Project 001 Breakdown is the first project completed at the new Prime Auto Detailing facility in Rancho Cucamonga. This Techno Violet E36 M3 was brought in by Phil and the job was invoiced in as a Level 3 Exterior Detail, complete with Interior Refresh and texture reduction on repainted panels.
As a fan of most 90's vehicles it was easy to accept every challenge this project presented. Phil dropped off his precious gem Tuesday night and we did a full walk around to point out every inch that needed work, what should be expected and how long this project should take. Phil assured me he was in no rush yet he wanted the best results without putting pressure on me. Wrong thing to say bud, I get carried away.
The next day after finishing our mobile services the project got started. We started on the exterior portion giving the paint a decontamination wash and stripping any polymers or synthetic sealants previously applied. After getting the results needed from this portion the vehicle was moved to our designated paint correction area. Proper lighting, dust control, and a clear walk around area making the job easier to tackle with optimal results. Next step is to tape up all the trim and ensure all seals are covered up to help with cleaning the polish dust before coating.
As I started breaking down the pad/liquid formula on test spots, my partner began cleaning up the white leather and light grey carpets. As well as finding the combo needed to perfect this paint I found the repainted panels that had the slight orange peel difference and took it down with 2000 Grit and worked it up to 5000 Grit to ensure no color sanding marks left over. After that the full rest of the correction began. As a general combo that seems to work on most cut/polish jobs I used Meguairs Microfiber cutting disks on a Rupes 15 paired with Sonax "CutMax" water-based compound. To clean up any wet sanding marks Rupes has an incredible line of pads and polishes that work great with their polishers. In this case, Rupes Blue Pad and Blue Compound made it a breeze to remove any sanding marks and any onset swirls were easily removed with "CutMax."
As a religious user of Sonax Products I'm pleased to finish all clear coat finishes with "Perfect Finish" and an Orange HDO pad from Lake Country. After going through numerous products I haven't found a polish that finishes with such a glasslike look as well as "Perfect Finish." Now that the bulk of the work is done, many of the smaller "detailing" portions are needed to get done.
Unmasking the car it is clear that the polish dust has gotten into all those places you thought it wouldn’t have, kinda like going to the beach. Cleaning this up safely is achieved by using a high pile microfiber rag, window cleaner, and our trusted Chief Steamer blowing out at 100 psi making that annoying post-correction cleanup easily mopped up.
Now, I understand the rule of "wheels first" detailing however there seemed to be no point in cleaning the wheels until now. I safely jacked up the car and set it on jack stands and marked all four tire locations. Even though there are no sensors in these wheels keeping the wheels in the same location is important to the keep the tread wear evenly distributed. Pulling off the wheels it was clear these we never properly detailed. Alloy wheels covered in 22 years of brake dust and road grime. Stripping these wheels was honestly one of my favorite parts of this job. It's messy, grimy and it honestly reminded me of when I was younger and just having fun getting dirty. Best part is, I'm getting paid for this one and my mom isn’t yelling at me for messing up yet another white shirt.
By this time I've already contacted Phil that the vehicle will be ready for pickup in a few hours. The coating process was about to begin, around 3ish in the afternoon. I had 4 hours to go until the sun was no longer viable to take pictures in. This meant, treating the 22 year old trim to a dye that is meant to properly bring life back into those faded panels. and as I'm going through I notice the faded wheel wells aren't very nice next to this new vibrant paint, and these now back to black side trim pieces. What's worse is the rust and grime on the brake calipers. I check my watch and think to myself "I have time, I can fix that." and I grab some APC, Steamer, Metal Polish and I get to work. After 40 minutes or so and dressing the wheel wells I stand back and I realize I've just made a 1999 BMW M3 look 100% better than the first day it drove off the lot. Now, Phil is younger than I am so I'm pretty sure this car is not a one owner, I could only wonder what the original owner would have thought about it.
And now, the time is here. I head to the fridge and pull out my Shine Supply Beadlock Pro, a new to me coating I'm testing out after noticing it's quite the popular buzz among local detailers. (I'm writing this a year later, it is my main coating now.) I head back into the warehouse and the ceramic coating set up is already there. 3 towels, applicator pad, and the Scangrip Colormatch light to double check our work for proper application, curing and removal of high spots. I treated the applicator pad and started on the hood. Instantly my forehead began sweating, around 14 hours of work now getting sealed in. Any mistake now means contacting Phil again, telling him it will be a little later, and don't forget. We're fighting the sunset for our "photoshoot." We start getting the hang of it, earphones off and in constant communication with each other, making sure this gets done right.
About 25 minutes later I've just finished coating the driver side fender, and only the front end is left. The rest of the car was simple, flat panels, minimal body lines. It was almost as if coating a refrigerator would be similar. 90's cars really didn’t care about aerodynamics now that I think about it. But the front bumper, front facia, grill, headlights, the little "splitter" lip. It's not difficult per say, just an important attention to detail. I waited for my parter to completely finish that fender while I analyzed the best way to go about coating this area. There it came, bulk first, smaller details last. I went through with it and let the coating rainbow over, 1st towel removed the bulk, 2nd towel polished up the high spots, and 3rd towel ensured perfection. I took a deep breath, stood back and admired our work. But something was off... the wheels, oh man the wheels.
Ask my parents, any model car I had the wheels were off. Disassembled and miniature tires stacked like a shop would. I looked outside and there was still a sliver of sun in the distance. Grabbed my coating, and did one by one. As they got finished I rolled them over to get mounted as I began the next one. As the fourth one was getting mounted I grabbed the jack, pulled the stands from underneath and lowered the car back to the floor. We torqued the lugs and it was finally time to roll this guy out. About 15 minutes to spare for Phil to come pick up and 20 minutes until the sun disappeared. I drove it to it's spot and the photoshoot started.
Now I'm a lot better at detailing than taking photos but with the car in focus it didn't even matter is my finger was in the shot. The finish on this car was absolutely flawless. Phil drove up as I was taking pictures, and just the simple, 'Wow.' was enough for me. We exchanged words, explained how to care for the coating, and finally handed back the keys. Project 001 in the brand new shop was complete.
