# 328i Bmw big write up



## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

Oh and before I start,I would like to thank you in advance if you are able to make it to the end,as it is fairly long,and took me around 4 hours to write up

the car is a 1998 328i and has been restored as a M3 (nearly) the car had a full respray,with quite a few new panels to be fitted including the whole tail end,full interior re-trim ect.Recently the car went to a local body shop for a few bit's of paint,bare in mind the car has only done around 500 miles in about 8 years anyway,the owner asked if the body shop would freshen the paint up,so that meant letting some guy butcher it and he butchered it handsomely leaving swirls,inflicting scrapes ect

First up all the usual wash and decontamination stages

Snow foamed using Orchard Car Care "Cotton Candy" best snow foam I have ever used,all door shut's,crevices,trims ect,wheel's,arches and engine bay cleaned with varying brushes and APC


















































































I got a spare set of wheels to set the car on,while the split rims were off and getting a good going over,bolts removed to get the center piece out,bolt heads were polished back up to a shine using a dremil tool,drill and metal polish,I also removed the old lock tight from the threads so that there would be nothing hindering the new lock tight I applied later on,chrome lip on the rims were machine polished

center caps taken apart,cleaned and polished
































































50/50,and finished pic



















a decent improvement










cleaning threads










polishing























































time for a bit of stripping to allow better access and refine any paint/lacquer lines




























next up, engine bay

strut brace off,dismantled,cleaned,polished and sealed

before










after




























the bolts that hold on the engine covers were looking worse for wear,so I couldn't have that,all removed,cleaned and polished using the same method as the wheel bolts





































at this stage I cleaned up the original tool kit














































onto the paint work which was really atrocious 
machine marks/scratches,sanding marks that had not been removed properly
































































the entire car was covered in these marks










boot lid























































scrapes that needed wet sanding
































































color breaking through




























back outside for an inspection










sexy wheels










after the cutting and refining stages were complete,it was time for some paint cleaner,Prima Amigo glaze,JetSeal 109 and two coat's of dodo juice purple haze



















when ever the body shop were re-fitting the exhaust,it was tight against the bumper and sat unevenly,they told the customer they couldn't get it any better well I thought different,car jacked up,exhaust loosened,some washers,spacers and a lot of time later,also cleaned the exhaust while it was down
































































all door shuts,boot shuts,wing gully's ect and under side of boot lid were polished,in this pic you can see the over spray removed from under the boot lid



















the entire boot was dismantled,cleaned polished and dressed































































































































whoever done the re-trim broke the driver's side seat extender,I didn't have to fix it but.... then wished I had never put my hand to it,a lot of fighting tugging,pulling,swearing and a few hours later,I had the bit stripped to reveal all 4 rivet's had been broke










so 4 new rivets and built back up




























the trimmer also made a mess of the hand brake cover it wouldn't even fit ,and yea I give myself more headache










interior nooks and crannies cleaned using ****tail sticks,cotton buds and a magic sponge























































another lengthy process,removing,cleaning polishing back up using the dremel tool and drill,and a nightmare refitting them :<














































next up was to re-paint calipers,dress arches,but while I was in there some of the suspension bit's looked a bit shabby,so they were wire brushed and painted black along with the guards














































dressing





































I noticed there were no clips holding the driver side skirt in place FFS,what sort of idiots were working at the car,so on my back AGAIN and re-drill new holes for the clips




























new mats had to be fitted using screw in clips,I then covered them with plastic to keep them new



















http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss314/paulmc08/Aaron%20purple%20bmw/IMG_0080-2.jpg[/img

before and after pics,50/50's and finished pics

[img]http://i587.photobucket.com/albums/ss314/paulmc08/Aaron%20purple%20bmw/IMG_0074.jpg









































































I also repainted the wiper arms as seen in these pics




























and fitted























































































































































































































































































































































in the pic below it look's like there is polish residue in some of the crevices,but it's not,and it wouldn't budge















































































































































































































































































It's been a while since I last posted,as I wasn't sure if my work was good enough but hopefully this one was

So that's it folk's,lost count of the hour's after the 200 mark lol,thank's for taking the time to look,and hope you enjoyed

Paul.


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## chrisc (Jun 15, 2008)

cracking job there what bits did you use to do the bolts on the dremmel?
As im doing my bike bits up over winter and bolts is one of the main bits what look a tad shabby


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## steve from wath (Dec 12, 2008)

youve certainly put a lot of time ,effort and love into the car
and it shows

thats a great turnaround and a motor and job to be proud of

well done that man :thumb:


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## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

a massive effort and a pleasure to read many thanks :thumb:


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## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Fantastic!


