# Polished Bliss: 3 days & a 12 year old E36 328...



## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

This was the start of another new maintenance contract and was meant to be for an M3, however Alek decided to get rid of it as he couldnt justify a car of that value sitting about in his garage half the time. So instead, he picked up this minted E36 328 with only 46k on the clock:










As you can see, the car was pretty clean already, all be it slightly pink looking 

So after a quick pre rinse with hot water (50 degrees) at high pressure i started on the wheels. Like the car in general, these were hardly dirty and even clean all the way to the back so all that was needed was Menz 7.5 to remove the light grime and brake dust. The gel was sprayed on and agitated with a MF mitt and brush:










The arches were soaked with Meguiars Super Degreaser and rinsed at the same time as the wheels.

The car was then washed with the 2BM and lambswool mitt, including the shuts etc - again, these were pretty spotless already so no need for any APC's or degreasers 

After a rinse, Autosmart Tardis was applied to the lower half of the car and wheels, then wiped off with a MF:










I then soaked the engine bay with Meguiars Super Degreaser and rinsed at medium pressure.

The car was then rinsed again before i moved onto the clay stage. Meguiars Mild Detailing Clay was used this time:










This removed a medium amount of contamination:










Now nice and clean, the swirls started to become visible in the morning sun:



















The car had initially looked pretty good before i had washed it but it was alot swirlier once clayed and dried. Turns out the car had been given a quick going over with Autoglym SRP so the fillers had obviously been removed - showing the true condition of the paint 

I dried the car off with a waffle weave and then blasted all the excess water out the panel gaps with the leaf blower before putting it inside.

Side repeaters were removed:










I then taped everything up ready for polishing, including the bonnet vents to stop any dust from getting inside the engine bay:










Paint thickness readings were taken next, with the car generally quite healthy:










The rear end was a bit thin in places though:










High readings on the n/s rear quarter and door showed signs of respray work, although it was a very high quality:










Aside from these areas and the front bumper, the rest of the car was original 

Defects were medium, with alot of RIDS - however for a 12 year old car it wasnt as bad as some 2-3 year old cars i've done!:



















After much playing about with polish and pad combinations, i settled on 3M Fine Cut Compound (3.02 equivalant, however i found it cut better on this particular car) with a drop of Ultrafina which seems to make it that bit nicer to work with. I used this with a Meguiars Cutting Pad @ 1800-2000rpm's, this older paint was a good bit harder than the newer ceramiclear paints and needed 2 hits per panel, some needing 3.










Here's a 50/50 shot on the back 1/4:










And a couple of fully corrected shots:



















I continued to work my way around the car wth this pad and polish combination, slowing down to 1500rpm's for the smaller areas to keep heat down a bit:










Same for the sideskirts:










I got around half the car machined and called it a day at around 6pm.

*Day 2*:

Day 2 was a continuation of the de-swirling stage, and once all the rotary work was completed i got out the Megs G220 and started to correct the smaller areas.

The section between the rub strip and side skirt was slightly too small for the rotary to fit so i used the G220 for this, using Menz 3.02 and speed 5 with slow passes letting the polish do the work.

*before*:










*after*:










*Tailgate corrected* (1 or 2 RIDS remained due to the low paint levels):










*50/50 on spoiler* (this was single stage):










Although single stage and fairly soft, the spoiler still had a few RIDs left as they were pretty deep, as can be seen below:










The bootlid corrected well though:










Time was getting on now as i was taking my time to get every panel as swirl free as possible as solid red shows up defects pretty easily despite not being easy to capture on camera! My aim was to have all the machine polishing including the finishing polish stage done by the end of the night, so i was planning on making it a late one.

Alek wanted the "M" badge removed from the bootlid so it was firstly heated up with the heat gun (this was done before the correction work on the bootlid but for easyness i'm including it here ):










Once it was removed, it was now obvious why the previous owner had put the badge on in the first place, a nice gouge out the paint was now visible:










Just aswell there was a new one to go on then, and luckily it was big enough to cover the gouge 










It was now around 7 o clock and Alek turned up to have a chat and see how the car was getting on, plus he wanted to see a bit of wetsanding - which was my next job 

The bonnet was sporting several areas where the previous owner had wiped bird crap into more than off the paint and inflicted some pretty deep scratches which couldnt be removed with polishing alone.

