I've done a lot to my E30, but it's not done yet. '89 325i, 195K miles, new top end on motor, many issues. I want to get my RGR's mounted, bike rack installed, and peeling roof fixed before I post a proper build thread, but in the meantime the rear end is almost done. This is also my 100 post!
It started like this, faded roundel, non-spoiler i trunk, cracked bumper trim.
The first thing to go was the faded Roundel. The guy who I got my 13 Button OBC hooked me up with a pair for free.
I scored an IS spoiler at the junk yard for $15. The paint was in rough shape, but rubber was intact.
A day of wet sanding cleaned up most of the imperfections.
Well most of them...
Then I hit it with a couple coats of Duplicolor Adhesion Promotor and Bumper Coating
I should have stopped there, but I got greedy and hit it with an extra coat. It got a run, I smudged it, tried to fill it with more paint which wouldn't dry and in an act of shear brilliance tried to speed dry it by holding it near an open flame heater. It caught on fire, in another act of brilliance I blew it out (managed to keep my eye brows somehow), but the damage was done.
So another day of wet sanding and many, many light coats I was able to save it, but it's not perfect. The right way would be to wet sand back to scratch and primer fill the deformations, but my car isn't perfect so I can life with the imperfections.
I used the template in the Tech Forums DIY and it mounted up perfectly. It was nerve racking drilling through my trunk, but I triple checked my measurements.
Mounted
Next I spent an evening wet sanding some black bumper trim I scored from a guy on Bimmerforums. The trim wasn't perfect, but neither is my car so it worked out. A couple coats of Adhesion Promotor and Bumper Coating and they cleaned up nicely.
Here's the finished rear end. At some point I'm going to swap out my chrome 325i logo for a blacked out one.
It started like this, faded roundel, non-spoiler i trunk, cracked bumper trim.
The first thing to go was the faded Roundel. The guy who I got my 13 Button OBC hooked me up with a pair for free.
I scored an IS spoiler at the junk yard for $15. The paint was in rough shape, but rubber was intact.
A day of wet sanding cleaned up most of the imperfections.
Well most of them...
Then I hit it with a couple coats of Duplicolor Adhesion Promotor and Bumper Coating
I should have stopped there, but I got greedy and hit it with an extra coat. It got a run, I smudged it, tried to fill it with more paint which wouldn't dry and in an act of shear brilliance tried to speed dry it by holding it near an open flame heater. It caught on fire, in another act of brilliance I blew it out (managed to keep my eye brows somehow), but the damage was done.
So another day of wet sanding and many, many light coats I was able to save it, but it's not perfect. The right way would be to wet sand back to scratch and primer fill the deformations, but my car isn't perfect so I can life with the imperfections.
I used the template in the Tech Forums DIY and it mounted up perfectly. It was nerve racking drilling through my trunk, but I triple checked my measurements.
Mounted
Next I spent an evening wet sanding some black bumper trim I scored from a guy on Bimmerforums. The trim wasn't perfect, but neither is my car so it worked out. A couple coats of Adhesion Promotor and Bumper Coating and they cleaned up nicely.
Here's the finished rear end. At some point I'm going to swap out my chrome 325i logo for a blacked out one.
Comment