Big Al's Revenge: an OEM+, MTech1 325e restoration

[burkey001]

very satisfying to scroll through :)

[paynemw]

Thank you SOOO much for that write up. I was searching high and low for a convertible with heated sport seats, but every time I go to get the car, there's some conflict. Now that I have a set of non heated sport seats, i'll have to retrofit everything during the recovery process. Very informative and well written DIY.

[Albie325]

Wow, well done man!

very satisfying to scroll through :)

Thank you SOOO much for that write up. I was searching high and low for a convertible with heated sport seats, but every time I go to get the car, there's some conflict. Now that I have a set of non heated sport seats, i'll have to retrofit everything during the recovery process. Very informative and well written DIY.

Glad you approve! And also glad it'll be helpful. It isn't rocket science but it's always nice to have an outline to go by.

So this weekend I made a fair bit of progress but per usual it was a tale of "good news, bad news."

Some good news:

Started the car and moved it out of the garage for the first time in a awhile:



And put my newly purchased cover on it to protect the dash, almost looks like I have a finished car under there



I then proceeded to give my makeshift paint booth a thorough scrubbing, it was covered in 2-3 months worth of sanding dust.

Some more good news:

I upgraded my ventilation system a bit to lessen the amount of dust nibs I was getting. Previously, I just had a "naked" fan pointed out of a hole in the plastic sheeting. Even with the fans on lowest speed, the turbulence they created kicked up a ton of dust and debris that I had no way of preventing from entering the "booth." I ended up fabbing up some fan shrouds to tape into the sheeting for a better seal:





And then used some HVAC filters on the inside:



This effectively "seals" the booth from outside debris as best as I can achieve, while allowing me to run the fans at their highest setting for better airflow out of the booth without the risk of kicking up a bunch of dust. It definitely cleared the overspray out WAY better and my finishes were definitely cleaner.

I then got the car all masked off Saturday evening:





MORE good news:

I started spraying some sealer on Sunday morning with the intent of getting the whole unibody done:



Ok time for some bad news. I ran out of sealer about 85% of the way there, and the paint shop I use is closed on Sundays. Good news, I had 16 hours to get more sealer and finish spraying before the sealer cured and I had to resand.

So I picked up more sealer first thing Monday morning and knocked out the last of the car, only the driver rear quarter was still in primer but I ended up going over the rest of what I had already done anyway:



Then I moved on to spraying some color, more bad news. I ended up getting a fairly long run in the rear quarter panel. I waited for the paint to harden enough to wetsand it down, but by then it was too late in the day to finish the job:



So here's where it will sit until next weekend. I'll need to scuff the layer of base already on the car, blend in the areas I had to sand down, and reshoot another coat or two of base before clear.


Last, I like to end on a good note so here's some "good" news:

If you're spraying correctly, it's really hard to get runs in your base as you're not really supposed to be laying it on too thick. When I saw the run, I checked my gun settings out and realize that I was spraying at WAY too high a PSI. As a result I was getting a really dry spray and so had to bring the gun way closer to the panel to cover, and being so close is ultimately what I think caused the run.

The gun calls for a max PSI of 23 at the gun regulator and I was spraying it bascically at 23 PSI. There's a YouTube channel I follow from Australia (The Gunman) that does painting tutorials and paint gun reviews, and he has a bunch of reviews of the exact gun I'm using, DeVilbiss FinishLine FLG670. In his videos, he's running his basecoat at 10-12 PSI in warm weather and 15-18PSI for clear. Obviously in colder weather you'll have to increase the PSI due to the relationship between gas temperature and pressure (Ideal Gas Law, general chemistry anyone??) but its been in the 80's here in NC. I ended up messing around and sprayed some test spots with the new, lower settings and WOW what a difference.

I only ended up doing the one coat of base before I noticed the run and stopped. After a scuff and another coat or so it should cover pretty well so I don't think I'll have wasted much paint. And, I think I'll end up with a much better finish with the improved gun settings so maybe this was all a blessing in disguise. Stay tuned...