The worst one was sanded back with 2000 unigrit (no pics of the scratch as my camera wouldnt focus on it properly):










I then removed the sanding marks with 2 hits of 3M Fast Cut Plus with the G220 machine, removing approx 15 microns in total with only a light trace of the scratches left, which pleased Alek 

The other areas (seen below) weren't quite as deep so i used 3000 unigrit for these:










I removed these with 1 hit of 3.02 and the G220.

By this stage it was now the back of 9pm so i decided to leave it at that for day 2, a bit disapointed i hadnt got more done but Alek was genuinely interested in the whole detailing process so this made it more worthwhile - better to keep a customer happy :thumb:

*Day 3*:

As i hadnt got it done the night previous, i got straight into completing the finishing stage of the machining knowing i had a fair bit left to do before the car would be complete.

3M Ultrafina and a blue finshing pad was used at 1500rpm's and Po85rd on a 4" polishing pad was used with the G220 on the smaller areas such as the front bumper etc - this took approx 2 hours so it allowed me to stop for 20 mins to have lunch. Although the fine Cut Compound finishes down well, the 2nd refining stage really made a difference to the clarity and reflectiveness of the red 

Before the number plates went back on i decided to de-swirl these too 










After the masking tape was removed and a quick dust down i applied Vintage with the red side of a German Applicator Pad:










This was left on the whole car and left to cure.

The engine bay was dressed with Aerospace 303:




























I then polished up the tailpipes, using Blackfire Fine Cut Compound, followed up with Megs NXT:

*before*:










*after*:










The interior was given a thorough hoover out and i shampood the front matts, wiped down everything with a mild APC solution and then dressed the interior plastics as they were looking quite dry. For this i used Poorboys Natural Look Dressing:










This was applied with a MF applicator and then given a final buff off.

I also fed the leather, again opting for Poorboys (Leather Stuff) just for a change 










The glass was cleaned with Meguiars Glass Cleaner Concentrate.

*Interior Pics:*




























The tyres were dressed with Blackfire Long Lasting Tyre Gel, wheels were sealed with PB Wheel Sealant and the arches were done with Meguiars All Season Dressing.

I then buffed off the Vintage and dressed the exterior trim with All Season Dressing:










This was left for about 30 mins before i gave it a final buff to avoid streaking when wet.

A final inspection was all that was needed before taking pics of the finished result - not bad for a 12 year old car i think 

















































































































































Total Work Time: Approx *28* hours.

Cheers

Clark :thumb:


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## Auto Finesse (Jan 10, 2007)

Puka!

that is a properly mint car for any age


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## raider56 (May 3, 2007)

Looks amazing for a car that age, and so much better with the 328i badge strangely?


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

WOW there is life in the old girl yet!!!! nece one m8.. Lovley job!


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## GTste (Jul 19, 2007)

lovely work.

looks like a minter aswell.


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## Warduke (Sep 21, 2007)

Awesome!!!...great job clark thanks for sharing....:thumb:


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## visor (Sep 8, 2007)

that looks superb!


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## Frothey (Apr 30, 2007)

Money shot! Great work as always Clark :thumb:


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## Exclusive Car Care (Jan 14, 2007)

superb work once again.:thumb:


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## kk1966 (Aug 8, 2007)

Yet again another stunning job with exceptional attention to detail :thumb:


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Nice turn around there mate!


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## Detail My Ride (Apr 19, 2006)

Superb work, looks stunning :thumb:


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## d6dph (Mar 6, 2007)

Deswirling the number plates! Awesome attention to detail as usual Clark.

Nice to see someone else replacing the original badge. Mine had a M badge when I got it.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Cheers guys!



GTste said:


> lovely work.
> 
> looks like a minter aswell.


Yeah it was pretty damn clean, best example i've ever seen anyways


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## dazzo (Sep 13, 2007)

Yayyyy, its just like mine!. . . . 

Except mines green . . . and a saloon. . . . and not as clean . . .

Nice to see one of the old 328s getting a good workout from the best, stunning job Clark, as always.
Is this car from e36coupe.com fella?


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## dhali (Mar 12, 2006)

some of those engine bay shots could be used for brochure shots!!

as ALWAYS EXCELLENT:thumb:


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

Great work again. Reminds my of my old sport. Tell the owner that he needs to get the big bore throttle body and 325 manifold conversion done. It will give him at least 20bhp extra.


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## Gleammachine (Sep 8, 2007)

Excellent work as always.:thumb: 

Had a steel blue 328 sport much nicer drive than the E36 M3.


