What did you do to/for your 1er today?

[Suhb]

Originally Posted by desertman123

BIG DAY FOR A LITTLE CAR

Also got the ZHP knob in. COMPLETELY counter-acted the notchiness brought upon by the short shift kit. Also now I need to deal with the fact my boot isn't attached to the knob, but it stays up on its own. Oh well, long term problem.

Hey man, congrats! My 1 hit 100k this month as well.

Here is what I did for my ZHP knob: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...2&postcount=19

[1and1]

Had the Firestones mounted today.

sooooooo nice to have the run flat bricks off, holy shit what a massive improvement!

[desertman123]

Originally Posted by Suhb

Hey man, congrats! My 1 hit 100k this month as well.

Here is what I did for my ZHP knob: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...2&postcount=19

Great idea! I was planning on doing something like this, just didn't know the exact approach.

[TridenTBoy]

Well, here's another car detailing horror story...

Spent 2 days trying to fix a couple scratches by filling them in with basecoat and then applying a tiny bit of clear coat over the top. Didn't work. I ended up sanding through the clear on one side in the process from having to fill/sand so many times. I didn't realize I had gone through the clear. I actually thought I had burned the paint accidentally but then as I sanded a bit more I realized it was the clear. All I was trying to do was level the paint that I was using to fill in. Really suggest you guys go suuuuper slow with that paint and make sure it's as low as you can get. Get really really really thin coats because your clearcoat is razor thing (and super easy to scratch).

Seems like the paint I was using was crap or something. It's not even a good match color wise. The paint they sent is *very* black. It'd easily peel off and not adhere to the surface no matter what kind of prep I did. Followed some of the Larry Ammo NYC videos and some other trying to reproduce the steps perfectly... failed miserably. Ended up with a result that could be subjectively worse than what I started with.

That said, whole panel will need a respray in order to fix this. I don't know if I'll bother with that. That's probably some serious $$$. I'd be better off trying to just buy a spare fender/quarter panel off a wrecked car and replacing it.

Here's the results of my attempts. The scratch on the door panel is incredibly thin. So, even using little sticks to clean it was really hard. Sadly, it's still noticeable and seems the paint just fell out. I'm guessing that I didn't clean enough (I felt like I did) and the wax caused it to fall out.

View post on imgur.com

End images are after I applied wax to see if that'd help at all. They might not be in order because imgur sucks and moved the images around.

You can tell I sanded through the clear (and maybe even the base?!) on the fender because it's gray on the crease in the fender.

It's hard to tell in the photos but for a 1st timer... whatever. I'm super burned out on this stuff.

I definitely definitely definitely should've done this all to my girlfriend's car first. She drives an old honda civic that wouldn't be phased by any of this. (Multiple hits, etc.) Lesson learned... the extra hard and painful way.

Even from 10ft, the scratch is still noticeable. :'(

I used PaintScratch btw. Idk if I'd bother. It was $32.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by TridenTBoy

Well, here's another car detailing horror story...

Spent 2 days trying to fix a couple scratches by filling them in with basecoat and then applying a tiny bit of clear coat over the top. Didn't work. I ended up sanding through the clear on one side in the process from having to fill/sand so many times. I didn't realize I had gone through the clear. I actually thought I had burned the paint accidentally but then as I sanded a bit more I realized it was the clear. All I was trying to do was level the paint that I was using to fill in. Really suggest you guys go suuuuper slow with that paint and make sure it's as low as you can get. Get really really really thin coats because your clearcoat is razor thing (and super easy to scratch).

Seems like the paint I was using was crap or something. It's not even a good match color wise. The paint they sent is *very* black. It'd easily peel off and not adhere to the surface no matter what kind of prep I did. Followed some of the Larry Ammo NYC videos and some other trying to reproduce the steps perfectly... failed miserably. Ended up with a result that could be subjectively worse than what I started with.

That said, whole panel will need a respray in order to fix this. I don't know if I'll bother with that. That's probably some serious $$$. I'd be better off trying to just buy a spare fender/quarter panel off a wrecked car and replacing it.

Here's the results of my attempts. The scratch on the door panel is incredibly thin. So, even using little sticks to clean it was really hard. Sadly, it's still noticeable and seems the paint just fell out. I'm guessing that I didn't clean enough (I felt like I did) and the wax caused it to fall out.

View post on imgur.com

End images are after I applied wax to see if that'd help at all. They might not be in order because imgur sucks and moved the images around.

You can tell I sanded through the clear (and maybe even the base?!) on the fender because it's gray on the crease in the fender.

It's hard to tell in the photos but for a 1st timer... whatever. I'm super burned out on this stuff.

I definitely definitely definitely should've done this all to my girlfriend's car first. She drives an old honda civic that wouldn't be phased by any of this. (Multiple hits, etc.) Lesson learned... the extra hard and painful way.

Even from 10ft, the scratch is still noticeable. :'(

I used PaintScratch btw. Idk if I'd bother. It was $32.

Only way to fix that is a respray. You can't "unbolt" the 1/4 panel, it is welded in.

[TridenTBoy]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Only way to fix that is a respray. You can't "unbolt" the 1/4 panel, it is welded in.

Figures.

[1and1]

Not a painter type person myself, so nothing constructive to offer but I've got a question - What's the color? Can't tell for sure but in a few pics it looks like black sapphire metallic and in other pics it looks black just dirty...

For sure you'll never get black to match bsm.

[TridenTBoy]

Originally Posted by 1and1

Not a painter type person myself, so nothing constructive to offer but I've got a question - What's the color? Can't tell for sure but in a few pics it looks like black sapphire metallic and in other pics it looks black just dirty...

For sure you'll never get black to match bsm.

carbon black metallic according to the VIN.