[luckybk]

all the body work, the paint work, the interior refresh, all the DIY tutorials. favorite thread.

[mike.bmw]

This is going to look so good when you're done. I can't wait for the next update! :-)

[Tzantushka]

all the body work, the paint work, the interior refresh, all the DIY tutorials. favorite thread.

I know.
The details are fantastic

Even look at the plastic sheet in the trunk - masking tape gussets :)

[paynemw]

Obviously in colder weather you'll have to increase the PSI due to the relationship between gas temperature and pressure (Ideal Gas Law, general chemistry anyone??) but its been in the 80's here in NC.

Colder air is more dense than warmer air. As you increase air temperature, the molecules separate, allowing for less friction and vice versa. You need more "ass" to punch through something when it's more dense, thus the increase in PSI.

[Albie325]

all the body work, the paint work, the interior refresh, all the DIY tutorials. favorite thread.

I know.
The details are fantastic

Thanks guys! Love that you're enjoying all the hard work. Makes it all worth it

Colder air is more dense than warmer air. As you increase air temperature, the molecules separate, allowing for less friction and vice versa. You need more "ass" to punch through something when it's more dense, thus the increase in PSI.

Pretty much the concept. The Ideal Gas Law is PV=nRT, basically shows that temperature and pressure are directly proportional. So for an increase in temperature (a hot as balls day, for instance), you have to lower your pressure to achieve steady sate. If the temp drops, you have to increase your pressure proportionally to achieve the same steady state. I was chem major in school, had to mention it, the nerd I am.

This is going to look so good when you're done. I can't wait for the next update! :-)

Ask and you shall receive brother!

So I got home early from work on Friday and got the whole car wet sanded back down in 600 grit so I could blend the sealer back in, and re-masked the whole car to avoid any of the old dry paint from flaking into the new:



Saturday morning, I set out to blend in the sealer, recoat the base, and get this pile in clear:



Then I dropped a few fast, dry coats of base over the newly sealed areas to cover/blend, followed by another full base coat layer to finish up:



Can't even tell the run was there:




Then moved on to clear, with the lighting at that time of day it was hard to get great photos but you get the gist:







Here's a quick walkaound, does it a little more justice:

This was the most technically challenging part of the whole repaint, and it came out great! I was equally relieved and excited, I only found one small, shallow run in the clearcoat on the windshield cowl which won't be too hard to sand down and buff out:



There's a bit of orange peel and the expected dust nibs here and there for sure, but a cut/buff is in the plans anyway and will take care of all that. I am beyond ecstatic!

Got this all done yesterday, don't think I've been sitting on my thumb in the meantime! Got a bunch done today, will post up tomorrow

[AWDBOB]

Wow, that looks fantastic. Congrats, and can’t wait to see it buttoned up!

[Albie325]

Wow, that looks fantastic. Congrats, and can’t wait to see it buttoned up!

Thanks man, hope to have it buttoned up soon. Couldn't have gotten the fender ironed out without your help!

Speaking of fenders...

I basically spent the entirety of LDW in the garage getting stuff done so have been slacking on the posts, but not on the progress!

After getting the body done, I got the wheels back on and spun the car around so I could get the fenders re-mounted and aligned. I then rescuffed the hood and fenders as they've been sitting for awhile prior to going to work:



I wanted to seam-seal the fenders to the body even though I didn't paint the body and fenders in one shot for both the "factoriness" as well as utility of it.. The clear coat takes a full 24 hours to cure and will still cross-link with new clear if sprayed within that window. Painting the fenders together with the body was just too much for my setup (and skill level) to handle, so this was the next best option.

I used 3M 08308:



It was good stuff and accomplished the task, however I was expecting it to lay down a little flatter and it ended up coming out a little lumpy. It basically stayed exactly where you put it and so didn't come out as I'd hoped, I was a little bummed about that. I tried to smooth out the passenger side with a spreader but it was just too thick for that to work. The driver's side came out the better of the two:



I went and looked up any other seam sealer by 3M, and it turns out they have a self-leveling seam sealer, 3m 08307, which is what I wished I had bought. Ugh, oh well. Too late now...

