Mike's Alpine White 1991 318is

[mike.bmw]

Looks clean! Mike

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Look's awesome Mike! Those pics really make me wish I had shadow line trim.

Thanks, guys!

Detailing Complete!

I finished up the detailing earlier this week. The car may be the cleanest it's ever been. The original paint is in pretty decent condition. It has a fair amount of light scratches. I didn't want to use an aggressive compound so the light scratches are still there, but the paint is very clean and smooth now.

Taping off the sunroof and window seals (one of these days I'll take some shots of the glass sunroof in action):



This morning I took it out for a pre-sunrise photo shoot! Unfortunately when the photos scale for the forum/browser, they look like crap.











Next week I'll be going to an HPDE, BMW of Sterling Cars and Coffee event, and a local German car show!

[fresh_TD]

Mike, did you clay it beforehand? And did you seal it your work afterwords?

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[fresh_TD]

Btw I don't see you at Katie's this morning. This place is packed to the gills.

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[mike.bmw]

Mike, did you clay it beforehand? And did you seal it your work afterwords?

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Btw I don't see you at Katie's this morning. This place is packed to the gills.

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I did clay it beforehand. I didn't seal it though. I don't know much about sealants. Any recommendations?

Yeah, I didn't make it to Katie's this morning. Busy weekend of kids activities and an early T-Ball game today, so I wouldn't have been able to stay at Katie's past 8AM. Are you going to check out the Sterling BMW Cars and Coffee next Saturday?

[fresh_TD]

I use this sealant from detail King. Really you could use anything you prefer.

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[D.Martijn]

Now, THAT is a white car. Looks very nice! Awesome job.
Please do share some pictures of the glass sunroof :D

[Zeemz]

I did clay it beforehand. I didn't seal it though. I don't know much about sealants. Any recommendations?

Looks great Mike.

I have been using Zaino (https://www.zainostore.com/) for 10 years and love the stuff. People used to complain that it was a lot of work. It is actually not bad, the prep is what takes the time, wash/clay/wash/dry. One coat of Zaino only takes about 30-40 mins to put on and dry and then buff off (and buffs of so much more easily than wax). I usually do 2-3 coats.

So much more durable than wax, do it once every 6 months on my daily, and car still beads like the whole thing is covered in RainX. Do it once a year on my E30. There are some newer sealants but since I have always very happy with the results I have never had a reason to try anything new.

I am doing my detail session to prep for the DMC and The Vintage next weekend and will be using Zaino as always.

[mike.bmw]

HPDE Prep

After the kids went to bed I prepped the E30 for the HPDE this coming Friday. Thankfully there's not much to prep. I removed the kids' car seats and a few items from the trunk. I changed the oil and filter as well (Mobil 1 15W50, Mahle filter). The brake fluid is fairly new. I'm just running stock rotors and pads for the event.

I packed a cargo box of my normal autocross/HPDE gear: tools, towels, oil, tire pressure gauge, bike pump, snacks, sunscreen, a chair, and camera gear. It drops right into the E30 trunk quite nicely. I just pull the cargo box out of the trunk in the paddock and don't have to bother with junk/gear all over the place.



Moonroof Photos

While I was in the garage I decided to take some photos of the moonroof. This was installed by the dealer in 1991 so they could get the car off the lot (or so I was told). The date of the moonroof supports the story. Yes, this was once a slicktop and now it's not.

The moonroof is a Webasto Starlite IV. I've taken it apart, cleaned everything, and it works beautifully. It pops up as well as slides back under the roof.

From the top:



From the top with the moonroof retracted:



From below with the sun shade in place:



From below with the sun shade retracted:



From below with the sun shade and moon roof retracted:



Tilt:





Button operation:

[econti]

Looks very OEM for an aftermarket roof

[jeenyus]

I never would have guessed that was aftermarket. Very well done. Probably works better than my OEM moon roof.

If you ever have to replace the grommet on the sides, do you know what seals you'll have to buy or do generic ones work fine?

[getouth]

Very nice!


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[spiDmang]

This car is amazing...*drool*

[ATL_E30]

Just read through this entire thread from start to finish. Love this car and how you've kept it as OEM as possible. Really an inspiration to all us Alpine White Owners out there! Keep up the good work!

[D.Martijn]

That sunroof looks great!

[robrez]

This is a great thread. I really like what you're doing with this car.