It's more blue in the sun.

[1and1]

Wow- CBM. Gorgeous color.

Not sure what the paint is like on the rest of the car, hood chips or bumpers etc, but you may want to consider this the time for a full respray?

[TridenTBoy]

Originally Posted by 1and1

Wow- CBM. Gorgeous color.

Not sure what the paint is like on the rest of the car, hood chips or bumpers etc, but you may want to consider this the time for a full respray?

It's an amazing two tone type of color when the car is looking 100% but this clear coat is so damn finicky that I'd be lucky to ever get this car looking perfect. Definitely one of the more interesting colors. I think it looks better than a typical black car. Nice cross over between blue and black.

There's plenty of hood chips and such. I don't know if a full respray is really worth it at this stage. (I mean, that's gotta be over $1000, right?) It's got some paint burn on the hood at a couple places too. So, the hood would have to be sanded down to nothing.

I'd love to get paint that *actually* matches my car rather than just black crap.

[1and1]

When I got BSM spray & clear to paint my new front bumper tow hook cover I used paint from Microfinish- good stuff, was a great match and easy to use. I think the spray is easier, but again I'm not much of a painter!

They sell their automotive stuff here, linked to the 2013 135 page-
http://www.automotivetouchup.com/tou...1;dash]series/

[HyeWarrior]

Going insane trying to figure out a rattling noise coming from the dashboard lol. Sounds like it's behind the gauge cluster. Only hear it on bumpy roads though

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by 1and1

When I got BSM spray & clear to paint my new front bumper tow hook cover I used paint from Microfinish- good stuff, was a great match and easy to use. I think the spray is easier, but again I'm not much of a painter!

They sell their automotive stuff here, linked to the 2013 135 page-
http://www.automotivetouchup.com/tou...1;dash]series/

I used them for a few trim pieces on my E46. The color wasn't a perfect match. Orient blue metallic is a difficult match though. Also the pieces aren't big enough to notice the match. Anyway, if you use this, then go with the 2k clear and get a respirator. The non-urethane clearcoat isn't hard enough. I had to redo the job because the trim pieces got bugs permanently imprinted in them at highway speeds. The 2k clear has no such issue.

[tjswarbrick]

Day 1 of 3 of detailing 'er for the work car show on Thursday:
2 buckets, 2 sheepskin wash mitts; Meg's: Ultimate shampoo, wheel cleaner, tire shine, plastic restorer, clay bar, detailer spray, interior cleaner, and wax-as-u-dry.
Also, 505 degreaser, 303 top cleaner, auto glass cleaner, Optimum spray wax, and lots of specific brushes, microfiber towels and elbow grease.

Terrible lighting. This was at the end of the day.



To follow in the coming days, after work: Spray Detail until the job is through; HF variable orbital polisher with orange, white & black pads; Meg's 105, 205, 7, Ultimate Wax, and touch-ups on areas that were overlooked, need a little more, or get dirty in the meantime.

[Tallicia]

The lid matches now.

[chris_flies]

I just washed and quick-waxed the 128i. The color just looked so deep that I coulda swam in it. I have a new profile picture. I also broke 162k about a week ago.
The front bumper and the hood needs some help (maybe a WRAP!). I was about to do an E36-Style sink drain brake cooling duct mod, then realized (too late) there was a radiator shroud behind the front-lower grill. My plan, now, is to remove the fog lights, and the little trim piece beneath them, and put a brake cooling duct intake behind the bumper. The fun continues...

[chadillac2000]

Passed inspection in NC while being fully catless. Turned JB4 to map 0, flashed the Stage 0 MHD flash, drove around at low throttle (under 3000rpm) until MHD indicated readiness was achieved across the board. Took about 15 minutes and a few restarts before I saw readiness on the EVAP and catalyst monitors.

[tjswarbrick]

I've gotta figure out the filters on my phone camera. This was taken with just some light fog blocking the sun. Should have been perfect lighting.

Anyway,
Whole vehicle got washed and clayed Monday. Went back over last night with Optimum Spray Cleaner and ONR with 2 buckets.
Re-clayed, then did the M105 on orange, M205 on white, and Meg's Ultimate Wax sealant on black on the hood and trunk. Rest of the vehicle got dried with Meg's Wax-as-u-Dry.

The switch on the HF / Chicago variable-speed dual-action random orbital polisher is a bit of a pain, and it vibrates like crazy on 5 with the orange and cutting compound.
Not sure if the pads had anything to do with it, but turning it down to 4 and 3 for the finish and wax it was a pussycat. Still took a solid 2 hours for the 3 compounds just on those nice horizontal surfaces.
Also worked 'em on a couple of the more noticeable scratches on the fenders. Still there, but MUCH less noticeable.

Weather turned cool and damp 1/2 way through. Not sure if that contributed to it, but the 205 was very difficult to completely remove with a microfiber towel. Very un-Meguiar's-like, in my experience. The rest was fairly smooth and easy, as these things go.
Very pleased with the results.

[angler]

Originally Posted by Tallicia

The lid matches now.

Can you show a pic with the lid down so we can see what that looks like? Thanks,

[Gray_Panther]

Originally Posted by angler

Can you show a pic with the lid down so we can see what that looks like? Thanks,

+1

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by tjswarbrick

I've gotta figure out the filters on my phone camera. This was taken with just some light fog blocking the sun. Should have been perfect lighting.

My attempt at color correcting the image:

[minirips2]

Installed the ZHP shift knob today. Very nice. Install took all of five minutes. The old knob was not terribly difficult to pull off. Shifter fells smoother, IE. not so notchy. I always liked the feel of the BMW shifters, unlike some critics, and mine isn't very worn.