Do you have and before and afters??


Here you go










I will dig some more out for you tomorrow


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## Ed_VeeDub (Sep 22, 2008)

I can't helping thinking.....CSL wheels next....


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## Monchus (Jun 28, 2014)

Buena maquina llevas entre manos!. Se ve impecable.

Disfrutalo.


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## Ghorrocks (Jan 27, 2014)

Great motor


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## Tuddie (Aug 14, 2010)

Stunning!!


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## -Jamie- (Nov 6, 2012)

Lovely colour, not the biggest fan of gloss whites but the pearl/metallics always look lovely!


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## CTR247 (Aug 11, 2013)

Very nice, thanks for sharing


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Very nice:thumb:


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Thanks guys of the great comments.

I will be update this thread in the new year with some before and after shots of the correction that's required.

Then it's time to seal her up. Not sure what do go for just yet. I have a few combos in mind tho.


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## mrhaz (Jun 11, 2013)

Stunning motor


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## JwilliamsM (Dec 20, 2011)

Love this m3, your on cutters aren't you?


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## Nick-ST (Mar 4, 2013)

Love it!


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## TonyH38 (Apr 7, 2013)

That is superb and I love those wheels.


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## Dal3D (Jul 13, 2014)

Still looking fab Jeff!!!

(But then it should do with ******** behind you..lol)


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## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Looks lovely!!


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## davies20 (Feb 22, 2009)

It took 6 months for you to decide to go from black - to white! lol

Looks lovely!


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## jay_bmw (Jan 28, 2010)

very nice. looks very simmlar to mineral white you see on the newer bm's


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

jayz_son said:


> Love this m3, your on cutters aren't you?


i am indeed buddy, im your resident detailing sponsor over on cutters :wave:

Im also a big fan of your PY and also our PY smg hater John boy :lol:



Dal3D said:


> Still looking fab Jeff!!!
> 
> (But then it should do with ******** behind you..lol)


No worry's buddy its nice to see a few friendly faces, iv stayed away from DW for a reason as my bank account takes a hammering on cutters as it is. But now we are finally set up its time to get involved a lot more.

We will be running a few giveaways in Feb when we land in the manufactures section :thumb:



davies20 said:


> It took 6 months for you to decide to go from black - to white! lol
> 
> Looks lovely!


Thanks very much :thumb:

If you think 6 months is bad it took me nearly 12 month to pick my second set of wheels :doublesho

Here a much up to date photo










Thanks for looking


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## Beatman (Jun 6, 2010)

Stunning 👍


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Beatman said:


> Stunning 👍


Thanks Beatman :buffer::car:


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

So did you choose the car colour to match your boat colour both are amazing
Dave


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

sorry for the lack of updates iv been a busy bee. Update coming soon


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So just a little update here as i had time at the weekend give the old girl a bath.


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## Ben_W (Feb 15, 2009)

Not often I'll say this but its a far better looking car in white than black, and I'm not usually a fan of white cars!!


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## Kirkyworld (Jan 12, 2014)

Stunning transformation, new roof as well obviously?


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Well the M3 and all things related to the M3 have been nothing but a pain in the backside this past month or so, not feeling the love at the moment.

I finally got the car book into to have the new coilover, front and rear arbs, adjustable camber arms and i few other bits and bobs fitted. Something iv been saving and excited for for months now. On inspection found an oil leak after it being fixed a month early for the same issue. Then things got worst. I picked the car up to find this :doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho:doublesho

Chipped all the way down to the metal. Whole rear quarter will need new paint. The garage will be picking up the bill but its just a pain in the ass. Plus coilover are set up right so need to back in again.

Rant over sorry if you have fallen asleep whilst reading, i needed to vent


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Little update

Sadly not had time to get her back into the paint shop to sort out the damage the garage caused. But on the plus side coilovers have now been fitted and set up correctly after adjusting 4 times.

here is how she sits today in need of a bath.


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## James2614 (Sep 17, 2014)

Just beautiful. I white e46 m3 is what started my love for bmw's and cars in general when I was younger


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So in preparation of my new tin of Adam's Patriot wax arriving i stripped all protection off the car this weekend.

This is just a quick little hit of Adam's detail spray


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So the M3 was treated to a few coats of the new Adam's Patriot wax last weekend, however my iphone battery die so no photo's. This is a week on, not had chance to wash the car yet as iv only just put the from squares back on after its ITV inspection. Here are a few shots with the wheels back on.


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Well it's about time I did a little update. Not much has changed really apart from the old girl is now booked in to the paint shop to sort out the error left by the garage. I'm also going to be changing over the wheels and it's possible I could be going down the turbo route as apposed to a supercharger. 

