So I bought my 1987 325i about 1.5 years ago. PO painted it flat black using home depot paint and a roller. Needless to say it looked like shit. Case in point:
So after driving around with it like this for over a year (with the paint constantly worsening and losing what little sheen it had) I decided I'd had enough. So I got to work.
Started off using an orbital sander with 150 grit, and got it to this point:
This was effective but also very slow going....I had a schedule to keep as I wanted to get this done before I went back to school. So I stepped it up and bought some spray on chemical paint stripper. This stuff was fun.
It did a great job of eating into the black without damaging what was underneath, but unfortunately a lot of sanding was still required. So I kept at it.
^ The driver door there is a good example of what it looked like right after scraping off all the stripper.
Then I ran into this little issue.
So instead of doing the sensible thing and blowing my entire paint job fund on a set of measley 195's, I found a set of basketweaves with 90% tread about 100 miles from my house. The guy also had a straight hood and set of side mirrors, both of which I needed. I offered him a trade for some lowering springs I had never installed and he took it. So I made the drive.
I was REALLY happy with this. The weaves made an absolutely huge difference in the appearance of the car. Back to paint prep...
Shadowline!
My parents love my hobby:
Putting the new hood on:
Ready to go in:
It took the shop about three days, then I went to pick it up. I couldn't be happier with the results, especially considering what I paid.
Red tails are next :D
Suggestions welcome
So after driving around with it like this for over a year (with the paint constantly worsening and losing what little sheen it had) I decided I'd had enough. So I got to work.
Started off using an orbital sander with 150 grit, and got it to this point:
This was effective but also very slow going....I had a schedule to keep as I wanted to get this done before I went back to school. So I stepped it up and bought some spray on chemical paint stripper. This stuff was fun.
It did a great job of eating into the black without damaging what was underneath, but unfortunately a lot of sanding was still required. So I kept at it.
^ The driver door there is a good example of what it looked like right after scraping off all the stripper.
Then I ran into this little issue.
So instead of doing the sensible thing and blowing my entire paint job fund on a set of measley 195's, I found a set of basketweaves with 90% tread about 100 miles from my house. The guy also had a straight hood and set of side mirrors, both of which I needed. I offered him a trade for some lowering springs I had never installed and he took it. So I made the drive.
I was REALLY happy with this. The weaves made an absolutely huge difference in the appearance of the car. Back to paint prep...
Shadowline!
My parents love my hobby:
Putting the new hood on:
Ready to go in:
It took the shop about three days, then I went to pick it up. I couldn't be happier with the results, especially considering what I paid.
Red tails are next :D
Suggestions welcome
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