# BMW E36 Convertible - Mossville & Grime - Toothpick 'R' Us



## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

Sorry if you've come on here looking for a slighty dusty car thats needs a wipeover - This thing was proper mucky.

Belongs to a neighbour of mine, he saw the merc and put on a sorryfull face, he normally cleans his car with washing up liquid but he hadn't washed it in ages, being parked under a tree does not help the cause - neither does the ear bashing he was getting from his wife - in exchange for a few cups of tea, good banter and a few biscuits, I was on my way...

Measured with gauge, this cars paint was all over the place a rusty back wheel arch and a few other rust spots - main thing was the roof, I mean it had stuff growing on it.. literally - well in fact the whole car did..:doublesho

I'll let the pics do the talking..

Passenger door









by rear number plate









errrm bit of moss









Think it should be white ? 


















Yikes :doublesho





































Paint was looking a tad flat..

















































































Right - on with the show - combination of toothpick - & mix of 1-3 water diluted Megs APC + White vinegar + great AS stiff Interior brush



















On with the wheels - Bilberry 1-4 - rinsed followed by Megs Wheel Brightner -rinsed followed by Iron X - rinsed & last few bits clayed off



















They were all like this :









think the iron x might be working.. crazy pic :doublesho









On with the snowfoam - Elite snowfoam used


















Went around the car with envy brushes, Megs APC 1-4 cleaning badges, crevices etc




































Car was rinsed then Contaminants removed - Iron X - 3M clay - car was then 2bm cleaned, final rinse and dried



























My mate toothpick, getting out the hidden muck



















Clean hood !









Did a revisit on the paint, intial trial was CG Swirl B Gone on Orange Hex - Being toughy old German paint, this didn't really touch it - the FC mixed with Ultrafina had to come out..this was only a mild enhancment not much more really + being wary around the car where the thin paint was.

Swirly town









ah - reflections starting to come back on the left hand side - I can see the tree again 









50/50









Then just got cracking on round the car - few finished pics - Hood was brushed, hoovered then sealed with Fabisil - Paint all cleaned down, then my fave SRP with Vics red over the top - Trims with AG Rubber/Vinyl restorer - Tyres AS Highstyle






















































Then camera run out lol

thanks for looking


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## Jed (Aug 1, 2010)

Excellent job, don't be using that toothpic to get spinach out of your teeth now though!


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Great improvement, it was disgusting before :doublesho


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## Pookini (Jan 19, 2011)

Brilliant turnaround! 
Love the amount of muck that came out of the window rubbers! EW! :lol:


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## Baker21 (Aug 7, 2007)

These are the sorts of write-ups you just can't ignore, great thread and I am sure your neighbour was over the moon............:doublesho

Cracking turn around and thanks for sharing.........:wave:


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## Posambique (Oct 20, 2010)

How can a car ever look that bad?!? :doublesho

And how can it became so pretty and clean?
Wonderful work mate!


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## eurodriver (May 9, 2010)

was really curious what the afters were for RIMS!!!! you didnt get one! cmoon guy!

other than that looks great!


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

How much crud out of the rubbers..

Nice job bud :thumb:


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## ads2k (Jul 12, 2006)

Brilliant job :thumb:, actually looks in very good mint condition from the outside now, I bet he'll have an ear bashing about keeping it that way from now on from his wife :lol:


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

qstix said:


> How much crud out of the rubbers..
> 
> Nice job bud :thumb:


Loads of it - that shot of the fuel cap - the actual cap was covered on mould - before when wet, the whole car just felt slimy

Roof was a toughy - good few (4) hours alone on that :doublesho


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## Rust.Bucket (Feb 11, 2011)

That really was grimey!
Loving the toothpick photos- yuck!
Nice result


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great turnaround..


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## paddy328 (Mar 4, 2007)

Fair play mate, that was minging. On a side note, thats the only white/blue 328 vert ive seen. Must be a pretty rare combo.


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## ant_s (Jan 29, 2009)

Looks much better now,and did you de-contaimate before washing then?


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## matt_83 (Apr 28, 2009)

Impressive turnaround! :thumb:


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## David Proctor (Mar 6, 2011)

loving the before and after shots. Great work..


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## R7KY D (Feb 16, 2010)

Very nice job 


What did you do with the penicillin from the rag top ?


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## macca85 (May 31, 2009)

fantastic turn around, i always prefer jobs that have a massive difference from before and after, much more satisfaction in seeing it turn around. top work


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## rob929 (Aug 15, 2010)

Very impressive! The job you've done on the hood is stunning!