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

oooh i do love the e36. to enthusiasts its supposed to be the ugly duckling but i think its one of the best shapes. probably because i was around 19 and really into cars when they first released the e36.

you made a fantastic job of that one mate. glad the m3 badge is off too


keep up the good work mate

matt


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## dubnut71 (Jul 25, 2006)

Now thats a class turn around and as for taking of the M badge and replacing with this:









Thats a true sign of a proper enthusiast rather than doing it the other way around, good taste fella!!!!


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## MickCTR (Mar 4, 2006)

The last collection of pics really do look stunning, the last 3 in particular and dare i say... that is one of the wettest lookin cars i have seen on DW. Stunning work. I bet the owner was over the moon! I wish that was parked in my garage (if i had a garage)










:thumb:


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

That is an amazing finish - got to be the best E36 around now :thumb:


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## pete330 (Apr 18, 2006)

Was really looking forward to reading this one
I saw this car when Alek bought it the week before it went in
Being an ex e36 owner i knew straight off that this one had potential to be as good or if anything better than mine was (Show winner BTW) and i knew once Clark had worked on it then it would be right up there with the best for our shows this year

I told Alek to get rid of M badge and replace with original badge
If it were my car i would prob source a mint set of original alloys as this car is one of the best original cars i have seen accross the country

Once again great Job and lovely Pics (Hope you dont mind me posting a few on Clubs website for others to see)
5 Star


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## Mossman (Jan 10, 2008)

Stunning job!


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

yeah go for it Pete!

Agree with the wheels, although the ones on it now aint bad


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Blinding as usual...


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## Mark J (May 10, 2007)

Truly superb work (AGAIN!) :thumb:


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## JayDee (Jan 12, 2008)

Looks great as usual. Lovely colour too.


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## Buck (Jan 16, 2008)

As always - world class!

Some of the photos are getting quite arty too!!!


:thumb:


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Stunning work as usual Clark :thumb:


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## Summit Detailing (Oct 9, 2006)

that's right on the money isnt it! :thumb:


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## Dan Clark (Jun 25, 2007)

That is one mint beemer....top work!


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## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Great work there, world class :thumb: 

Do you have more pics from (before) engine???

Regards


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Racer said:


> Great work there, world class :thumb:
> 
> Do you have more pics from (before) engine???
> 
> Regards


yeah but they are pretty blurry cos my hands were cold lol, to be honest it was pretty clean to begin with so didnt need much to get it spotless


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## Nica (Jul 4, 2007)

I'm always impressed at your attention to detail Clark and always enjoy your write ups :thumb:

Vehicle looks gorgeous, hard to beleave it's that old. Thank you for sharing.


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## Kadir (Jun 14, 2007)

Lovely stuff.. :thumb:


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

amazing work! really does look stunning!


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## snoop69 (Jun 16, 2007)

Best red Bimmer ive ever seen :doublesho 

Very nice write up too :thumb:


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## Brisa (Aug 9, 2006)

One of the cleanist ones Im ever likely to see. Brilliant work.


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## Mr.Mexi (Feb 23, 2007)

Wow - what a beauty - this is the satisfaction of detailing!


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## Guest (Feb 3, 2008)

stunning work

reminds me of my old e36 318is coupe in brilliant red


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## Max M4X WW (Sep 19, 2006)

Now I really like that, fantastic work too.

Makes me laugh when people put those M badges on, I hate them! (on non M cars!)


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## S-X-I (Sep 6, 2006)

Excellent work as always. 

The finish on that would put any new car to shame.


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## jake_b (Jan 9, 2008)

great finish there...i bet you can tie the owner's smile around his head


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

Another stellar job Clark. Boy, that red looks perfect. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:


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## pirex (Apr 18, 2007)

Amazing work!!


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## sczscoob (Nov 15, 2006)

Yet again you've exceeded yourselves! Great write up, lovely car. I love seeing an older car coming back to life.:thumb:


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

looked much much better in the flesh i must say

top notch work as per normal

:thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

KKM said:


> looked much much better in the flesh i must say
> 
> top notch work as per normal
> 
> :thumb:


Cheers "dude" 

Did you get my txt on sat? I was down at Star and hardly get a reception in Jims waiting room :wall:


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## DE 1981 (Aug 17, 2007)

At the risk of ki$$ing ar$e looks great been waiting to see the results after seeing the defects you showed me close up.

I like the fact you put the proper badge back on.

Nice work on a nice oem car


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

As always, excellent attention to detail through out and a cracking machine finish.


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## L200 Steve (Oct 25, 2005)

Mint.

