The 5 Year Restoration - E30 M3 Reborn

[bobaflesh]

Man, I have just read through your entire thread, it is amazing. Great attention to detail, very inspiring!

[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Two big wins on the project front today. I've finally (I think) figured out the plating, and I've also found an amazing plastic refinisher.

First, the playing. There are a lot of temperatures, etc involved here. There's a reason the handbook is thick. First I was getting a really milky zinc plate - that was because I was going straight from the degreasing solution to the plating tank. They don't explicitly list rinsing between the two as a step, so I wasn't doing it. As a result my parts were flat and cloudy, and the gold oxidized layer tended to flake off.

For example, I turned these....



...into these...



But there wasn't any shine or iridescence to them.

I can go into more detail if people want, but now my steps are (after getting all obvious gunk off- oil, dirt, etc)...

Part in Muriatic Acid (MA) bath until old zinc is eaten off

Part in water/baking soda to stop the MA reaction

Rinse in Distilled Water (DW)

5 mins (at least) in Degreasing solution (purchased from Caswell) between 140-200 degrees F. I'm using a crock pot for this.



Water break test. DW in spray bottle. Spray part. If it beads, go back to Dereaser, if it spreads over the part, on to next step

Rinse in DW (second DW tank)

Plating - here's my setup....



I'm plating for ~30 mins, depending on the part and how well the plating takes. I have to calculate the surface area of each part, then multiply by 0.14 to get the right amperage. I'm doing this manually now but a spreadsheet will be necessary for the smaller fasteners.

Once I'm satisfied with the plate, I dry it off using clean shop towels (I may remove this step later, we'll see), then rinse in DW (third DW tank)

Then immerse in Yellow Chromate solution for 30-45 seconds at 80 degrees. When it comes out it has changed from silver to gold in color.



Then rinse in DW again (DW tank 4) and hang to air dry in front of a fan.

The bracket above is for the starter. After a few mins it started to shine and show the iridescent spectrum like new OEM parts do, only now it has a thicker zinc plate.



Excited to do more! I just need more shop towels and distilled water.


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[D.Martijn]

That looks so cool!
I'm also thinking of getting a zinc plating kit my self for my BMW 2002 Touring restoration. Great job!

[CurrusDei]

Thanks. It's definitely more time and cost effective to buy new if that's an option. If parts are NLA this is a good option.

I'm still having trouble with the yellow chromate wiping off, will call Caswell on Tuesday to troubleshoot


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[AWDBOB]

Man, such an incredible build. My brother is all about the zinc plating. I'm going to be outsourcing (to him) when I start restoring my M3.

[CurrusDei]

Thanks. He have any ideas on making yellow chromate stick?


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[jhaurimn]

By the time Im ready to get into plating, youll be a master :)

[CurrusDei]

Tried again covering all steps very carefully, no guesswork on timing or temps. We'll see tomorrow if the chromate stays on








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[AWDBOB]

Thanks. He have any ideas on making yellow chromate stick?

I asked him and he said: "A very thorough cleaning."

Not very helpful, as I'm sure that's step 1 on your list haha.

[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Hah, yep, but its hard to overstate. The latest runs definitely look better than the first attempts. We'll see.

Also, made a basket for plating small nuts and bolts




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[CurrusDei]

Oh yes. This is more like it.

Doesn't rub off either [emoji1360]




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[bradnic]

whoa.. i'm sold.. so rinse and temp are key?

[CurrusDei]

Yeh, having a separate rinse (in its own dedicated tank, not one distilled water bucket) between each step, having all the right temps and times, and making sure your amperage stays steady. Corrosion can build up on the copper wire and make the amps jump around. I also let these dry for a full 24 hours, not just overnight.

The only step i'm going to add is using my heat gun on a low setting or a hairdryer to blow off droplets of water that bead on the lowest parts of the parts when hanging to dry. They dry, but leave that spot a little different from the others.

[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Update - the touch up body work is done and the car is at the upholsterer. Work being done:
Install new headliner (OEM match material)
Re-cover A pillars
Re-cover forward headliner (OEM match material)
Refinish or re-cover C pillars
Refinish door cards

Snapped some pics of the car under the lights, man, shiny.








My DIY paint job on the wind deflector actually looks good agains the professional work on the roof.



Install marred up a few of the screws, that will be fixed






Headliner wasn't done yet. Still needed to be pulled tight in the front and rear and steamed to remove all wrinkles, but just a preview...







Oh and that rust spot...I can't even tell where it was. Some trash on the floor here since the car is being worked on, but no trace of rust or even where they painted over the repair. The guys at magnum are magicians. Hocus pocus, begone!




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[CurrusDei]

2.5 Years In... M3 Build Thread...PAINT COMPLETE!

Car is headed to the detailer today. Upholstery except for seats is done.

New Headliner and sunroof insert
A pillars recovered
C pillars refurbished.
Door cards cleaned up and restapled
I also had the cheap fiberboard trim that covers the back side of the rear seat covered in the same material as the pillars (it was not in great shape cosmetically and the part is NLA). Looks a hundred times better.


Quick (bad) pics below...












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