Front spoiler restoration pictures (*Update- 6/4/04)

[///Mtechnik88]

Well, after plotting this for a year I'm halfway finished with my front end repaint. I never had the time until now. I toyed with the idea of removing the bumper and then the entire front spoiler, but to be honest I have no experience with removing the bumper. So, I squashed that idea and masked the areas off. On the first picture it'll show how badly scarred the front was and how futile touch-up painting became! I had already begun sanding on the right side of the first pic, in case you were wondering. Like Jordan, I removed paint & primer, all the way to the bare metal. I wanted to get rid of the textured surface-look. The last picture is with the primer on, as I'll light sand, continue degreasing & paint on Thursday. Hope to have finished pics up soon!

Sorry for the quality. Good ole' VX6000 camera phone again :)


Reg. Dig camera

[Jordan]

I can't believe you didnt remove it lol.

It takes (no joke) about 20 minutes to take the entire front face off a e30.

[///Mtechnik88]

I can't believe you didnt remove it lol.

It takes (no joke) about 20 minutes to take the entire front face off a e30.

Honestly, I was timid about removing it, period. A friend years ago attempted it and had problems (then again he don't really know what he was doing), so I stayed with caution and masked the areas off. I've seen it done the way I'm doing it and I was very pleased with the results. Besides, I could always attempt to rip it off on Thursday, if I have the nerve. We'll see! Glad to know it won't take much time to take off!

[rayz]

did u just sand it down? then primer?

[///Mtechnik88]

did u just sand it down? then primer?

Actually, I stripped the paint, degreased, sanded, degreased again and primed. Have to get those oils off or the whole project is phucked.

[Sean]

There's just tons of screws, but they're all the same size. You have to start somewhere, right?

Just don't foget about the two small torx (star shaped) screws on the edge of either side of the spoiler (holding it to the fender) (they face downward). I forgot about them, and spent hours trying to fgure off why it wouldn't come off - then I saw the damn things. Once you see em, you'll know what I'm talkin about. If you need any more pointers, let me know.

I'd take it off too - just to make sure you didn't miss anything, ya know?

Looking good so far!

[///Mtechnik88]

There's just tons of screws, but they're all the same size. You have to start somewhere, right?

Just don't foget about the two small torx (star shaped) screws on the edge of either side of the spoiler (holding it to the fender) (they face downward). I forgot about them, and spent hours trying to fgure off why it wouldn't come off - then I saw the damn things. Once you see em, you'll know what I'm talkin about. If you need any more pointers, let me know.

I'd take it off too - just to make sure you didn't miss anything, ya know?

Looking good so far!

Thanks for the kudos, Sean. ;) I'll certainly shout out if I run into any issues.

[nzer]

lots and lots of 8mm self tappers.

[///Mtechnik88]

Well, after numerous coats of primer and paint to protect against this problem in the future, it's finally done. I am waiting for the paint to fully cure before putting it on the road. I DID take it off and only had time yesterday to reinstall the bumper trim. I'll put the bumper on today. I also painted the black grills & lower oil cooler vent with a black bumper spray I've used before for bumper trim. It's worked great on other project cars I've done since it has a flex agent, and it looks great so far! Anyway, I need to finish priming the back valance, then paint it. That'll be fun (haha). But not today, as I am getting some R&R before a busy work weekend. Brakes installed on Saturday....

[e30Matt]

Looking good. I take it you stripped all that textured shit off of it?

[///Mtechnik88]

Looking good. I take it you stripped all that textured shit off of it?

Yep, scraped it all off. It looks much better and more uniform completely smooth.

[e30evolution]

i did mine yesterday and i took it off.... i used a d/a with 80 grit to get the texture coating off, and then 180 to sand it smooth...... primed painted and cleared..... at the same time i painted my door handles body color.... they turned out sweet

[spud814]

what did you use to paint it? Spray paint? or you brought it to a shop?

[bmw4life]

looks good 8)

[LikeCDoos]

i did mine yesterday and i took it off.... i used a d/a with 80 grit to get the texture coating off, and then 180 to sand it smooth...... primed painted and cleared..... at the same time i painted my door handles body color.... they turned out sweet

lets see a before and after picture of the door handles. I would like to see how it looks.