Anyway, got the front clip in sealer:



Base:



And....CLEAR!











I had some extra clear after spraying everything so decided to add a 3rd coat to the hood. I rushed it a bit to avoid any runs and it went on a little orange-peely, It had been nice and smooth like the fenders prior. It should buff out OK but we'll see. If not, I may re-sand the clear in 1000 grit and add another fresh coat or two, would add to the depth of color as well as rock-chip protection. The fenders came out great though!

Here's how the seam sealer came out, not bad but not OEM smooth



A well-deserved post-paint bier to celebrate! It's finally cool enough to enjoy some Oktoberfest brews, the fall is by far my favorite season for beer bar-none. Ayinger makes one of my favs:



Finally starting to look like a car again:




Plenty more pics and progress to post up in the coming days, stay tuned!

[Albie325]

After getting the hood/fenders done, I was almost out of base and clear and the paint shop wasn't open until the next day. I didn't want to waste the day and had enough paint for a smallish part so decided to get the euro 772 valance done.

Got it scuffed and then taped off for some gravel guard, based on the old OEM one the gravel guard stops just at the top of the cutouts for the bumper attachment points:





Drove the car out of the garage to get it covered, stopped to admire it for a bit:









The paint really pops in the sun, really happy with how things are going. Cant wait to cut/buff this thing and get it put back together!

For the gravel guard, I used SEM 39793, it came out looking very close to OEM texture:



I'll spare you the sealer/base coat pics, here it is all done. Came out the cleanest of all the panels I've done so far:





Here's how the chip guard came out:



That day's project was brought to you by my all-time favorite Oktoberfest beer:



The next morning I ran out to the paint shop and picked up another 1/2 gallon of base and a full gallon of clear, more than enough to finish up the pieces I have left. Knocked out the trunk and sunroof panel:








And that's where I'm at at this point, had to drive back out to Charlotte to work the next 6 days in a row. All I have left to paint are the doors, the side view mirrors, fuel filler door, and the vent window trim pieces and I'll be ready to start color sanding and buffing, getting really close!!

[Melon]

Wunderbar!

[Albie325]

Melon been going back to your thread quite a bit lately, very helpful!

I was at the local BMW dealer the other day getting the F82 its annual service so decided to stop by the parts department. I ended up ordering two new keys as well as a new VIN sticker, was expecting it to take 6 weeks+. This was on a Tuesday.

My phone rings Friday, and the keys and sticker were already at the dealer! I was pleasantly surprised:





I definitely needed the keys, mine are totally worn out:





The best part is, they both worked in the ignition! I have door lock and trunk lock rebuild kits that I'll be installing once I start getting everything put back together as well. The VIN sticker unfortunately isn't the same as the old original, but it will still look better than the old fading/peeling one I had to remove.

Also, I decided to splurge and purchase one of Jordan 's rebuilt ABS units since its such a great service and the pricing seemed more than fair. I know I had already "cleaned" mine however was not nearly as thorough:



I'll have to re-bleed all the brakes as well as the pump, but it'll be well worth it in my opinion. Hoping to do that within the next week or so.

Last, I ended up getting the doors done the other day:







They came out great, but of course I got a small fly in the last coat of clear on the passenger door. Son of a bitch. I ended up waiting til the next day, wet sanding the blemish out with 1000 grit, and shooting another two coats of clear.

This weekend I'll plan on doing the last small bits, and may even get to do some buffing if I decide to do the ABS another time. Waiting on some new brake fluid to come in so might not be able to do that this weekend anyway.

[Jordan]

Heck yeah! Can't wait to see my pump installed :-)

[Melon]

Melon been going back to your thread quite a bit lately, very helpful!

Yes!

Learn from my mistakes! The paint is looking sooo much better than mine did. Really happy to see this car coming together.