After the Montreal trip I finally got around to doing a 1-step paint correction. I detailed cars at my local BMW dealer in my latter college years, so I picked up a little knowledge and technique as well as plenty of what not to do. I was employed by a nearby detail shop who was subcontracted to run their basement 5-bay detail center. I loved the work, and bought supplies after becoming a big fan of Detailers Domain (I still enjoy reading their writeups) so that I could do it on the side, although it's been awhile since I've had the time to do it for anyone besides myself.
Most of the stuff I already had, but my heavy-cut compound was nearly empty and Menzerna has come out with a new formula called FG400 which is great and versatile.
Here's the bulk of my tools in the trunk of my E30:
I also waited until this point to install gloss black M performance grills I bought awhile back when they came up in the classifieds. They were mint, but one tab broke in transit. I still have some "Zap-a-Gap" glue from doing upholstery work and replacing the tweeters in my E30, and boy does this stuff work. So I figure it's my best bet for the tab..
You can see the bond line where it cracked:
This worked as far as holding together when I popped them into place, so I'm pleased. Saved about 50% off the price of new grills.
I taped up the window trim and the plastic portion of the mirror housings and went to work. I took more "before" shots but was dead tired at the end of the 4-6 hour session so I may go back and put more "after" pics into this post.
The car wasn't extremely bad, but definitely handled by a few lot attendants and/or automatic washes between corporate, the auction and my dealership. To illustrate, here's what the mirror looked like before:
and after:
The trunk showed the worst swirls, but everything cleaned up very well. I topped it with Menzerna PowerLock because I had it, waited 36 hours then washed and topped with Adam's Buttery wax. I've since waxed the car at every wash, I believe 3 layers at this point. Now I'll phase down to once every other - I can do it in a matter of 15 minutes and it goes a long way to keeping the black paint looking perfect after rain etc.
I also took this time to do something about the orange bumper reflectors. Painted or tinted pieces are something like $40-50, I think that's a bit nuts. Plus the install isn't super straightforward, necessitating access from behind and dealing with adhesive. I'm a big fan of vinyl because it's cheap, easy to work with, and very temporary.
A few dollars worth of tint film from eBay, 2 layers because it was pretty light, and this is the result:
It's also nice to retain the safety aspect of having the reflector there.
Here's the finished front end:
And a better angle that I liked when, as usual, I was walking away backwards:
This gives a good idea of the tinted marker and the windows at 30%.
A couple more, keep in mind these are around dusk. I also wrapped the edge of the euro plate with black vinyl, because the white edge coming through the frame was bugging me (see above):
Oh and a little touch, finally framed the license plate:
Actually makes a nice difference. At some point my dad will sell a car that he drives which is registered in my name with a PA DARE tag, and the plate will go to Heidi (black plate, white lettering for those unaware).