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Cracking job there mate :thumb:


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## jlw41 (Jun 5, 2011)

Awesome work mate


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

Stunning work.


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## skorpios (Sep 11, 2011)

Awesome job!!!! 
So much effort and time spent, that you don't see it very often! :thumb:


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## nick.s (Dec 21, 2009)

When I saw the teaser details you posted in VVOC Paul, I knew as always a lot of blood sweat and tears would go into this one, and your thread has confirmed that. Kudos to the level of work and results on a cracking BMW....E36 = best shape 3 series by far!


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Absolutely Stunning! The E36 is one of my favourite cars, especially in this colour combination.

Amazing job too mate, big pat on the back!


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Fantastic work:thumb:


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

chrisc said:


> cracking job there what bits did you use to do the bolts on the dremmel?
> As im doing my bike bits up over winter and bolts is one of the main bits what look a tad shabby


I used the smaller cotton type pads with a couple of different metal polishes 



steve from wath said:


> youve certainly put a lot of time ,effort and love into the car
> and it shows
> 
> thats a great turnaround and a motor and job to be proud of
> ...


thank's Steve,now you know why I wanted the Sisal wheels :lol:



nick.s said:


> When I saw the teaser details you posted in VVOC Paul, I knew as always a lot of blood sweat and tears would go into this one, and your thread has confirmed that. Kudos to the level of work and results on a cracking BMW....E36 = best shape 3 series by far!


Thank's Nick,really appreciate your comment's



JBirchy said:


> Absolutely Stunning! The E36 is one of my favourite cars, especially in this colour combination.
> 
> Amazing job too mate, big pat on the back!


Thank's again


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

a lot of work involved in that, looks good, well done...

:thumb:


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

The Cueball said:


> a lot of work involved in that, looks good, well done...
> 
> :thumb:


Thank's mate


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## avit88 (Mar 19, 2012)

wow can I ask what your method was to paint the shabby looking suspension parts? did you just dremel them and paint with black hammerite?


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## Martin_HDI (Aug 19, 2010)

Wow that was a pleasure to read, Great work.

Thanks!


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## Bigcheese1664 (Mar 25, 2012)

Paul you have great attention to detail and have done a great write up, really good polishing on the metal parts, this is the kind of process I use in my maintenance engineering job but using a pillar drill and a 3" mounted wire brush, just a bit quicker. Love the E36 and you have made this one look outstanding, work to be proud of.


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## jamie crookston (Aug 30, 2010)

Fantastic work. That is what you call attention to detail.


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## MEH4N (Mar 15, 2012)

that looks great. You defo spent alot of time on that bm and must be a labour of love.


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## gibbo555 (May 3, 2011)

Great job Paul, I know the owner and story with this car, didnt think it would have needed as much work! Cracking fresult though.


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## TopSport+ (Jul 22, 2012)

looks perfect


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## hibberd (Jul 5, 2006)

pretty sloppy attention to detail, I am sure I saw a spek of dust in one of the after photos...Superb job, stunning level of work...


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## Farquhar (May 15, 2007)

Lovely job.

Shame about the god awful number plates...


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## ted11 (Jul 8, 2011)

Fantastic transformation, well done.


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## johnnyguitar (Mar 24, 2010)

Massive job and great work, should be chuffed with that.
What did you use on the leather?


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## Pedro92 (May 5, 2011)

:thumb:What a job !!!!!:thumb:


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## okcharlie (Jun 29, 2010)

Great result and well worth the time invested! Well done!:thumb:


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## ckeir.02mh (Jan 5, 2012)

Wow what a job, cracking e36 328! 
STUNNING!

One question, do you know where the carbon fibre front splitter came from? wouldn't mind that on my e36.

Chris.


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## tomwrx (Sep 19, 2010)

That is simply stunning.


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## David Proctor (Mar 6, 2011)

Wow...Stunning attention to detail....Awesome..


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## cleancar (Sep 21, 2006)

Excellent work ! You should be very pleased , good work !


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## Bowler (Jan 23, 2011)

Epic job


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## M3simon (Jan 23, 2012)

Outstanding work mate.


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## B&B Autostyle (Apr 4, 2010)

Monumental work Paul!

Not just a paintwork Detail but a total overhaul.

Nice one. Your pint is in the post!


