Diving boards painted trim black...

[klavender1]

I've seen tucked bumpers but none painted trim black. I've been using SEM trim black paint on the rest of the aluminum parts and it turned out great. The bumpers are very dull. I figured the easiest thing to do before I tuck is to paint them. Has anyone seen this done or have opinions on doing this? The car is burgundrot if that makes a difference.


On a side note. I took some trim off the car to paint and turned out to be a real pain in the ass. So the rest of the trim I masked and painted on the car. You can't tell the difference. How do I reattach the driver's side roof moulding without breaking something or tearing up the piece?

[JasonC]

There are pictures on here. But i dont really have the time to search for them rite now, sorry. And the roof molding just snaps back on.

[JTapper]

I sanded and polished my bumpers. They look killer, but took quite a bit of time with a da.

I only polished the top:

[dlhoovler]

I painted mine gloss black and used trim paint on the plastic trim pieces (removed them to paint). I sanded the bumpers with a vibrating block sander (from about 60 grit down to 400 or so), rattle-can etching primer, then a few coats of black Rustoleum. Then I wet-sanded the orange-peel (just on the top) down to 1500 or 2000 grit, and followed up with an orbital polisher and polishing compound. It turned out well, although single-stage black paint still is not the most durable ever. Overall pic below--I don't have a close-up of the bumpers.

[StereoInstaller1]

[klavender1]

Both look good. I really liked the polished one but seems like more upkeep. Thanks for the pictures.

[HippyEarly]

I sanded and polished my bumpers. They look killer, but took quite a bit of time with a da.

fappin YUM! what grits did you get up to? I've tossed in my mind painting but don't think i would like it. Yours looks like that high school chicks tits i saw the other day.

[ForcedFirebird]

I sanded and polished my bumpers. They look killer, but took quite a bit of time with a da.

I only polished the top:

Pure sex. I absolutely love my early diving board car :)

Thanx, now you just made more work /Forced goes and polishes his bumpers....

Will look good with fresh Delphin boogers :)

[AbsorbantNut]

Will look good with fresh Delphin boogers :)

I see you found the link;) You have to do this

[JTapper]

fappin YUM! what grits did you get up to? I've tossed in my mind painting but don't think i would like it. Yours looks like that high school chicks tits i saw the other day.

I started with 180, 220, 400 (wet), 600 (wet), 800 (wet), 1200 (wet), then rubbing compound, then Mother's Mag/Aluminum polish. Finished off with two coats of Pinnacle High Gloss Carnuba wax.

I did all this before putting the trim on.

This spring when it came out of storage, just a quick wipedown with the Mother's polish, and two coats of wax again. Should last all season, but I don't drive it in the rain.

[ForcedFirebird]

One of mine are almost done. Probably would have went faster if they were stripped first, it's like there was some kind o coating on them that had to be cut through first :(

Just the fronts of the bottom piece of mine will be polished to even then out a bit, can;t wait to get my car back from my painter now!

Oh, and JTapper, your pic is my desktop wallpaper hehe.

[klavender1]

JTapper it's awesome. Just more work than I wanna put into it. Haha. Think I'm gonna scuff, prime, and paint.

[klavender1]

Also looking at your car, I have a question about the lower spoiler. I have an E with the standard lip at the bottom. From my understanding, I don't need a whole new valance like the painted bumpers, just an add on piece right? I'm a little confused on the whole bumper/valance subject. I talked to a friend today that's a long time BMW mechanic that seems to remember just adding them on after the car got to the dealership so it wouldn't scrape getting off the delivery truck. What exactly do I need to buy to make it look like yours? I've tried searching but confuse myself more. :)

[ForcedFirebird]

JTapper and I have the 86-87 "s" valence. The "is" lip has the holes for oil cooler, "es" does not...

[JTapper]

JTapper and I have the 86-87 "s" valence. The "is" lip has the holes for oil cooler, "es" does not...

Yep.

If you look at the bottom center of his, it's smooth, where mine has two more vented areas for the oil cooler.

They're few and far between. If you see one around $200 or less, scoop it up. I made steel copies of the original plastic mounting brackets. If I had more time I'd make up a few more sets and sell them on here, but I've got quite a bit going on at the moment. Things may be different in the fall.

don't do what I did and buy one cheap because the foglights are busted. They were around $200 to replace, and supposedly I bought the last two NEW OEM Hella lenses in the country.