# Making Imola Red again - BMW 330Ci topped in Auto Finesse Desire!



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Imola Red is a firm favourite colour of mine, so I've been looking forward to this 330Ci for quite some time since it was booked in a month or so ago. It is very low mileage for its age but the car was severely lacking gloss and the paint defects could be seen in just natural daylight, so I knew I had my work cut out for me on this one…

A few befores:


DSC07039 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07040 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07041 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07044 by RussZS, on Flickr

Wheels, tyres and arches were addressed first:


DSC07050 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07051 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07053 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07054 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07055 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07056 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07057 by RussZS, on Flickr

IronX was used to remove brake dust pitting:


DSC07059 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07060 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07061 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next the more intricate parts were cleansed with Surfex:


DSC07064 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07067 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07069 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07073 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07075 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next the car was foamed with Surfex:


DSC07077 by RussZS, on Flickr

Then hand washed with Lather:


DSC07078 by RussZS, on Flickr

After rinsing IronX was used to remove any fallout present:


DSC07080 by RussZS, on Flickr

Tardis was used on the tar:


DSC07083 by RussZS, on Flickr

Then clayed with OID and AF Clay:


DSC07084 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07085 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next the paint was assessed for thickness and various polishing combinations were tested. I settled on M101 for cutting followed by M205 for finishing:


DSC07181 by RussZS, on Flickr

Here's what I was up against!


DSC07098 by RussZS, on Flickr

Some correction shots:


DSC07086 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07090 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07101 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07102 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07107 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07119 by RussZS, on Flickr

Some deeper defects remain but this is a light correction detail, not our full correction service:


DSC07143 by RussZS, on Flickr

Piano Black Trim restored with DA and MF system:


DSC07144 by RussZS, on Flickr

Looking much better…


DSC07155 by RussZS, on Flickr

Desire was the wax of choice on this one:


DSC07182 by RussZS, on Flickr

Crystal on the glass:


DSC07183 by RussZS, on Flickr

Revive on plastics:


DSC07189 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07185 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07186 by RussZS, on Flickr

New Auto Finesse Tyre dressing used on the tyres…


DSC07190 by RussZS, on Flickr

Spritz on interior plastics and Z9 on the leather:


DSC07229 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07230 by RussZS, on Flickr

AF Cool Water Air Freshener to finish to make it smell as good as it looks!


DSC07245 by RussZS, on Flickr

and finally some afters…


DSC07193 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07196 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07200 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07202 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07212 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07234 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07253 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07309 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07310 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07313 by RussZS, on Flickr


DSC07314 by RussZS, on Flickr

Thanks for reading! 


DSC07320 by RussZS, on Flickr

Russ.


----------



## OllieNeedham (Jan 18, 2012)

Fantastic finish, great work!


----------



## Luggage (Oct 27, 2009)

Ok, showing my probably infinite ignorance, but DA and MF?

Assume bear of little brain and you have me just about pidgeon-holed. I did go and check the abbreviations thread but it didn't spring out at me, XX and Microfibre?


----------



## sm81 (May 14, 2011)

Very nice!!
Sad that I don't have good caliprated monitor to look those pics

By the way: I have bought AF Lather and Revive basing of your arquments and these are very good products!


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Luggage said:


> Ok, showing my probably infinite ignorance, but DA and MF?
> 
> Assume bear of little brain and you have me just about pidgeon-holed. I did go and check the abbreviations thread but it didn't spring out at me, XX and Microfibre?


Apologies - Dual Action and Micro Fibre - The Meguiars D300 Cutting Compound and MF Cutting discs 

Thanks all!


----------



## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Nice job dude


----------



## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

Fantastic as always Russ, what are the AF air fresheners like, smell wise


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Cherry or Cool Water mate - they are awesome tbf! I bought 30 a few weeks ago and most have been taken already!!


----------



## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Great work Russ


----------



## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Russ that colour looks fantastic with that finish never been a favorite of mine but after it's Russified by MCC starting to like it great job again Russ the 101 seems to be croping up is the cut as good as you see on the web?


----------



## Demetrios72 (Jun 27, 2011)

Great work there Russ :thumb:


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Derekh929 said:


> Russ that colour looks fantastic with that finish never been a favorite of mine but after it's Russified by MCC starting to like it great job again Russ the 101 seems to be croping up is the cut as good as you see on the web?


Thanks Derek! 

101 is awesome!! Its the way it finishes down so well that impresses me so much. Defo one to try!


----------



## Jammy J (May 5, 2012)

Very impressive mate. Good job! Like the colour too. :thumb:


----------



## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Awesome Russ, been looking forward to the write up after seeing the faceache updates! Imola is my favourite BMW colour, and i still think the E46 is a design triumph in M-Sport spec!

Now off to read the Megane write up!

Jon


----------



## Tabbs (Aug 3, 2009)

great work
and great finish


----------



## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Great work there Russ, I like the picture of the Revive trim coating on the wing mirror, just shows how effective this dressing is, the BMW really stands out, very good job.


