I had fun on Saturday....(Pic Heavy)

[choppa7]

Since picking my 316 up a few weeks ago due to time and weather I have never had a chance to give it a good clean. So on Friday night I checked the forecast which was decent so I made a trip to halfords for some bits and bobs for cleaning a 20yr old car.

Heres how it went....

The car before....

At home in Wales as advertised on eBay...




After a dose of Jet washing and a good sponging down it stood like this..



Paint still flat


I then got out the T-Cut! Now it said on the bottle to work a foot square at a time....unfortunately I have never been one for following instructions too carefully and thought I knew best. I thought I'd save time by applying T-Cut to the whole car at once then removing it at once.




The main problem was that I couldnt get the stuff off so I had to T-Cut a little bit at a time, in essence t-cutting the t-cut off which I had just applied. Bare in mind I dont have any form of machine polisher this is all by hand!!!!!

However, once I began to see the effect it had had, it somehow all seemed worth it..




I replaced the old nose badge with a newer scrappy find..



By the time I had spend over 4 hours polishing her the light was going but she stood like this




Then after a dose of Back to black the front end was as good as new..



And the not so flat new shiney paint..


So there we have it, thats how I spent Saturday, proving that theres nothing like the sense of satisfaction and a few lagers after to make you appreciate hard work!

Sorry for the long read but opinions welcome!

[Demlotcrew]

Looks like a tidy car

[oakey]

id bet youre chuffed. looks soooo much nicer!
did all the panels come out even?
get some bbs's for that baby!

[E30Mark]

Hope you have waxed it after cutting the paint back...

Looks so much better now, well done!

[drifty325i]

Whoa good job mate

[choppa7]

Yeah its waxed, I very nearly didnt though, after all the polishing I was f00ked but I dont think I'd have felt as good if I had left it, and I would've been worried about it doing the same again!

All the panels came up as good as each other, I dont think I was expecting it to work so well when I first started buffing it (the bonnet buffed pic) There are a couple of blebs in the paintwork but nothingt o worry about for now

Thanks for the comments, just got a small bit of rust to sort out on the rear drivers arch then I think the bodies good.

[tim-ix]

Looks a whole lot better now Choppa.

Hope you have waxed it after cutting the paint back...

Anyone who's ever owned a red car will second that. Ladle on that wax or you'll start finding your weekends following a distinctive T-cut related theme. Brilliant for the biceps but it gets kind of tedious after a while.

[b4gga83]

Well done for the job, I know how hard it is to T-Cut, used to sell cars.

[oakey]

i tried some mer polish/wax for the first time the other day. awesome stuff! it works Vwell on the paint, windows, plastic trim and chrome/metal. and you can leave it on for as long as you like and it still wipes of nice and easy.

[munky30]

bloody hell!

What an improvement... i might even do that to mine at some point. Normally a trip to the brush wash is as far as I go with cleaning cars but thats spanking!

[CrazyDave]

Mine was in the same state when I bought it, although it didn't really show until you got closer being white. But I know its bloody hard work doing all that polishing, very satisfying though

[salami]

Top work right off to do mine now!!

[Rosc0PColtrane]

errr you missed a bit!

[Gouki]

so that T-Cut really does work, great job.

[Pal318is]

Good effort Choppa, i'm liking it

I think I need some too..........

Pal

[B7]

What a difference chopper. If the seller had spnt some time, i bet it would have gone for more money!

Some tips with T-Cut.

1. Use a damp rag to apply and keep the rag damp. Helps if panel is wet to start with as well.
2. As it says on the bottle, only do a small patch at a time. It really takes no longer as if you leave it on too long......it takes ages to remove, as Choppa found out.
3. Use a wet rag to remove (or better still, sponge it off with soapy water and a sponge) and use dry rag to dry panel off.
4. Always wax the car immediatley. Remember you have removed the top surface and left the paint raw.

I've been using the stuff for 30 odd years and it's still (in my mind) the best off the shelf cutting compound short of going down the proffesional 3m route. T-Cut has to be treated with respect though. It is a cutting agent and over enthusiast use (e.g. with a machine polisher) can cause more damage than good. Bottom line is practice makes perfect.

[B7]

Good effort Choppa, i'm liking it

I think I need some too..........

Pal

Pal. Looking at your sig I would think T-Cut is the last thing you need . Are you from the Surrey patch? I'm sure I recognise you car from round here. If it's not I followed a dead ringer on one of the snowy days last month near Horley.

[ShineOn]

You did a bloody good job there considering it was all by hand. You've got to remember, polishes are only doing their work when you are 'working' them. They are not designed to cure, so as you found out leaving it to dry is a nightmare.

Polishes work when you work them, waxes work when you leave them.

[pnd]

nice to see someone caring for an early e30 like that well done.

[Pal318is]

Good effort Choppa, i'm liking it

I think I need some too..........

Pal

Pal. Looking at your sig I would think T-Cut is the last thing you need . Are you from the Surrey patch? I'm sure I recognise you car from round here. If it's not I followed a dead ringer on one of the snowy days last month near Horley.

Bud, i'm from bedford...been to surrey once, long time ago tho'

It must have been a ringer of mine the picture in my sig was taken a few years ago, it needs a good once over tbh...

Thanks for the big up

Pal

[B7]

Good effort Choppa, i'm liking it

I think I need some too..........

Pal

Pal. Looking at your sig I would think T-Cut is the last thing you need . Are you from the Surrey patch? I'm sure I recognise you car from round here. If it's not I followed a dead ringer on one of the snowy days last month near Horley.

Bud, i'm from bedford...been to surrey once, long time ago tho'

It must have been a ringer of mine the picture in my sig was taken a few years ago, it needs a good once over tbh...

Thanks for the big up

Pal

Oh well! I see this e30 318is most mornings. In brilliant red it is truly mint and is running similar rims to yours. I keep trying to catch up with the guy but have yet to meet him. I see it in various areas from the Balcombe Road near Crawley right through to Salfords area in the mornings. I must admit I cringed a little at seeing it in the snow with all that salt about!!! It's obviously the guy's daily driver and big respect to him, it's fantastically clean!!!

[Pal318is]

I must admit i do try to clean it once a week, as mine is my daily driver too..

Pal

[Cotty]

Looks really good, must have given you a great deal of satisfaction.

I was thempted to do mine on Saturday, glad I didnt as it peed down on Sunday and went to the Westerham meet down muddy country lanes.

[m3ben05]

Massive improvement there mate!

[Frenchy]

Keep waxing it as it will turn pink again in no time especiaiy when the sun gets out!

[Speedtouch]

Great job choppa. Goes to show what a bit of elbow grease can achieve. Brings back fond (?) memories of my first Henna red E30

[duffs17]

Oh well! I see this e30 318is most mornings. In brilliant red it is truly mint and is running similar rims to yours. I keep trying to catch up with the guy but have yet to meet him. I see it in various areas from the Balcombe Road near Crawley right through to Salfords area in the mornings. I must admit I cringed a little at seeing it in the snow with all that salt about!!! It's obviously the guy's daily driver and big respect to him, it's fantastically clean!!!

B7 , I work in this area ill keep my eyes peeled for him and get him on the zone!

its not the first time i managed to stop an e30 and tell him about the zone!!!!