Pics of my E93 M3 post KDS wet sand and paint refurbishment

[J-P]

Here are some pictures of my car following a thorough going over by Kelly of KDS. Needless to say I'm over the moon with the car, it looks absolutely stunning! Kelly is without a shadow of a doubt the only person you'd want to do a job like this on your P&J. This is just a small sample of pictures, there are some more and the before and during work (some of which are quite scary) but the end result is I'm sure you'll agree awesome. The attention to detail that Kelly has applied to my car is second to none, I've got paint depth readings from all over my car, tons of pics and a couple of videos all of which are awesome. If any of you are thinking about having some paint correction done to your car, look no further. Kelly's your man, worth every penny!

Edited by J-P on Wednesday 29th April 23:01

[J-P]

Hi Smalls, sure can get some bigger pics, please see below, I've also e-mailed Kelly if he doesn't mind adding some further pics, so you should get some excellent pictures later...

Cheers

J-P

[J-P]

Thanks, I'm really pleased with it! I think it looks awesome

[J-P]

Beedub said:

woooow thats looks stunning!! might get my z4m done with these guys!!

You should - Kelly's the absolute bees knees!! I don't believe anybody else could have made my car looking like this!!!

[J-P]

yosamite sam said:

how much would something like that cost?

It's not about the cost, it's about the shine!!!

[J-P]

rev-erend said:

yosamite sam said:

how much would something like that cost?

Prices are on his website :

http://www.kdskeltec.co.uk/price_menu.phtml

Hmmm...I think Kelly's website might be a bit out of date! I paid a lot more that £500 but as it took around 80 hours, I'm not complaining, should have been about £3k really, but I paid nothing like that!

[J-P]

Mr Whippy said:

So BMW forgot to use cutting compound on the lacquer of this guys BMW after the machines had finished with it

I honestly can't believe BMW let their cars go out without a decent cut back if the machines spary lacquer on like that. Especially as they have all that lacquer on, it'd make sense it was ripe for a good cut back...

Hmmmm, something fishy imho, or BMW are just absolutely and completely lame, which I can't agree with!

Orange peel on bases, fine, I guess, but on lacquer!?

Dave

As far as I can tell all new BMWs look like this - my mate's 335i touring is black and has terrible orange peel! At least as bad as mine was. Went to a BMW showroom about 5 weeks ago and they all had the same problem, shocking really!

[J-P]

Mr Whippy said:

rev-erend said:

J-P said:

Mr Whippy said:

So BMW forgot to use cutting compound on the lacquer of this guys BMW after the machines had finished with it

I honestly can't believe BMW let their cars go out without a decent cut back if the machines spary lacquer on like that. Especially as they have all that lacquer on, it'd make sense it was ripe for a good cut back...

Hmmmm, something fishy imho, or BMW are just absolutely and completely lame, which I can't agree with!

Orange peel on bases, fine, I guess, but on lacquer!?

Dave

As far as I can tell all new BMWs look like this - my mate's 335i touring is black and has terrible orange peel! At least as bad as mine was. Went to a BMW showroom about 5 weeks ago and they all had the same problem, shocking really!

Was the same in a Ford show room .. but I do notice that the problem is usually on the verticle panels ... so boots and bonnets which are the most visible are usually not as bad.

I think the issue is that water based paints do not dry as quickly and perhaps the outer layer (lacqueer) is the one that eventually has the orange peel as it takes the moisture from the panels below..

But still, what is going over with a cutting compound. The work here was ultimately alot of checking/prepping by the person doing the work, BMW could easily add a 30min process to the line for about £100 and have the cars coming out like this...!

That is why I think there is something a bit wrong here... OR, people are seriously mad to be buying cars that are half-finished and look so completely and utterly ste from NEW! Especially £50,000 ones!

Dave

I've sent a note to BMW (UK) - I'll let you know what they say - if they come back!

[J-P]

[/quote]

laquer looks like that from new. Arghhh, I just can't believe it
The owner must also be pretty bonkers to drive it away from BMW looking so st!

Dave
[/quote]

Picked it up in the dark - bought it for the way it drives not it's paint. It was only after seeing it in the sun a few weeks after I bought it that I noticed how utterly rubbish the finish was - I've moaned to BMW though, still waiting to see what happens!

