The Life of My 2008 E92 M3, Wet Sanded Top to Bottom

[eclipsisNA]

FYI: I did this myself.

Some of you might remember me picking the second E9* M3 to be delivered in the United States:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123851

In April of 2010, I decided that not only would I detail my car, but I would wet sand the paint to remove every last trace of orange peel (http://************/24so888). The result would be a mirror-like finish that polishing alone could never accomplish. The entire process took over two hundred hours to complete, but the results speak for themselves.

Oddly, I finished all the changes to this car only several months before picking up my next M3, which you can see in my signature. Every change that I’ve made to this car revolves around creating a finished product that would resemble an OEM model.

Cosmetic Mods:

My own headlight rebuild
6000K Headlights
12000K HID Angel Eyes (camaross305)
EAS Carbon Fiber Mirror Covers
FormulaOne Pinnacle Ceramic Tint 35% (incl. windshield)
H&R Sport Springs
LED Front Turn Signal Bulbs
Macht Schnell 18mm front/15mm rear Spacers
Matte Black Kidney Grilles
Matte Black Window Trim
OEM Euro Bumper
OEM Euro Side Mirror Housings (matte black)
OEM LCI Tail Lights
VentureShield Clear Bra on front bumper, hood, and fenders
Vorsteiner Aero Boot Lid

Performance Mods:

Active Autowerke Signature X Pipe
Eisenmann Race
Macht Schnell Air Filter

Tracking my car's build (February, 2008):



Bumper removed, headlights baked open, clear reflector housing removed for painting:



Eisenmann Race Exhaust, H&R springs, and Macht Schnell 15mm/18mm spacers:



Eisenmann Race painted matte black:



Eisenmann connecting pipes painted matte black:



Paint structure illustration:



Close-up of orange peel ridges/distortion behind Lithium Chloride flame:



Severe orange peel on driver side door panel:



Chemical Guys products used during the refinishing:





Equipment used during the refinishing:



Large and small air sanders:



Mounted Blu-Ray laser to mark previous measurement positions:



Paint after decontamination, 0 PPM water drying under the sun:



Wet sanding the driver side door:



Driver side door paint measurements before wet sanding:



Driver side door paint measurements after wet sanding:



Passenger side after wet sanding:



Passenger side fender and door panel after polishing:



Lower panel before wet sanding, upper panel after wet sanding:



Side skirt before wet sanding (camera set to two separate focus positions):



Rear quarter panel after wet sanding (identical focus positions from side skirt photos):



Driver side arch prepped prior to polishing:



Driver side rear quarter after wet sanding:



Driver side rear quarter after polishing:



Wipers removed, before and after polishing:



Chemical Guys Vertua-Bond 408 ready to prep the paint prior to sealing and waxing:



Chemical Guys Jet Seal 109 ready to seal:



Rear window after polishing and application of Jet Seal 109:



Gloss restored to the left side of the hood's clear bra after heat gun treatment:



Dirty floor mats:





Chemical Guys Lightning Fast Stain Extractor ready for use:



Floor mat agitated with rotary brush and Lightning Fast Stain Extractor:



Mytee Lite II Hot Water Carpet Extractor:



Extracting dirty liquids with the Mytee Lite II:



Floor mat after extraction:



Body oils on driver side arm rest:



Leather Master Kit and Chemical Guys Liquid Extreme Shine Dressing:



Leather Master Vital to protect the driver side door panel's Fox Red leather:



Chemical Guys Liquid Extreme Shine Dressing applied to the drivers side door panel:





Unilux 3000 Vapor Cleaner:











Sterilizing the driver's side cockpit:





Vapor cleaning the driver's seat:



Interior finished:







Vapor cleaning the engine bay:



Chemical Guys Fade2Black:



Driver side front wheel removed:



Chemical Guys Grime Reaper Degreaser applied to the wheel well:



After application of (1) Chemical Guys Blue Guard, and (2) Chemical Guys Fade2Black:





Chemical Guys Jet Seal 109 curing on the wheel's interior:



Canon 5D Mark II has arrived; Chemical Guys Celeste Dettaglio wax applied:



Finally free of orange peel:

[Dntlvet]

wow, so nice.

[GuyOh]

wowwwwww

[greycrx87]

very nice

[mlee4984]

I'm speechless... You bring detail to the next level x 100000000!!! Amazing job!

[Kenyon]

Wow, the car is as good as new. No need for a new one.

[phusion974]

NOTHING brings out the true perfection in car paint like wet sanding. Incredible work!!!!

[montreal red]

damn... incredible work. i wouldnt mind spending the time doing that for my car but i dont have half the equipment youve got ! nevertheless amazing!

[Bart@AUTOcouture]

Amazing Job!

[Brosef]

unreal

[slimflem]

[Alex@Alpine]

WoW amazing job!

[edcvin]

Wow that looks so sick. Nice job!


-Vin

[Johnny Lin]

Damn, that is one hella of a detail jobs

[NewYearsBoy]

WOW!! Thats some nice skills...

[e92_m3]

So intricate and soo much attention to detail.

So let me guess. The only time you took it out was when you were working on it? Basically the whole 200 hours was broken down in 2 weeks? 3 weeks?

Good job man!

[sard]

That's intense.

[Kev]

Nice job, but that paint match on the trunk is way off to my eyes.

[mexicanmike]

Originally Posted by Kev

Nice job, but that paint match on the trunk is way off to my eyes.

Top left corner of the trunk, right? I think its a shadow of some sort.


The car looks amazing!!! I wish you were in the bay area, would have you detail in a heartbeat!!!

[GewoW]

holy shizts

[Dengel]

everything about this was amazing. such attention to detail, awesome headlight mod, and I even like the license plate.

[ES_TRADER]

how much it costs to do that? i live in la too