Anyway I hope your all enjoying summer and thanks for reading


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## fatty (Aug 23, 2010)

Car looks stunning mate!

what tyre size are you running on the fronts? are you using spacer? 

I have been considering having a square setup also but worried about affecting the ride quality, you noticed any difference?


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

fatty said:


> Car looks stunning mate!
> 
> what tyre size are you running on the fronts? are you using spacer?
> 
> I have been considering having a square setup also but worried about affecting the ride quality, you noticed any difference?


Hello Fatty

Thank you for the great feedback on the m3. Im running 235 on the front with no spacers needed at all. Some people are running 255 all around on the square set up with very small amounts of rubbing on the inner front arches.

Mine on bc coilovers and tbh i havent noticed an reduction in handling but im not on the track so i couldnt give you to much feedback. No tramming either.


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## Daffy (Dec 15, 2005)

fatty said:


> Car looks stunning mate!
> 
> what tyre size are you running on the fronts? are you using spacer?
> 
> I have been considering having a square setup also but worried about affecting the ride quality, you noticed any difference?


Square wheels will deffo affect ride quality and comfort.:lol:


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Well chaps, firstly i must apologies for the lack of updates or mods on the m3 over this past 6 months. The car has been put on the back burner due to work and family life being 100 mph. I will say this tho. The next photo is post of the car will be on UK plates. 

Catch up soon


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## rimajo (Sep 2, 2015)

wow nice color!beauty...


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Thought i would share these photos of mine taken today. This is Adam's patriot wax after 3 month plus some change. It's holding up very well for a show wax that is only meant to last 2 months. This is my own personal test of patriot waxes durability. I'm going to give it another month then strip it back for new winter protection. Not bad at all for a show wax


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## Peugeot (Apr 19, 2014)

It looks much better in white then black.


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Peugeot said:


> It looks much better in white then black.


Thanks Buddy :thumb: it was a big risk


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

Did you ever get the chipped bits fixed? 

Also, I always assumed you was in the uk.


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Sicskate said:


> Did you ever get the chipped bits fixed?
> 
> Also, I always assumed you was in the uk.


Sadly time has run out for me to get it sorted here in Spain, the car will be back in the UK in around 2-3 weeks time. Its on the massive list of things to do once i find a good painter in the Cheshire area. :thumb: its always eating at me knowing it there.


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

It's now in the UK


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## Kenan (Sep 7, 2015)

Nicely done.


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## moxy89 (Oct 9, 2009)

I have the same colour on my audi s3


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## MRF32 (Nov 24, 2015)

Looks great!


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## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Lovely looking motor :thumb:


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Time for a little update on the M3 as it has been a while although not much has changed.

2016 is going to be a year the m3 gets a mega sort out. I have a list of 101 niggling little things that need doing. Windows not shutting property being one of many. Anyway back to the update.

Well this finally happened.










Now although i have a log book and plates. The DVLA still managed to mess up my V5 log book and made the engine as a 1.6 and that its a coupe. Complete set of clowns in those building in Wales i tell ya.

I also received my show plates from the Nevets which look pretty cool indeed.










This spared me into a slow pace of activity with the M3 and i decided to start my show prep with a little metal polish action. The whole car has been neglected for almost a year. It's a filthy pig inside and out. Rotten. A massive amount of hours are needed to bring it up to scratch. This is with a little elbow grease and Adam's metal polish No1. Still need another hit with No1 and then finish with No2. Will update when finished over the weekend. As you can see its rotten


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So easy to seal your car it's like cheating


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Hello guys. This update is long long over due. To cut a long story short i moved house again after arriving back from Spain 9 months ago. This plus work and settling the kids has left very little time for the M. It's been neglected to say the least as more import matter needed attending to.

To try and bring everybody up to speed. Since arriving in the UK the car has had a few issues that need sorting out. Craig drove up to sort my heads lights out making them legal in the UK. I then found a pond in the back of my boot which cause the m to turn into a mould fest. Anyway here is a list of issues that need sorting.

1. Pond needs fixing
2. Air bag not sitting correctly, airbag light.
3. Replace broken window switch 
4. Power steering fluid leak somewhere.
5. Sort out mould 
6. polish wheels 
7. Deep clean and decon 
8. Paint correction
9. Gaydon

But before i go on here are some photos of the M3 looking a little sorry for itself. 







































































































































So to kick of with the pond. As iv not used or moved the car for months i didn't notice the swimming pool in the boot until i decided to turn her over a one day. Now as i don't know where the water is coming from it's best to replace all the seals. Being that the car was stripped down for a respray a few years ago the seals where never replaced. As the weather was so hot in Spain these issues are only now appearing in cold wet England.

