Tyler's 2011.5 Jerez Black E90 Slicktop Daily

[Tbonem3]

Thanks Mike, I will DEF not be wet-sanding this car! Just the headlights.

[Tbonem3]

Front end restoration. Wet sanding the headlights, then polishing them and the front bumper/grilles.

The headlights were in surprisingly bad shape for a 48k mile garaged car, particularly the driver side. I was warned not to dig too deep so as not to ruin the UV protecting layer. And you can't simply replace the plastic lens like you can on the E46. However, the damage was severe enough to need to level the plastic. I figured with the car being out of the sun a lot, and with my periodic polishing, I'd be able to keep the headlights always looking pretty new, and avoid having to replace them, so I went forward.

(Pardon the orientation of some of the photos)
Existing condition:




And go



I would go for a bit, then check my work. I probably could have stopped here, and it would have looked great after clearing it up, but I still saw fading and scratches that went deeper still, so I went a bit farther down



Then moved to the corner, which wasn't as bad and didn't need as much sanding



Satisfactory



Taped the edges of the painted fender/bumper for this next step of compound



Even after a few passes, it's already looking good



One more set of passes



Passenger side was faster




(*forgot to take pic of pass side after compound)

So headlights sanded down and compound used to remove sanding marks and smooth it all out. Now time to high polish and seal them as well as the chrome grilles and the whole bumper - notably the area covered by the front license plate holder.



I used a very mild green LC CSS pad with the mild Mother's CMX polish and seal in 1 product. Same product I'll use to polish the whole car after I clear up every panel in piecemeal.

tbc...

[Tbonem3]

Post polish:








Roof, boot, both bumpers and headlights/taillights done. Have both sides left to do. No other work needs to be done to the exterior - grilles, gills, emblems, lights, trims are all in great shape.

[0-60motorsports]

My Favorite E90 M3.

[Tbonem3]

Thanks Ejaz! You've seen some mods on IG. I hope to update this thread a little faster to share those changes soon.

[0-60motorsports]

Thanks Ejaz! You've seen some mods on IG. I hope to update this thread a little faster to share those changes soon.

Yeah Tyler, You have been doing a great job with it as usual. For me I would want to slap on BBS LMs or something like CHs or similar design wheels if i Got an E90 M3.

[Tbonem3]

I want LM-Rs in silver or maybe gold centers one day

[0-60motorsports]

I want LM-Rs in silver or maybe gold centers one day

Ok Yes WIN WIN WIN

[maupineda]

what did you use to seal / UV protect them?

[Tbonem3]

what did you use to seal / UV protect them?

Same sealant or wax I use for the vehicle, nothing special. I'm relying on 1. little exposure to sun 2. below average annual mileage & 3. annual polishing to keep them looking good. It's actually been 6 months now since I did it, and they look the same still.

[Tbonem3]

I forgot to conclude the light correction I did on the car.

Finished the sides of the vehicle



Thought this was a cool shot, with direct sunlight on paint:



This was intersting to me, so I took a pic. This is in the garage with indirect light. It was enough light to show the blue color in Jerez, but low and indirect enough to not show any of the metallic. Looks like a flat navy blue. I've seen now 4 different colors that the paint can appear as depending on the lighting.



All done with the mild polish and semi-ceramic sio2/tio2 CMX coating. This will hold me over until I decide on staying with sealants or doing a ceramic coating.




Now, out in sun. Just lowering springs (swift) so far, no other mods.

[0-60motorsports]

Stunning!

[Casa de Mesa]

Absolutely love your build threads, Tyler. Following for updates!

[Tbonem3]

Thanks guys! Got some decent updates coming!

[Maxima SE]

Stunning ! Sold the AG's?