[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Good luck on getting projects done prior to arrival, but the upswing with the corona is there are no events that will cause you to be away from home. The EC-7's have grown on me but I do like the oem boat anchors as well.

Any news on the E9?

Yea really. I am going to our family beach house over the 4th, but its in the 4th biggest Rona hotspot in the world. Haha. I am hoping the E9 will be in primer when my dad goes to check on it tomorrow.

[M-technik-3]

Sweet look forward to some photos of it's progress.

[MPOWER5266]

I added some scoops last night. I know they do nothing but I think they look cool. I ordered them from Rush Customs, since they are close to me and I wanted them in blue. I plan on doing the M performance blue brake calipers eventually, honestly probably never but I would like them, so I wanted these to kinda match. Before I installed them, I coated them to keep them clean.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

While the grilles were out I also cleaned and coated the rubber and plastic trim behind them, I know I have a problem. Then I installed the scoops.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

And the finished product. Again I know they do nothing but I think it looks pretty cool. I would swear that the throttle response is a little better but I did wear different shoes today so who knows.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Now that I have indulged my riceyness, this brings back fond memories of going to the Nopi Nationals haha, I have some maintenance issues to work on this weekend. I was being cheap or stupid when I put the 3 stage intake on and didnt replace the DISA valves, and of course one is failing. I will likely pull the intake manifold off this weekend to replace the #2 DISA.

[Phil325i]

In the UK with those coloured scoops the people in front will think they're being followed by the Police!

[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

In the UK with those coloured scoops the people in front will think they're being followed by the Police!

I have thought about doing a wrap. Haha.

[MPOWER5266]

Its happening..... I am so scared. Haha

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

[uncoturner]

Originally Posted by MPOWER5266

Its happening..... I am so scared. Haha

i'm surprised to see some dirt on your car.

[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by uncoturner

i'm surprised to see some dirt on your car.

Its raining all week, I didnt feel like washing it. Ill get it Thursday night probably. Haha.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by MPOWER5266

Its happening..... I am so scared. Haha

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Congrats!
The car will stay dirty for a bit longer and this will be your last post for a while.

[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by eljay

Congrats!
The car will stay dirty for a bit longer and this will be your last post for a while.

I have a few more weeks before the twins get here. I am hoping with the lighting in the wash bay, I'll be able to wash after they go to bed.

[4 Doors]

Originally Posted by MPOWER5266

I have a few more weeks before the twins get here. I am hoping with the lighting in the wash bay, I'll be able to wash after they go to bed.

After they go to bed...😂 Congratulations and try to enjoy the small moments!

[andreu12qw]

Originally Posted by eljay

Congrats!
The car will stay dirty for a bit longer and this will be your last post for a while.

Congrats!!

I am a few months ahead of you. Trying to convince my better 3/4 that my little guy wants to help me work on the rear subframe with me.. she is not convinced.. yet..

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by andreu12qw

Congrats!!

I am a few months ahead of you. Trying to convince my better 3/4 that my little guy wants to help me work on the rear subframe with me.. she is not convinced.. yet..

I tried taking my son down to the garage to work on a couple things at ~5 months old, he wasn't having it. He watched for about 20 minutes then he was DONE.

Now he's 9 months old and mobile, and he REALLY doesn't want to sit still while Dad works on things. I can barely make breakfast in the kitchen without him getting into something he shouldn't.

[andreu12qw]

Originally Posted by rothwem

I tried taking my son down to the garage to work on a couple things at ~5 months old, he wasn't having it. He watched for about 20 minutes then he was DONE.

Now he's 9 months old and mobile, and he REALLY doesn't want to sit still while Dad works on things. I can barely make breakfast in the kitchen without him getting into something he shouldn't.

I hear you! My little guy just wants to be moving or in motion unless its after a full bottle..

We will get there. One day we will have an extra set of hands to help and teach. Just hope this doesn't mean I lose my 10mm socket twice as fast.

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by MPOWER5266

Yeah I did a little research on it and figured that out. Not sure what good it did, I was in the process of pulling over into the gas station because I had a flat, when it warned me that I had a flat. Haha

It's for the factory run-flats; difficult to tell immediately when you get a flat on them, but the system will flag it up so you know to slow the hell down and get to a shop. If the leak is slow, it'll also warn you before you notice the handling being affected significantly, even with non-rft tyres. I think it's a great system, because no additional hardware is needed!

Originally Posted by andreu12qw

Just hope this doesn't mean I lose my 10mm socket twice as fast.

It will be this. I was that kid to my dad...my son already enjoys getting all the things out of the socket set... Sigh. He has on a couple of occasions passed me the right tool though, which is so satisfying!!!

Originally Posted by MPOWER5266

I have a few more weeks before the twins get here. I am hoping with the lighting in the wash bay, I'll be able to wash after they go to bed.

Whoa, double trouble! Good luck with that! I'm so glad that both if ours have/will be singles. Oh, if you're a first time parent remember that if the babies are asleep, you can sleep too. Get every little bit you can, is my advice.