You've brought a real freshness back to what is an older car. Stunning.:thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Cheers Steve, good to see you back on here again :thumb:


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## leistrum (Feb 10, 2007)

Wish I could see all the pics with this one - just getting those red crosses! Still I expect its every bit as good as usual!


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## freon warrior (May 31, 2006)

A cracking job and a great write up, a joy to view as always. What did it sound like with the K+N induction kit?


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

no idea, i only heard it on idle really and when i was moving it in and out the unit 

I would suspect it sounds rather nice though :driver: :thumb:


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## scooby73 (Mar 20, 2007)

Superb work, the finish looks stunning:thumb:


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## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Great Correction work Clark, how do you find the G 220 ? Does it have forced rotation like the Flex XC 3401 VRG ? 

Considering the age of the car stunning results as usual !
Today i worked on a 1972 Covette Stingray the paint was a mess!

I will post soon ! Keep up the excellent work !:thumb:


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## ryanuk (Jun 22, 2007)

stunning work again clark!


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## ROB WOODHOUSE (Nov 13, 2005)

just got one exactly the same as this today albeit with different wheels and its a 320i same colour as well hope to get it somewhere near that condition in the future the defects look about the same, as always a good write up and an excellent job there!


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## Rew (Sep 26, 2006)

Really impressed with this work and write up. Well done:thumb:


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## s3 rav (Apr 30, 2008)

looks like a very nice example there.


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## Piratez (Jun 28, 2008)

Superb detailing :thumb:


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

holy post resurrection batman!:lol:


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## Kris1986 (May 19, 2008)

Superb


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## Admin (Oct 25, 2005)

Great work Clark :thumb:


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## dps1973 (Dec 18, 2008)

Ohh my god that puts mine to shame that is awesome mate!!!!! :thumb:


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## rapidseven (Apr 26, 2007)

Excellent photography skills.

Really impressive attention to detail.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Jesus a year later lol


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## sly (Apr 18, 2008)

Great work!!!


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## Saqib200 (May 13, 2008)

Awesome work, really impressed. A few products there that we don't see you using much in write-ups any more. (eg Megs clay, 3M extra fine)


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## bbigman2000 (Aug 28, 2006)

You guys really are the bench mark standard for the industry.


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## Clark @ PB (Mar 1, 2006)

Saqib200 said:


> Awesome work, really impressed. A few products there that we don't see you using much in write-ups any more. (eg Megs clay, 3M extra fine)


They still get used fairly regularly mate :thumb:

Saying that, I dont do much write ups now a days lol


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

Clark said:


> Saying that, I dont do much write ups now a days lol


Who needs to when your old ones still get a good airing! 

It certainly was a cracking job you did on the BMW. :thumb:


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## supercharged (Feb 1, 2008)

Detailed to perfection! :argie::thumb::thumb:


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## Marcus_RS4 (Jan 21, 2008)

woooow shiny seats


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## Nick_S (Dec 20, 2008)

Superb work! I always look forward to your write ups :thumb:


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## Ashtra (Oct 17, 2007)

looks stunning,ure work is awesome mate.


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## Max M4X WW (Sep 19, 2006)

Marcus_RS4 said:


> woooow shiny seats


:doublesho


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## scottmmw (Aug 11, 2008)

still one of the best looking cars around, specially examples like that!


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## Neil_S (Oct 26, 2005)

Awesome attention to detail, love the car.


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## detailersdomain (Sep 13, 2006)

nice work! :thumb:


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## Bluetacker (Feb 6, 2009)

Great work - amazed at the attention paid to every little detail. Really shows in the results. :thumb:


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## Predator_VTR (Apr 8, 2007)

Thats absolutely amazing :thumb:


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## chrisfoster1971 (Feb 16, 2008)

:doublesho WOW That looks amazing Clark anyone would be happy with that kind of turnaround..awesome.

The reds looks so deep they're unreal.


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## Jesse74 (Jul 19, 2008)

Great job, Clark!


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## rossdook (Aug 20, 2008)

That's one of your best IMHO Clark. :thumb:

I had a near identical 320 a few years back, which sadly never looked nearly as good as that Beemer....

Stunning finish - must've cost him a few quid relative to the worth of the car?


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## Carn (Apr 13, 2007)

Lovely work as usual, beautifull


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## Vyker (Sep 17, 2008)

I think that's a stunning car, I'd love to get myself a summer car like that

Cabrio M3 E36


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## The Sheriff (Jul 15, 2008)

Fantastic!!

Would be interesting to see how it looks now hey??!


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## Leopold (Jun 27, 2007)

Very nice, you've done a excellent jo there m8..:thumb:


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