Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

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Simon B
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Simon B » Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:53 am

Ok so new parts arrived yesterday and I have removed the old ones and cleaned up the others that I am not changing.

It cost £100 but all parts are OEM from main dealer and I would have probable spent £50 on paint and other bits if I had tried to paint them. Very happy with the results
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Simon B

2003 B3S Convertible #71
2023 Mercedes EQC

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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Simon B » Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:56 am

Now onto the next job before I refit these parts. I am going to remove all of the seats and give them a bit of a work over. Also going to clean the carpets while the seats are out.

Going to try the pears soap as recommended on here so will post pictures of the results when I have done them.

Starting with the rear seats which I didn’t think were that dirty until I took them out. :shock:
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Simon B

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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by hap » Sun Mar 07, 2021 1:31 am

Braver than I ever would with taking the interior out but it will look great once done
So you changed centre console and is that the rear casing of the ashtray due to scuff marks?

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Simon B
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Simon B » Sun Mar 07, 2021 10:11 am

Hi Hap

Interior removal is not too bad so far particularly for the rear seats. Front ones might be a bit more challenging. I am doing those today hopefully.

I went for replacing 3 pieces in the centre console. The frame of the phone holder, the piece that the rear ash tray fits into which also goes up and around the hinge of the armrest, and the small piece which is at the back of the centre piece on the floor. This was always the worst one as the previous owners kids had scuffed it a bit when I got it back in 2007. It’s always annoyed me and I just never got around to it until now. When I took it off it actually has an electronic box wired inside it. I don’t know what that does, probably something to do with the electric roof, but it explains why the box is there which is something I always wondered.

I did price up the whole centre console frame as well but it was another £200 on top of the rest and isn’t actually that bad. I will have to see if it looks worse when I get the new parts fitted into it.
Simon B

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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Simon B » Mon Mar 08, 2021 11:14 am

So after a busy weekend here ares the results so far.

Seats out
Alpina seats out.jpg
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Front seats are easy to remove (once you have watched a few you tube clips) 5 x 16mm bolts/nuts on each seat and unplug the electrics. People said to ensure you disconnect the battery before disconnecting otherwise the airbag light might trigger. I dont know if thats true or not but I did it just in case and everything was fine when I put them back in. They are really really heavy :shock:

Rear seats now cleaned
alpina clean seats.jpg
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Alpina clean seats 2.jpg
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I haven't got any photos of the front seats being cleaned. I was keen to get them done yesterday and back in while the battery was disconnected otherwise I would have an issue with the windows closing.

For all of the seats particularly with the champagne colour I found that you had to balance cleaning too harshly with not removing the colour so have to not go too mad with it. Overall I am happy with the result. I am going to touch up the drivers seat bolster where the colour has come off as I have some colour matched paint that I ordered some time ago. I will do this carefully and do a few coats over a few days.

After all of the seats were clean I cleaned the rest of the interior while it was empty. The carpet was surprisingly good so just needed a good vacuum and a couple of bits cleaning rather than a full shampoo. Then finally got to put in the new console parts that I bought
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Alpina rear console 1.jpg
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Alpina rer console 2.jpg
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Thats my weekends work. I have started to work on the bolster which is a bit scary but hopefully I will make a decent job of it. Last part then for the interior is to do the steering wheel again.

Then its back to the last few jobs on the outside. Ceramic Coating, Sort the cloudy rear fog lights, and decide what to do with the wheels. They are not perfect by a long way but not really that bad. I might take them off one at a time and see if I can get them clean that way. Then maybe try the ceramic on them and see what the results are like.I would welcome peoples view. Plan is to get it done this month (has been SORN since Feb and going to tax from April) so I can get the hardtop off and get out in it. Maybe the wheels will have to wait.
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by BarryM » Mon Mar 08, 2021 11:37 am

Nice work Simon, as you say the seats are very heavy (guessing my fully electric E39 seats are a similar weight) and I really struggled to get my seats out on my own without scratching any trim.
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Rav » Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:21 pm

Wow - that's some heavy weekend Simon, but the results speak for themselves.

I have some Pears soap waiting for my seats once its a bit warmer outside. Any tips on how to use it? I have black interior so keen to see what it makes of this.
Do you have the part numbers for the interior trim you bought. I have a manky coin tray too!
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by davettf2 » Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:57 pm

Wet the soap, apply wet bar to the seats then work up a gentle lather using a soft nail brush to bring the dirt out. Then wipe off with a damp microfibre cloth.
Repeat if required for heavy soiling.... best to go over it gently 2-3 times, rather than scrub excessively in one hit!

Finish off by applying a good conditioner once the surface is dry....

Cheers
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by davettf2 » Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:58 pm

Wet the soap, apply wet bar to the seats then work up a gentle lather using a soft nail brush to bring the dirt out. Then wipe off with a damp microfibre cloth.
Repeat if required for heavy soiling.... best to go over it gently 2-3 times, rather than scrub excessively in one hit!

Finish off by applying a good conditioner once the surface is dry....

Cheers
Dave

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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Simon B » Mon Mar 08, 2021 4:56 pm

Rav wrote:
Mon Mar 08, 2021 2:21 pm
Wow - that's some heavy weekend Simon, but the results speak for themselves.

I have some Pears soap waiting for my seats once its a bit warmer outside. Any tips on how to use it? I have black interior so keen to see what it makes of this.
Do you have the part numbers for the interior trim you bought. I have a manky coin tray too!
Hi Rav

Yes it was a busy one but quite enjoyed it, Particularly the results. I did exactly what Dave said with the soap other than I used a toothbrush rather than a nail brush and then treated with some leather protector and conditioner as he says.

The part number for the coin/phone tray is 51 16 711 0646 for mine which is black. The phone unit just unclips from the outer edge (see earlier photos) I didn't realise that initially and unscrewed the phone insert which was a bit of a pain in the arse to put back together and turned out to be completely unnecessary. Part was £38 including VAT which was well worth it for me.

Hope that helps
Simon B

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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by rc944 » Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:54 am

really brilliant and im now inspired
given the effort you went to why not tackle the seats with proprietary products like gliptone etc for all the steps? i dont think even pro detailers would normally remove the seats so that was epic effort and i think i will do the same in the summer
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by rc944 » Thu Mar 11, 2021 11:56 am

moreover thats a very elegant dobe you have there looking on. my fave breed.
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Simon B » Thu Mar 11, 2021 3:35 pm

Well spotted RC

I didnt realise she was in the picture. She is my fourth Dobe having rescued my first one many years ago and had 3 from puppies since. She is treated like a princess by the kids. Higher maintenance than the car though.
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Metrics » Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:53 pm

Great work, the rear seats came up well.
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Re: Going for a bit of a cosmetic refresh.

Post by Simon B » Sun Mar 21, 2021 12:45 am

Thanks Metrics

I am happy with them. I have now finished touching up the drivers seat bolster and happy with that too. Steering wheel has been done also so the interior is now finished. :D

Just need a few days off to do the ceramic coating.
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