Very rare Alpina B3s Enhancement Detail with Auto Finesse Wraith!!

General > Pro Detailers Work

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RussZS:
This extremely rare car is one of only 35 E46 B3s Coupe's sold in the UK and one of only 5 sold during 2004!!

The car itself was in great condition, but needed machine polishing to remove the swirling present in the clearcoat which in turn restores the gloss/lustre to the finish.

Ahead of the detail, the alloy wheel centre caps were removed - some of the afters exclude these for which I apologise, but they are present in some of the later 'afters'.

On to the detail...

A few befores:

DSC05703 by RussZS, on Flickr

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DSC05708 by RussZS, on Flickr

As always, wheels were up first:

DSC05709 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05711 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05714 by RussZS, on Flickr

Ahead of any contact, I sprayed AutoSmart Smart Wheels cut 4:1 on to the wheels and tyres to loosen any dirt, before pressure rinsing off - the logic here being the same as snow foaming a car - you want to remove as much dirt as possible before making physical contact with the paint on the wheels:

DSC05716 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05717 by RussZS, on Flickr

and rinsed:

DSC05719 by RussZS, on Flickr

Better but still nowhere near 'detailed':

DSC05721 by RussZS, on Flickr

This was followed by a second generous covering:

DSC05722 by RussZS, on Flickr

This was then agitated using the soft Valet Pro brushes:

DSC05723 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05724 by RussZS, on Flickr

The EZ Wheel brush was used on the rear of the wheels:

DSC05725 by RussZS, on Flickr

G101 on the tyres:

DSC05727 by RussZS, on Flickr

Then the Wheel Woolie on the arches - this is used as its relatively soft so won't harm the painted parts of the wheel arches:

DSC05728 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05729 by RussZS, on Flickr

and rinsed...

DSC05732 by RussZS, on Flickr

Much better but still not good enough...

IronX next...

DSC05735 by RussZS, on Flickr

This safely dissolves any brake dust pitted into the lacquer on the wheel:

Sprayed on:

DSC05736 by RussZS, on Flickr

Left to work for 5 mins:

DSC05739 by RussZS, on Flickr

This was then followed up with Tardis to remove the tar deposits:

DSC05744 by RussZS, on Flickr

and finally rinsed...

DSC05746 by RussZS, on Flickr

Much better!! :)

Next I turned my attention to the paint. The car was foamed with Bilt Hamber's AutoFoam to begin breaking any loose dirt down - again the logic being to remove as much dirt as possible before making physical contact with the paint:

DSC05747 by RussZS, on Flickr

G101 was used to work around the more intricate parts of the car, which hand washing with a mitt sometimes misses:

DSC05748 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05751 by RussZS, on Flickr

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DSC05755 by RussZS, on Flickr

Pressure Sprayer used where required:

DSC05756 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05758 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05764 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05766 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next the car was rinsed at high pressure using my Kranzle K7, then hand washed with Zaino Z7, a CarPro Mitt and the Zaino Grit Guard Bucket system:

DSC05767 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05768 by RussZS, on Flickr

This was then rinsed. At this stage the car was looking much cleaner, but the following stages are designed to fully decontaminate the paintwork ahead of machine polishing.

IronX was used first to safely remove any fallout:

Not too bad on the boot:

DSC05773 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05776 by RussZS, on Flickr

however the drivers door...

DSC05783 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05784 by RussZS, on Flickr

This was followed with Tardis which safely removes any tar deposits present on the paint:

DSC05779 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next the car was foamed with a deliberately watery solution to run any IronX or Tardis out from under trim pieces:

DSC05786 by RussZS, on Flickr

The car was then rinsed and moved inside. I prefer to clay inside as it minimises the amount of debris which can fall onto the paint, which could potentially harm the clearcoat - this is of a particular risk on a windy day such as today:

Auto Finesse Clay was used:

DSC05788 by RussZS, on Flickr

Nothing significant was lifted, showing just how effective IronX and Tardis are!

I dried the car next using the Microfibre Madness towel - not the cheapest, but one of the best...

DSC05789 by RussZS, on Flickr

Next the paint was assessed ahead of machine polishing to remove the swirling present in the paint.

The car was reading a healthy average of around 160, with the lowest spot on the roof being 133:

DSC05881 by RussZS, on Flickr

After trialling various combinations, I was getting a great level of correction from S17 and 3M Pad via Festool Rotary:

DSC05805 by RussZS, on Flickr

Capturing defects and correction on silver is quite tricky, but hopefully you can see what has been achieved on some of these pics:

50/50 under halogen - not the best light source for silver!

DSC05794 by RussZS, on Flickr

I switched to Halide on the bootlid, so before:

DSC05813 by RussZS, on Flickr

After:

DSC05812 by RussZS, on Flickr

A deeper scratch which was dealt with specifically:

Before:

DSC05820 by RussZS, on Flickr

After:

DSC05821 by RussZS, on Flickr

It is still there under certain angles/lighting, but much reduced!!

After each set, CarPro Eraser was used to remove any polishing oils left behind by the Scholl which *can* fill if not worked properly:

DSC05830 by RussZS, on Flickr

Sprayed onto panel and left to sit slightly:

DSC05831 by RussZS, on Flickr

Removed with soft MF:

DSC05832 by RussZS, on Flickr

Still looking good:

DSC05834 by RussZS, on Flickr

Bonnet before:

DSC05849 by RussZS, on Flickr

After:

DSC05862 by RussZS, on Flickr

50/50 from passenger door under DIY Sun Gun lighting:

DSC05873 by RussZS, on Flickr

To finish, to paintwork was cleansed with Auto Finesse Rejuvenate via DA and 3M Polishing Pad:

DSC05894 by RussZS, on Flickr

This was followed up with a layer of Tough Coat and a layer of the forthcoming range topping wax - Wraith:

DSC05895 by RussZS, on Flickr

Crystal on the glass:

DSC05896 by RussZS, on Flickr

Gloss was used on the tyres...

DSC05897 by RussZS, on Flickr

Before:

DSC05899 by RussZS, on Flickr

After...

DSC05900 by RussZS, on Flickr

Also used, but no pics:

- Mercury on exhausts
- Revive on plastic trim
- Spritz on interior plastics
- Zaino Z9 on interior leather
- Mint Rims on alloys

RussZS:
and finally, after 12-13 hours or so, some afters...

DSC05902 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05906 by RussZS, on Flickr

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DSC05914 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05915 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05919 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05922 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05925 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05926 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05927 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05928 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05931 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05933 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05934 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05935 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05937 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05940 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05941 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05942 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05943 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05945 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05946 by RussZS, on Flickr

DSC05948 by RussZS, on Flickr

Once again, thanks for reading!!

Next up this week, we have a 118D, 330D Estate, R26 and a Lapis Blue Boxster S!

DSC05949 by RussZS, on Flickr

Russ - Midlands Car Care.

Greeners:
Nice work Russ! :congrats:

Got one of these in at the minute, all be it a 330Ci Clubsport. Despite their age they are still a great car, and superbly built!

Powervalve Nige:
Take a bow Russ :congrats: :congrats: :congrats:

Tfsi_Mike:

Outstanding :congrats:

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