[J-P]

kds keltec said:

PJ S said:

So, I suspect they have foisted this upon the dealer to sort, if they should get a customer who's less than happy with the look of the paint. This saves BMW money being spent on every car being done, and either an allowance given to the dealer to spend on his valeters to make right, whom are paid about £35-50 in total to "buff" the car - hence why they use G3, and the buyer generally winds up with something looking like it's been dragged through a hedge backwards, or it comes out of their profit, hence why they want cars done as cheaply as they are.
Been there done that to a degree - they're not interested in paying £300 for a proper corrective detail, when they can get away with typically spending £50 max.

Hi guys thanks for all the nice comments


Here is a email i got yesterday from a new customer , the email may have been sent to me after viewing this thread , but not sure if he is a pistonhead member or just J-P's friend either way shows the big problem with BMW's .

Removed names to protect party's






"I have a 2008 M3 coupe which is a fabulous car apart from the paint work – familiar story I guess.

The orange peel I could live with but the swirl marks drive me crazy – it has been returned to BMW (and returned in the same state) and polished by a professional detailer (which helped) but it still isn’t right.

I used to work with J-P who has recently had is M3 “restored” by you and recommends you highly.

Could I bring the car to you for an opinion of the best way to solve the problem and an estimate?

I am in Tonbridge so can get to you fairly easily – are you around Tuesday the 5th?"

He's an ex-colleague, another car but like myself and probably verybody else on this thread. Saw some phots of his car straight from the dealership and it looked awful - can't belive that BMW let it out of the showroom like that!

Anyway, once Kelly has worked his magic, it will look amazing!!!

[J-P]

Cleaned my car yesterday - 20mins and it looked like Kelly had just washed it again - awesome!!

[J-P]

Thought I should say that my friend DAN has decided to get his E92 M3 done through Kelly!

He saw my car at a friend's wedding on Saturday, asked me who done the work and had already booked his car in for the works! (Due to be completed in July).

Dan's car has been in a shocking state since he got it, BMW did some paint damage and it's been detailed by a local detailer, who's well-respected and actually pretty good. However, the swirl patterns are still evident and this has Dan pretty annoyed.

He's given Kelly the job of getting his P&J upto standard and I'm sure he won't be disappointed. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE post the pictures of this car once it's done, Kelly. DAN's car is a sort of purpley black and should look absolutely fantastic when it's finished, it'll also sound good as DAN tells me he's going to have a new exhaust fitted!

[J-P]

Mr Whippy said:

mccltd said:

Brand new M3 E93 and with FREE Swirl and buffer marks what more can you ask for.

It sounds like BMW are trying to rectify this orange peel themselves, badly, leaving the cars with orange peel lacquer AND swirls and buffer marks.

Interesting that BMW seem to do that so badly too. You'd think if they were going to set to work on a £50,000+ car they would do some reading/practice on their process!

Goes from bad to worse doesn't it

Totally agree - Why would you actually make it worse? The orange peel is a pain but scratches and swirl marks are loads worse!

[J-P]

rsstman said:

where could i get a bodyshop for some paintwork that would pay thyat much attention to detail?

Why get respray? Why not ask Kelly to take a look at your car and ask his expert opinion on whether his wet sand and paint refurb process would work on your car? If you absolutely need a respray, Kelly knows somebody who'll do that work for you, then give the car to Kelly to give it the ultimate finish!

Money no object, that's what I'd do with my car!!!

[J-P]

N-N said:

wtf is orange peel..? i dont want this new M3 now..

If you look at ANY new car closely (apart from an Aston), you'll notice that the paint has a dimpled effect that looks a bit like orange peel - there are some photos of this effect on this post.

Pretty much all new cars have it even Audis, Mercs etc, the difference with the BMW cars is that this effect is pretty pronounced i.e worse than most other manufacturers. To be honest it's the sort of thing that most people don't notice but if you're fussy (like me) then once you have noticed, it just gets on your nerves for all time!