You deserve a holiday after that effort!


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2011)

fantastic work mate,lets hope he appreciate it and keeps it maintained :thumb:


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## uzi-blue (Mar 16, 2011)

Excellent work, an amazing turnaround. :thumb:


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## kempe (Jan 9, 2011)

Top job there :thumb:


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## M4RC (Mar 15, 2011)

Great turnaround. Never mind his wife, i'd be having words with him if he was to neglect it again after going through all of that for him:lol:


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

ant_s said:


> Looks much better now,and did you de-contaimate before washing then?


Yup - did the full decontamination - tar/fallout/clay/APC etc :thumb:



R7KY D said:


> Very nice job
> 
> What did you do with the penicillin from the rag top ?


lol - it was alive literally.. very slimy - 4 hours alone on the softop !!


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## Sportspack Mark (May 24, 2007)

fantastic work!


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

The_Bouncer said:


> lol - it was alive literally.. very slimy - 4 hours alone on the softop !!


Very nice job there. :thumb:

I did a BMW convertible at the weekend and it was the first time I've tackled a soft-top. I used a mixture of water and Surfex HD and was surprised that the roof still showed marks afterwards. However, I only spent an hour on it! What did you use? Just APC?

Once again, great job!


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

top job...I would have been holding out for some beers for payment mind you! :lol:

Hope the guy looks after all your hard work!

:thumb:


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## G3 Matt (Mar 29, 2007)

Lots of hard work in this turnaround. Well done!


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

ayrshireteggy said:


> Very nice job there. :thumb:
> 
> I did a BMW convertible at the weekend and it was the first time I've tackled a soft-top. I used a mixture of water and Surfex HD and was surprised that the roof still showed marks afterwards. However, I only spent an hour on it! What did you use? Just APC?
> 
> Once again, great job!


Was a bottle mix of Megs APC around 1-3 mixed in with water + about 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar < needed to tackle moss

:thumb:


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## ayrshireteggy (Dec 13, 2006)

The_Bouncer said:


> Was a bottle mix of Megs APC around 1-3 mixed in with water + about 3 tablespoons of white wine vinegar < needed to tackle moss
> 
> :thumb:


Cheers! :thumb:


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## FlawlessDetailing (Mar 13, 2010)

Really good job there mate.

That was just Nasty !
the suprising thing was it was actually driven ! looks like it was parked up for a couple of years !!!


Great work :thumb:


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## nickmak (May 29, 2010)

Great stuff there, especially with the toothpicks! :thumb:

I can't imagine how someone could drive around in what is essentially moss.


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

Great effort! TRANSFORMED the car! :thumb


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## Tabbs (Aug 3, 2009)

Great turnaround there matey
v impressed
:thumb:


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## 123quackers (Jan 29, 2009)

Cracking work on a now Great car!! love these e36's 

Bet the is was bad,is that up next...:thumb:


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## Dude2k (Nov 16, 2010)

nice work mate, i just love those bmw e36´s ,


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## centenary (Sep 5, 2010)

Great turnaround!


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## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

very nice work


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## Keza (Dec 10, 2010)

Great turnaround..


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## Ant695 (Mar 21, 2011)

That was an amazing turnaround. Especially on the roof. That was just plain wrong the state it was in.

Ant695


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## Deeg (Mar 30, 2009)

I love write ups like this... Great turnaround :thumb:


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## Poohbore (Aug 10, 2013)

Simply superb !


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## archiebald (Sep 7, 2009)

Best post in a long while, nice seeing it returned to some semblance of glory. What was the interior like?


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## tommyboy40 (Feb 28, 2012)

There was probably a cure for cancer growing on that car! Great work


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

archiebald said:


> Best post in a long while, nice seeing it returned to some semblance of glory. What was the interior like?


this is a two year old thread, doubt Jay will remember :lol:..


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Mega bit of work Jay. Looks so much better especially the hood.

Huge clean up needed there. Great chance to make a huge difference.


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

Wow - Thread revival :thumb:

The Interior was bad news, that got done at a later date but no pics/writeup on that.

The petrol cap was so bad on this, it had 'fur' growing on one half and slime on the other - that is the petrol cap UNDER the flap.

One of the worst car I've had the pleasure to work on in many years ( although may one coming up soon, which is near to this...)

Thanks for the words guys - It was an 'interesting' car to work on indeed. - Once the inside was done, a few weeks later he sold it... no surprise there really. :wall:

His new one is getting just as mucky. !


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## jamesgti (Aug 9, 2007)

Wow great turnaround.


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