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## mlgt (Apr 11, 2008)

Great write up. Cracking results


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## woodym3 (Aug 30, 2009)

Fantastic attention to detail that one mate, I salute you sir, first time i have seen a 50/50 on a strut brace. Brilliant.


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

avit88 said:


> wow can I ask what your method was to paint the shabby looking suspension parts? did you just dremel them and paint with black hammerite?


Hi,I took at them with a wire brush and some course sand paper,then 3 coats of hamerite,they r far from perfect but a little tidier



Martin_HDI said:


> Wow that was a pleasure to read, Great work.
> 
> Thanks!


Thankyou



Bigcheese1664 said:


> Paul you have great attention to detail and have done a great write up, really good polishing on the metal parts, this is the kind of process I use in my maintenance engineering job but using a pillar drill and a 3" mounted wire brush, just a bit quicker. Love the E36 and you have made this one look outstanding, work to be proud of.


Thanks fella,I now know who's brain to pick about metal polishing :thumb:



jamie crookston said:


> Fantastic work. That is what you call attention to detail.





Mehan said:


> that looks great. You defo spent alot of time on that bm and must be a labour of love.


Thank's again guy's


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

gibbo555 said:


> Great job Paul, I know the owner and story with this car, didnt think it would have needed as much work! Cracking fresult though.


I thought the same too lol,I couldn't have been more wrong

thanks again



hibberd said:


> pretty sloppy attention to detail, I am sure I saw a spek of dust in one of the after photos...Superb job, stunning level of work...


you are probably correct,I'm just glad you didn't see the rest of it :lol:



Farquhar said:


> Lovely job.
> 
> Shame about the god awful number plates...


I'm afraid those are run of the mill type number plates over here,I think a genuine set of Bmw marked ones would be better



johnnyguitar said:


> Massive job and great work, should be chuffed with that.
> What did you use on the leather?


Thanks

for the leather I used a mild leather cleaning and conditioning product,using a small "magic sponge" so as to very lightly take off the grime


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

ckeir.02mh said:


> Wow what a job, cracking e36 328!
> STUNNING!
> 
> One question, do you know where the carbon fibre front splitter came from? wouldn't mind that on my e36.
> ...


I don't know but will try and find out for you

I do know it cost around the £200 mark


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

woodym3 said:


> Fantastic attention to detail that one mate, I salute you sir, first time i have seen a 50/50 on a strut brace. Brilliant.


You too have a good eye for detail by spotting that :thumb:

on another car I done a 50/50 on the bonnet stand,

I think I'm loosing the plot :lol:


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## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

Great work, fantastic attention to detail


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## alfajim (May 4, 2011)

wow what a job. credit to you man, that's the business.


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## Beau Technique (Jun 21, 2010)

Plenty of time and tlc gone into that. Well deserved pat on the back.


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Oh detailing perfection. A great write up my man cracking work, loving your effort with the metal polishing. The bits and bobs came up a treat.

Good man for all the extra 'non detailing' work you carried out as well.


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

Beau Technique said:


> Plenty of time and tlc gone into that. Well deserved pat on the back.


Thank you


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## Black.MB (Aug 22, 2012)

Cracking job here mate, excellent writeup:thumb:


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## Msport-Addict (Oct 27, 2012)

Can you do the split rims on my 328 too please??!!


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## farley2708 (Apr 19, 2011)

yet another very fine piece of work there Paul,was the bm chasing after you in your sleep:thumb: cracking cracking job there espically your attention to detail,love the polished strut brace:buffer:


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

Soul Hudson said:


> Oh detailing perfection. A great write up my man cracking work, loving your effort with the metal polishing. The bits and bobs came up a treat.
> 
> Thank's again
> 
> ...


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## Keith_Lane (Dec 9, 2011)

Excellent attention to detail there mate, something to be proud of for sure!!


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## 3dom (Oct 30, 2012)

Sensational work and great to see an E36 getting some proper TLC. Incredible time and effort invested and it looks like you got the results. I hope the owner was happy?


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## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

Keith_Lane said:


> Excellent attention to detail there mate, something to be proud of for sure!!


Thanks mate



3dom said:


> Sensational work and great to see an E36 getting some proper TLC. Incredible time and effort invested and it looks like you got the results. I hope the owner was happy?


I couldn't really tell if he was happy or not

he was more interested about changing the wing mirrors :wall:


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## littlejack (Jun 11, 2008)

A serious case of OCD:lol: Cracking work on a great colour a real pleasure to read... 
steve


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## Anthony3p (May 9, 2011)

Lovely car and great job!!


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