Also if you're nervous that probably means you'll do just fine

[MPOWER5266]

Since the M3 is running great after fixing the oil leak and the weather is going to be pretty nice this week, I decided to touch up the detail on the wagon. I didnt get a ton of pictures since my phone was almost dead but I decon'd it last night to get it ready for polishing. Detailed and dressed the engine, gave it a good wash with a Adams Strip wash to remove the wax on the car, cleaned the jambs, iron removed, and finally clay bar. It wasnt too contaminated but was some iron on the car.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

After that I rinsed the car down and blew it off with my leaf blower before towel drying.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I pulled it in the garage and did a quick test spot. I was hoping I could just 1 step it but its going to need compound to get out the love marks. Ill get some more pics tonight after taping and hopefully compounding.

[MPOWER5266]

Worked on the wagon detail last night. I got home from work and taped it up before dinner.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I was hoping that I could 1 step it with just a polish since I did a full detail right around a year ago but after a test spot I knew I was going to have to 2 step it. I did the correction last year with a Porter Cable random orbital and some Meguiars compound and polish. I was never really happy with the results. I recently purchased a Maxshine Pro15 (I am too cheap for a Rupes) and its a night and day difference. Even though the Max is a cheapish machine it has a ton of power and never stalled on me. I used a Megs microfiber cutting pad and Jescar correction compound and I am very happy with the results. Its hard to see on a white car but here are some before and afters.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

There are some spots on the hood that I couldn't get out but it is an 07 with almost 90k miles so I'm not being too hard on myself. I wiped it down in preparation of polishing it tonight. Hopefully that will hide more marring and go a little quicker than the compounding.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

[M-technik-3]

Your car's finish is in better shape than mine, I am just learning how to start detailing better. I can only hope my end product comes out as well as yours. My gal has a black suv and I have hard water so it's tough. I need a filter.

[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Your car's finish is in better shape than mine, I am just learning how to start detailing better. I can only hope my end product comes out as well as yours. My gal has a black suv and I have hard water so it's tough. I need a filter.

All cars look great in pictures, my cars have their battle scars. I really want to get down to Obsessed Garage and look that M3 and GT3Rs over, I bet they have their issues. You know you can hit me up any time if you have questions. Im no pro, but I did do it professionally for a while and its been a hobby for almost 20 years. Damn Im old.

Anyway. I got back to work on the wagon last night. My weapons of choice.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I polished out the car and then topped it with Jescar Powerlock. The paint is so... smooth.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also cleaned up the black trim and roof rails with a hand polish and sealed them with Powerlock.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Its looking good, and I still have two more coats of Collinite 845.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

While I was removing the tape the drivers side fender side marker light broke. I ordered a cheapo one from amazon since it can get here by Saturday(I hope, everything has been delayed lately) and I will likely order a set of Oem ones soon. Tonight Ill get the first coat of 845 on, clean up the windows, coat the trim, clean wheels and tires, and maybe work on the interior a bit. Sorry for all the boring updates, but its almost done.

[tlow98]

Nice work on the detail!

I always love seeing this stuff and learning about people's favorite products.

things:
- I always remove the front quarter lights when doing paintwork - just seems easier.
- What are you using for your compounding? I'm still one-step polish/compound with Menzerna 2500SIP, but always looking for for new double set-up...
- Have you used any of the Ceramic sealants yet? They are rather unbelieveable. It's made me put away my Colonite forever... Nothing against colonite for it's wear resistance, but man is it a lot more work than the ceramic sealants.

Car looks gorgeous! Bravo. I wasn't even aware the exhaust was ever that shiny - haha

[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Nice work on the detail!

I always love seeing this stuff and learning about people's favorite products.

things:
- I always remove the front quarter lights when doing paintwork - just seems easier.
- What are you using for your compounding? I'm still one-step polish/compound with Menzerna 2500SIP, but always looking for for new double set-up...
- Have you used any of the Ceramic sealants yet? They are rather unbelieveable. It's made me put away my Colonite forever... Nothing against colonite for it's wear resistance, but man is it a lot more work than the ceramic sealants.

Car looks gorgeous! Bravo. I wasn't even aware the exhaust was ever that shiny - haha

I used Jescar correction compound and Sonax perfect finish for the 2 step. I was going to to coat this car with CSL and EXO but I chickened out. I wasnt sure how well the paint would finish out, so I didnt want to tie up the money in a coating. Next time I will coat it.

I worked on the wagon a little Friday night but I needed some time to relax, so I knocked it out Saturday after cars and coffee. I gave the paint a final coating of 845 and wiped it down. It came out so nice.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I also wiped down the engine and did a full interior clean. I used Colourlock mild cleaner and leather shield on all the leather surfaces.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

I took it on a beer run Saturday night and snapped a couple pics. I think this car is going to be around for a while, I cant think of a better daily.

IMG_7924-3 by Nick Wood, on Flickr

IMG_7914 by Nick Wood, on Flickr

[tlow98]

Looks fantastic. Nice work. It is a lot of work - I know it well. Those results are worth it, imo.

GTechnique stuff is great. I haven't used it personally. I've always used and been a fan of CarPro items. Reload and CQuartz UK 3.0 are so incredibly easy to use. They have also come a long way in the shine department, but honestly the best part is when you spray a hose on it a year later with little to no maintenance and the dirt just streaks off. I got almost 3 years out of the first coat - the car was street parked in SF that whole time. Shocking how long it lasted.

It's going to put you out of the car washing business :-0

I appreciate the tip about the MaxShine Pro15. I've been looking for another polisher. My old Griot's garage unit is a decade on now and starting to short out at low rpms. There's no way I'm paying Rupes prices!