Today i finally got the chance to start giving the M some love. Now I'm on a bit of a quest to get the car ready for Gaydon this year so i need to get my backside in gear. So i ordered all new rear light gaskets, rear bumper seals and the big boot seal a few months ago. So today i fitted the main boot seal and tail light gaskets. I then forgot about doing the rear clusters because i started cleaning the boot. Progress all the same. So here's what it did.






















































































































I also pick up these off a chap stripping his vert. A while back i painted mine white however over the years with the shopping bags and constant in and out action of the pram has killed them. They are not in the best of condition however with a good deep clean and the right dressing i got them to good standard.

Out with the white



















Deep clean for the new (to me) battery and tray covers.
































































To be continued …….


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So I little update today.

I finished of replacing the rear cluster seals and found that one of them was soaked. I could squeeze out the water with my fingers so I'm hoping that this the source of the pond or one of the reasons for the lake that appears in the boot from time to time.

Here are the dead gaskets










In other news the hard top come off today for the first time in12 months. I will let the photos so the talking. 
































































So after my horror/heart attack. I composed myself grab the Adam's APC, horse hair brush and set to work.

90% happy with the first application. The second will sort of the rest. I will then pick a roof sealant to finish off. Sorry for the poor photos I was working in and out the rain.


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## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

Damn, that roof was proper Dalmatian..lol that would of given me heart failure as well..lol. Good turn around I say.


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

DLGWRX02 said:


> Damn, that roof was proper Dalmatian..lol that would of given me heart failure as well..lol. Good turn around I say.


I had an idea it was going to be bad but didn't think it would be that mingin. Sorted now. Second hit sorted the last 10% then sealed it up :thumb:


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

More M3 wows

So after replacing all the seals in the boot and rear lights. I opened the boot to find this below.



















As you can imagine i was scratching my head as to why this was happening. After spending nearly £160 on replacement parts i though it sorted it. Moving on, i then dried up all the water and got out the hose pipe to test all the seals so i could see where the water was getting in. After 30 minutes of trying NOTHING. It then dawned on me. After replacing the seals i then placed the front of the car on axel stands to search for the leak in the power steering system. So the car is sat on 35 degree angle with it's ass on the floor. I then half folded the soft top to find the source of the water. These Verts are stupid. The water can't drain through the drain plugs under the motors when the car is sat on an incline so it just ditches the water into the boot. So now the nav nat and intavee are buggered. I gave Ben and Craig a call explaining I'm going to burn the car and bring the Lexus down to Gaydon instead. Il just stick a BMW badge on and nobody will know.

Anyway i cracked out the Adam's kit and got to work again. Deep clean of all the rear trims. I used Adam's leather & interior cleaner working in with a fine horse hairs brush. The dressed with Adam's leather & interior conditioner.














































I also took off the fronts wheels and cleaned all the arches with APC and dress the arches with Adam's undercaragae spray, amazing product.

before



















After


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Now that the leak seems to be sorted it was time to start a deep clean and polish of my oem 19's.

The process was

Adam's Deep wheel cleaner 
Tar remover 
Dry 
IPA wipe down 
Stage 1 metal bar and mop 
Stage 2 metal bar and mop 
Stage 3 metal bar and mop 
Wash 
Adams metal polish No 1 
Adam's Metal polish No 2 
Sealed with Liquid Paint sealant and quick sealant.
Job done. 3 hours per wheel.


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## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

god they are shiny 

Nice work love the M3


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## JMorty (Apr 25, 2011)

Tidy job on the wheels! Love metal polishing, so rewarding!

That paint is lovely also, you must be very proud of your car! I know I would be


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## rob267 (Nov 27, 2015)

Love it. Great job on the roof and wheels. 
I feel your pain about the water leak. I chased a leak on my car for months before sorting it out. Drove me crazy. 😁

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Thanks for your kind words guys


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So today i managed to get a few jobs done on the old girl. The first was to seal the roof as it NEVER stops raining in this sodding country. I also managed to get an hour on the engine bay. To be honesty it needs more attention but the clock is ticking for me so the engine bay just isn't a priority at the movement. Anyway after a quick scrub down with APC and the steam cleaner. I then dressed the whole engine bay with Adam's VRT and Adam's In & Out spray (what a product for under the bonnet)



















Engine bay Before and after



















Thanks for reading.


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## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

It always rains in spain.. Really?!