----------



## toni (Oct 30, 2005)

MidlandsCarCare said:


> DSC07320 by RussZS, on Flickr


Money shot right there :thumb: Stunning finish Russ! :argie:


----------



## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Looks stunning mate :argie:


----------



## Jav_R (Apr 2, 2011)

I'm curious about the photo of the trim restored, you polished it with the DA?
Excellent work!


----------



## paulmc08 (Feb 3, 2009)

Luv it

cracking work fella :thumb:


----------



## VenomUK (Oct 13, 2011)

Amazing work there  Nice job.


----------



## BlackPanther (Oct 23, 2010)

Alrite Russ, been a while since i've been on here but your still producing some cracking work...that looks super matey, nice sharp finish :thumb:


----------



## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

Nic job Russ,

Agree Imola is an awesome colour - car looks fantastic

:thumb:


----------



## A12DY B (Dec 14, 2008)

Well Im ashamed to say Im the one that took the car to Russ.

Before I start id like to say a massive thanks to Russ, the work he did was nothing short of amazing and it literally looks like a different car

I do like to look after my cars, but I bought this car for my girlfriend recently. It was a nice below average mileage car that a women had owned for the past 7 years. But had never been polished as far as I could tell and had been sat for months since she got her new car in March.

I asked Russ to take on the car as I knew I could never get it to the standard I wanted.

It now looks amazing and has a lovely deep shine

Many thanks again and look forward to the next


----------



## leemckenna (Oct 11, 2011)

great work russ


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

A12DY B said:


> Well Im ashamed to say Im the one that took the car to Russ.
> 
> Before I start id like to say a massive thanks to Russ, the work he did was nothing short of amazing and it literally looks like a different car
> 
> ...


Thanks for the very kind words Andy, I'd forgotten that you were on here.

I look forward to getting my hands on the next one. I'll contact you with a date shortly.

Thanks all 

Russ.


----------



## Ashtra (Oct 17, 2007)

awesome mate.


----------



## Miguel Pestana (Feb 16, 2012)

amazing finish, fantastic job :thumb:


----------



## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Cracking work Russ


----------



## dave-g (Nov 14, 2009)

Lovely finish on that! Love red when its shining away  

Just out of interest, what is the applicator that your using in the picture there, with the wax??


----------



## Zetec-al (Feb 28, 2011)

Great work as usual. Lovely colour too.


----------



## dhiren_motilal (Apr 3, 2011)

looks like new, nice work mate


----------



## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

Very nice finish Russ! :thumb:



dave-g said:


> Lovely finish on that! Love red when its shining away
> 
> Just out of interest, what is the applicator that your using in the picture there, with the wax??


Its an AF Waxmate
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/auto-finesse-waxmate-cat24.html


----------



## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Looks great


----------



## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Amazing finish


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thank you all


----------



## John-Cupra_TDI (Apr 13, 2009)

Great work as always buddy, very nice results :thumb:


----------



## JimG (Sep 16, 2011)

Hang on everyone. One big problem here. Where are the Tesco shots!? 

Great work Russ. :thumb:


----------



## himpe (Apr 20, 2006)

Awesome job mate ! The red looks amazing !

One slight remark though.
Get inside the lip between the mirror plastic and paint with the tip or side of microfiber towel next time to top it all off


----------



## dharte (May 22, 2008)

Great job and you can't beat an E46 in Imola Red!


----------



## ABC Detailing (Jun 29, 2010)

Great job buddy.


----------



## dickyt (Jun 1, 2010)

Fantastic work Russ, it looks amazing. I am really looking forward to bringing my Z3 to you in a few weeks time, I think it will be another challenge for you but judging by your work I am sure you can work some magic on it's tired paintwork.


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

himpe said:


> Awesome job mate ! The red looks amazing !
> 
> One slight remark though.
> Get inside the lip between the mirror plastic and paint with the tip or side of microfiber towel next time to top it all off


Indeed and well spotted. This wasn't a final finished shot but more an indicative view showing the improvement from Revive.

Thanks all


----------



## Ns1980 (Jun 29, 2011)

Super results - I especially like the way you brought the gloss black trim to life again :thumb:


----------



## halam (Apr 7, 2011)

very nice mate m101 looks really effective


----------



## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Great work as usual


----------



## sensualt101 (Jun 8, 2012)

*well done*

i know from experience that red generally is one of the colours that suffers if neglected and you got some great results!

especially since it wasnt a full correction.

nice job 

i do love a stunning red car!


----------



## ant_s (Jan 29, 2009)

Great work Russ, still churning out stunning work on a lovely BM. Think this is still my favourite shape too.

Units looking good now too, settled in fine now?


----------



## stephenbelcher (Jun 2, 2012)

Looking good, great job.


----------



## UCD (Oct 27, 2010)

the car looks awesome!


----------



## abdullaa (Sep 19, 2009)

Nice job m8


----------



## MidlandsCarCare (Feb 18, 2006)

Thank you all 

Ant the unit is okay but I need a bigger place really to suit the plans we have for the future.


----------



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

Lovely BMW. Great post Russ with some lovely work and nice images.


----------

