The 5 Year Restoration - E30 M3 Reborn

[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

lol. It'll ramp up soon I promise. Too busy lately with work and kids. Plus I had another project that took up some time. If you're sick of mowing your yard or (in my case) paying someone to do it, google Worx Landroid. It's a pain to install (boundary wire staked down around the whole yard) but once you do that it basically runs like a Roomba that mows for you every day.
We named ours Moses (because he mows-es, eyerollol)



I DID finally get my ceramic paint sealant in though. Know how most products say "test in an inconspicuous place" before applying? Most inconspicuous place ever...transmission tunnel.



Yeh I know, the bay is a little dirty. That will be fixed shortly.



After...





Once this stuff cures it's hard to describe how big a difference it makes. I would not touch the rest of the paint at all and would cringe when my kids did (let's be real you can only stop them so much without being ridiculous when they're this young), but after this stuff goes on the paint feels like it's a hard shell, not a delicate surface waiting to be scratched, almost like the outside of a bowling ball (best I can think of on the fly).

The gloss is unreal too. This shot has no flash, just my headlamp and you can see the reflection of the wooden chassis dolly in the paint




I'm also reinstalling floor plugs, etc.



How's this for a rust free battery box...



More to come


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[CurrusDei]

Fuel door back on!





The hardware was pretty dirty



Before/after







Ready



On






and cleaning up hardware for firewall insulation





Simple Green (bag) vs Zep Degreaser (on the table, looks like a cream puff)



Zep and a nylon brush won







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[jhaurimn]

=]

[ak-]

=]

[roznic]

amazing work, happy ending ;)

[M-technik-3]

Your not doing assembly work with your ring on are you? Be nervous creating a scratch in fresh paint with it on.

[CurrusDei]

Your not doing assembly work with your ring on are you? Be nervous creating a scratch in fresh paint with it on.

Yeh I've thought about that. But I move reeealy carefully around the paint and the ring is a pain to take off. I guess it's worth it though. I'll have to have a dedicated hook for the ring so it doesn't get lost. Especially since my wife refers to the red car as my "mistress". She's joking of course, but taking off my ring to go see my mistress...there's something that requires a lot of context.

More from last night...

Primary fire wall insulation back on over ceramic coated paint





I had the trunk repainted because I was over aggressive in cleaning it and had rubbed through the paint at the bottom of the spare tire well. Looks great now, but some dust had settled in there that needed to be cleaned out.






I hit it with three products

Meguiars Showtime: cheap quick detailer that I mainly used to loosen and remove dirt. I had no idea this stuff reeks of cinnamon until I had half my body in the trunk with it sprayed everywhere. I'm surprised I didn't have a sneezing fit.

GTech Pannel Prep: alcohol based cleaner that removes all wax and other sealants in prep for...

GTech Crystal Serum Light: consumer version of Gtech's Crystal Serum. If you mess up with CSL (like not fully and immediately wiping off all residue), it can be buffed off. If you mess up with CS, it has to be sanded off. I'll leave CS to the pros. CSL is about 80% of CS in terms of toughness. More than adequate for the hidden parts of the car I'm using it on (that normally aren't even waxed). I'm thinking I'll have a pro do CS on the paint when I'm done.










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[M-technik-3]

Front pocket works nicely. When I fly i put mine on my ID Tags chain or in my arm pocket as we don't wear rings while in the airplane or industrial ares for safety.

I would hate to loose a finger for failing to remove it. How long do you think it will take to reassemble your car?

[CurrusDei]

I could reassemble it in a few solid weekends, but I'm taking the approach of getting each piece nearly perfect, or replacing it, before putting it back on. So it's gonna be a while. I don't mind though. This is all about the journey


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[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Roof bar is back!

Before...







After...
















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[CurrusDei]

Trunk deck lid is back!






VIN stickers going back on








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[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

I'm planning to get the engine bay coated, so I needed to get the decals back on first.

This is a satisfying before/after





That said, the color tag here is not close enough, needs to be metallic backed. Will be sourcing a replacement.



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[jhaurimn]

[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Getting bored, class?



There's a hold up on the wiring - need a detail guy to come take a look at where the CSL coating hazed up a bit in the engine bay. May have him do a full CS treatment on it before stuff goes back in there - like the fuse box, which will let me do the wiring.



In the meantime I've been doing a few more small pieces and getting all the trim ready for paint...

Sanding







Lock is out and disassembled. That O-Ring (actually an L-Seal) was tired. Looking for a replacement since BMW only sells it in an expensive lock rebuild kit.





Brake line gaskets back in



And sealed up. To be repainted black soon.



Mount for filler lock back in. Lock pin needs to be repainted before reinstalling it.



This guy cleaned up nicely.





Cleaned up some bumper brackets (yet more overspray from the PO)



One mounted, missing a fastener for the other



Prepping foam headliner to go back in. Fixed this small tear from storage with contact cement. Hoping to reinstall tonight





There are also some small blemishes with surface rust spots I found inside. Sanding those down, then will prime and paint over













Off to get a pen sander to reach that crease.

[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Looks like the worlds biggest adhesive gun



Adhesive on



Some help from the wife and it went up easily. Cured overnight and is on solid. The red looking spot on the drivers side near the sunroof is leftover from old adhesive, not overspray.







I was able to reach the remaining rust spots with my Dremel using some different attachments



And got this guy nice and shiny



Primer time











Also cured overnight. Going to hit it with touch up paint and clear this weekend


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