Nice work though


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Zetec-al said:


> It always rains in spain.. Really?!
> 
> Nice work though


I moved back to th UK 7 months ago


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So i managed to get in a full decontamination of the M yesterday. I also switched out my dead window switch for another one (3 switch in as many years). The power steering leak is now also under control. It turned out to be the a cooling pipe which sits right in front of the radiator. That was a bumper off jobbie but all seems tight now with no leaks.

Back to the decontamination. I first wash the old girl down down with a combination of the old Adam's shampoo and the new formula (just for ****s and giggles) worked a treat. The shampoo cuts through dirt and grime like nobody business. Once dried i diluted Adam's deep wheel cleaner at a ratio of 1:1 to make it a safe to use fallout remover on the paint. Jobs a good 'un. Next the car was de tared with tardis (shock not an Adams product). I then washes again and dried. Finally i cracked out the clay and used Adam's detail spray as clay lube. Normally i use rinseless wash diluted at 64:1 but i didn't have any handy.

So here are the results below.










Found a Pokemon in my bucket



























































































After the clay










Started to inspect the paint for correction next week


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Well i finally finished polishing the wheel today. The front two wheel are in great condition, these are the ones i bought to complete the square set up, they came off a 2006 i believe with very low miles. The rears are a mess as they are over 16 years old with lacquer peel all in the inside spokes. This has put me in a tough spot because i was going to use max protect v3 to seal them. However because the rear are goosed I'm not sure what to do. I dont want to buy another set of rears so I'm not sure what to do at the moment.

I gave the tires a helping of Adam's Tire shine to finish off. Next up full interior clean up then, exhaust polishing and then paint correction.


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Just a mini up date today. I had 5 spare minutes so added these i had made last year.


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## dundeepeh (Jun 20, 2013)

*Bmw 320i sport*

Can't wait till Friday to get my hands on my new toy. More pictures to come


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

So last week a managed to get a full day with the m3 for a paint correction. As the car had a full decontamination a few days before a quick bath was need. So my plans was to get the car in the my sisters garage checkout out the paint damage, test a few panels for the pad/compound combinations for the best/most effective results. However i hit a problem straight away. The problem being light, i had brought with me 2 x 50w white flood lights thinking that this would be fine for the job in hand. As the car is white and has SO many metallic flakes the light basically bounces back in your face with every angle. My fault for not having the right tools for the job. A darker surrounding area and sun gun where needed here. Even tho i have sunglass on it didn't help much. You will see from videos below.

Anyway as i couldn't fully check my work correctly i didn't want to start cutting deep into the paint for the sake of it. This is pretty much a one off paint job so i wanted to leave as much paint on the car as possible unit i was in the a better situation to deal with it completely. So not wanting to waste the day completely i decided to do for a single stage. This would not remove the deeper damage but would improve the finish in the short term. The results were nowhere near what the car deserves but huge improvement on the last 3 years of damage inflected from me completely neglecting the car. I'm a bit gutted as iv ran out of time to get the car properly sorted for Gaydon so she will just have go the way she is.

So the plan is now to get the car in a unit at the end of the summer, get the paint sorted once and for all then go down the coating route due to not having the time to maintain the car like i use to.




























Here is a better photo and video to help explain the issue with spotting the defects. The left hand side is untouched, right hand side is after a fine machine compound. Noticeable improvements but a long way of the mark.










On the video keep your eye on the first light on the right hand side, not the hand held light. :thumbsup:

[URL=http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o792/jeffcheetham/E1B1720C-9161-4FE6-8B6A-91518F172299_zpsy10bc51t.mp4]

http://vid1343.photobucket.com/albums/o792/jeffcheetham/E1B1720C-9161-4FE6-8B6A-91518F172299_zpsy10bc51t.mp4

Here are some after shots but dont be fooled is far far far far from perfect
































































And to top it off a nice over cast day :muttley:



















Had just enough time to polish my tips tho





































All in all the car is in better shape but it's nowhere near the standards i had the car at in Spain. This is what having kids does to your time lol


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Just little update today. I had a fantastic weekend a Gaydon. This is the first time i have been to a BMW car show and it was fantastic to put a face to so many cars. The show was pants tbh however it didn't matter it was all about the people and the cars. Couldn't believe the placement of the cutters stand. I look like the just wanted TMC and Cutters out the way of the show. Anyway here is my favorite photo of the old girl. Photo credit goes to M4CARBON


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## leecarey212 (Oct 7, 2015)

Looks awesome Mate love the paint! 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk


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## ah234 (Nov 10, 2015)

Looks class! Lovely car


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## Prestige car care shop (Mar 29, 2014)

Thanks guys


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