E46 M3 Correctional- another Imola Red

[premiershine9]

Hey all! I have a couple hours at home finally to do some write ups- here is an E46 in Imola I spent near 30 hours total over a weekend- Opti Coat 2.0 application - a permanent coating lasting 18-24 months or more- think of it as a liquid ceramic resin!

Posted from another forum:


Hey there folks,

Extremely backed up on write-ups but I have the free time to put together this near 30 hour correctional on a heavily tracked E46 M3. We decided on a full correctional with Opti Coat 2.0 application for a durable coating of protection. This is the 7th E46 M that i've had the opportunity to fully correct, I enjoy every one!

Correction was performed via a PC, Flex, and the Rupes 21 with various foam pads- even a surbuf pad here and there. M105/ 101 and Sonax PF used.



The entire front end had been cleared a while back- bumper, headlight gels, mirrors, behind every fender well, rockers, pillars, and on the front fenders as well- the aim was to keep as much as possible and restore them via polishing and then shortly after using opti to layer on top of the film to create an incredible layer of durable protection.

Before:

Film was heavily swirled and marred
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Headlight gels and trim below headlamp were very, very yellow and faded- these were removed
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dull
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Wheels needed to be de-ironized
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tips needed attention
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good shot to see the before condition with all the defects
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First up was a full decon wash- pre=spray with APC on the heavily soiled areas, Sonax FE working it magic here on the wheels
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The tips were hit with IronX + 0000 steel whool and later polished with P21s soap

Wash phase- thick suds with chem guys maxi sudz + citrus wash + Dawn to strip
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Correctional process: approx. 25 hours

Before pics of the defects:

Hood
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50/50 in the hood
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Right front fender
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Pass. door
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Mid to lower section of door
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Lower section
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Panel area right before rear passenger tire
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upper rear pass. quarter
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Fender lip over rear pass. tire
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Defects very visible here in natural light!!
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Roof line
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driver side rear quarter- near rear tail light
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50/50 on the rear bumper- this section was a PITA to clean up...always is on this model!
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Top portion of rear bumper
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50/50
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50/50 on driver side door
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Front clear film on hood after- much more clear
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Between compounding/ polishing/ finishing steps the M was brought outside and washed down

The body was wiped down one more time with CP Eraser to ensure all oils etc. were removed
BEFORE Opti app.
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After correctional shots- before Opti Coat app.
Hood
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Front fender
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pass. side door
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Mirror
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Near the rear tail
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Deck lid
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near driver door
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Lower driver door
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Driver door
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Driver fender
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other half of hood
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Tires were dressed with Opti Gel tire dressing
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Opti Coat 2.0 application
Opti Coat 2 up and ready for application!
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24 hours after application of Opti Coat - pic time!

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GLOSS
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Thanks for looking all!
- Dan K.

[Evan]

Looks great, I love that red.

whats your opinion on opti coat? does it live up to its claim? im skeptical since it seems a little too similar to the dealership paint sealant scams.

[.RJ]

Holy shit that car looks good. Why are you doing this to me? I need one.

[BLINGMW]

If owner would rather not deal with Ryan (who would?) and sell to me, I'll take it

[premiershine9]

Looks great, I love that red.

whats your opinion on opti coat? does it live up to its claim? im skeptical since it seems a little too similar to the dealership paint sealant scams.

Evan- damn, apologies for not seeing this- Opti 2.0 AND Pro version are THE REAL DEAL..


It's incredible....the glass coats are what I am skeptical about in terms of durability

The ultra hyped up sealants that the dealer offers are nothing NEAR what Opti, Cquartz etc. even are/ offer.

Permanent. Ceramic. Coating. I love it so far.

[nismosam]

Great job Dan, the after pictures are amazing!

[premiershine9]

Thanks guys! Haven't been posting my write-ups in a long time- i'm backed up a good 6 or 8 + the coming F40 massive resto/detail write up which will be glorious

[Ryan T]

Looks incredible!!! What does a total overhaul job like this run?

[premiershine9]

Looks incredible!!! What does a total overhaul job like this run?

2-3 Days, Opti Coat is 200-$250 extra an application (depending on size of car)- my Full Corrections start at 6 (S2k size) and go all the way up to 1800- 2500 (The F40). On average 750- 1,000