My roller paint job so far....

[Garageaholic]

Thanx guys, here are a few more pics (with a real camera this time)

Took some more pics of the hood (this is with 4 out of 6 coats done). Remember, It is dry paint, NOT wet.


Trunk lid (5 out of 6 coats completed)


It looks better in person than in the pictures.

Could I spend another 4k on this car witha paintjob? Yes, it would take me a while to save up for the money, and i want my car done by the spring. I also thought that if I tackled the paint myself and it really came out great, then people can ask me how much the paint was. Lol.."buddy, it was $100", unfortunately, it took me 150 hours to complete!

[xLibelle]

from the looks of your hood, you need to thin the paint mixture more!

[Jand3rson]

Damn, that looks really good so far, Frank! Nice work, I can't wait to see more.

[Garageaholic]

When it arrives and i test fit it, I will post a thread all about it. probably after the new year. I was told by Todd that it should fit without a problem. It's actually not the manifold that I was worried about, it was the turbo, but todd said that the E30 engine bay is actually a little bit wider than the E30 engine bay, so he said fitment shouldn't be a problem. The only thing was that he said I would have to get my Pass. motor mount bracket modified and they did that for me at no extra charge.

[Axxe]

Does the TCD turbo manifold fit in M30E30's?

[Garageaholic]

I'm glad to see that your's is turning out better then mine did. That orange peel will come out with some wetsanding. I don't think that i'd use a DA to wetsand, plus how would you get the paper to stick to the DA.

Actually, they have sandpaper made specifically for that machine with a sticky surface on the other side.

Yeah Thanx alot, the paint is coming out stellar, Black was a tough one. I give you alot of credit for trying black. White shows the least amount of imperfections, yet in any light, I can't find one on this trunk. It's almost perfect. I'm so happy with the results. Vertical or horizontal, it levels itself off drip-less if thinned properly. The hood is also coming along now as it is on it's 4th coat...

[E30 Reaktionär]

I'm glad to see that your's is turning out better then mine did. That orange peel will come out with some wetsanding. I don't think that i'd use a DA to wetsand, plus how would you get the paper to stick to the DA.

[Garageaholic]

Dual Action sander. Rubs shit in an orbital fashion. Ususally air powered. Uses a BUNCh of air, too.

Like this:

Interesting. I have to look into that. thanx


As far as my stock color. It was sterlingsilber (silver). I painted my engine bay flat black and the rest of the car inside and out will be "gloss white", which I think is a cheesy color name, so i'll have to think of something better. Maybe snow-white. lol that's gay. sorry. lol

[StereoInstaller1]

What is a DA exactly?

Dual Action sander. Rubs shit in an orbital fashion. Ususally air powered. Uses a BUNCh of air, too.

Like this:

[e30kappasig]

yeah, the rustoleum almond. I'm gonna do it so i dont have to repaint my engine bay. I figure it should be close enough so it wont stand out too bad. Maybe once i pull my M20 out for my M50 ill paint the bay as well. But for some reason the beige colors have really grown on me.

What color was your car from the factory?

[Garageaholic]

Thanx! Are you talking about the almond color that rustoleum makes? It's definitely not going to be bronzit. I think it's going to turn out a cream color, like really milked-out coffee. I hope you like it, but it's a light color, so it should show minimal defects.

I think they made that color for the 318 back in the early 80's (obviously a very similar color)

[e30kappasig]

Looks great! I'm going to be doing my car in the almond color they have since mine is bronzit. I'll be doing mine one panel at a time though since my car is my DD.

[Garageaholic]

This is what the car will look like, It's ryan's from endicott, NY FYI.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989-BMW-325is-e30-H-R-Bilstein-MINT_W0QQitemZ4640318343QQcategoryZ6007QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Luke, First, thanx alot. i appreciate it. It's not going to look ghetto at all. its going to take me a total of about a month and a half, maybe 2 months to complete if I incorporate the level of time and patience that I have been. Second, I did all my wetsanding by hand because it was eay to do on a trunk/hood. I dont know how I will be able to cope doing 4 doors, quarter panels, fenders and a roof!! haha.

What is a DA exactly? I didn't know they made machines to wetsand. I thought it would be too risky and going through the paint/clearcoat with a machine was too easy...

[StereoInstaller1]

Frank, you are my HERO! I think your car will look terrific, due to the fact you are doing it right. Great job, mang.

Looking at that MoPar guys post had me convinced a year ago. It is only a matter of time before I get my sons car done. I keep finding myself too damn busy to do his paint.

How well do you think it would work to use a DA to wetsand? I bought a plastic bodied Astra Pneumatic just for that purpose. I am gonna try it just so I know for sure.

Again, thanks!
Luke

[Garageaholic]

Well, what you see in my members galleries pictures is not what it's going to look like. I sold my M-tech II sidepanels/sideskirts and front and rear fiberglass valences. I'm going with a stock look in a white color. It's going to have a regular "is" lip on the front. I'm still thinking on whether or not I want to paint my bumper trim white or keep it black.
I don't think it's going to come out ghetto. I'm putting endless hours into proper preparation for this and really think I can do it...

Besides, if anything happens to the paint, scratches, dents, Then I can work on it myself and re-paint that piece. Do I think I'm going to get a mirror shine perfect? No. I think it's going to be a 1 foot paint job. Not even a 3 foot paintjob. I'm really paying attention to every detail and personally think it's going to come out great.

the wheels/tires/mounting and balancing was $2200. Since I just got a TCD turbo, i'm going to tackle the paint myself. I have the resources and time for it.