I paid Kelly from KDS to reduce the effect of the orange peel and I'm now over-the-moon with the paint finish on my car but it's not a cheap process. I understand that on a new car BMW will contribute towards having the work done, the problem for you is that you're in Scotland and will have to find somebody who can do this work up there. There are very few people in the country with the necessary skill and dilligence to do this sort of work, so I'd consider leaving your car with Kelly for a couple of weeks down south anyway, if you decide that a) you still want an M3 and b) the orange peel bugs you. If you're not bothered by the paint finish, then just enjoy the car as it is.

I think that my M3 is one of the best cars on the road, subtle, fast, awesome handling. Not as flash as a supercar but able to give most supercars a fright! I totally love it and now that the paint looks right, I think it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Don't let the paintwork put you off the car; the way it looks is important (to me anyway) but the way it drives is far more important and in this respect it's second to none IMHO.

[J-P]

N-N said:

just looked at the photos REALLY hard.. i get it now!

Told you most people wouldn't notice! Once you have though, trust me it'll get on your nerves like nothing else! I seem to spend all my time checking out cars with the orange peel effect and yes it is rather like cellulite for your motor (to me anyway).

[J-P]

mat205125 said:

Another great set of pictures.

Hypothetical question for all. If you were to arrive to collect your new M3 and it had a hammerite paint finish as bad as that M3 before it was sanded, would you a.) Want to reject the car until it was properly corrected at BMWs expense, & b.) Have any legal rights to be able to reject a poor quality paint finish .... "They're all like that" would no doubt be the dealers reply, however have any precedents been set by cases in the past where people have successfully rejected cars, or been able to charge BMW to have a wet sand correction done like this. I'd be a little concerned in case there were any come back effecting the corrosion warranty, for example.

I'd say you could probably reach some sort of compromise if you negotiated with the dealer and I'd say you'd be well within your rights to pull out of the deal on the basis of poor quality paint finish. I think you'd struggle to get BMW to actually concede that their finish is not up to scratch though. I contacted BMW after I had my car wet sanded and they basically said that the paint finish was within accpetable factory tolerances or some such BS!

[J-P]

Mr Whippy said:

J-P said:

mat205125 said:

Another great set of pictures.

Hypothetical question for all. If you were to arrive to collect your new M3 and it had a hammerite paint finish as bad as that M3 before it was sanded, would you a.) Want to reject the car until it was properly corrected at BMWs expense, & b.) Have any legal rights to be able to reject a poor quality paint finish .... "They're all like that" would no doubt be the dealers reply, however have any precedents been set by cases in the past where people have successfully rejected cars, or been able to charge BMW to have a wet sand correction done like this. I'd be a little concerned in case there were any come back effecting the corrosion warranty, for example.

I'd say you could probably reach some sort of compromise if you negotiated with the dealer and I'd say you'd be well within your rights to pull out of the deal on the basis of poor quality paint finish. I think you'd struggle to get BMW to actually concede that their finish is not up to scratch though. I contacted BMW after I had my car wet sanded and they basically said that the paint finish was within accpetable factory tolerances or some such BS!

Shirley you could discuss this before buying, and basically put it down as a deal breaker for the retailer?
Negotatiate £1000 off for shocking paint finish requiring correction charge


Bit much trying to negotiate after delivery, when every single car in their dealership has orange peel and is clearly visible under their lovely lights!

I'd agree that your resolution has greatest likelihood of working but I lnow somebody who negotiated an unbelievable deal post purchase.

[J-P]

Oh OK to solve the mystery that Kelly alluded to earlier - Somebody I know basically blagged a new E92 M3 because of poor paint finish - Got a great price for his old car and only had to add a few thousand quid to get it. It really was a fantastic offer!!

[J-P]

kds keltec said:

J-P said:

Oh OK to solve the mystery that Kelly alluded to earlier - Somebody I know basically blagged a new E92 M3 because of poor paint finish - Got a great price for his old car and only had to add a few thousand quid to get it. It really was a fantastic offer!!

Took some photos on my behalf swapping emails etc but your friend got a very good out come if bad for me .

I guess bmw did not someone who had gone to the top of bmw to only see someone as small as me fix a bmw problem .

It does look like when searching other forums that its well known bmw have such a bad paint finish and things are changing for the best in a few years time .

I'd have to agree - although some people just don't notice these things. My wife's car looks awful to me, but she's happy with it - when I've saved up a few quid I'll bring it over to you to sort out - it's a mess!