Who here has painted their e34 themselves?

[Derek A.]

I am contemplating a respray of my 90 535i. I have a few rust spots on all the doors that need to be taken care of. Car is in good shape, except 18 Michigan winters have taken their toll. How much time/$$ have those who have spot an e34 spent?

I was planning on a base clear setup without a color change. Figured I would replace all the door moldings and the trim strips at the bottom of the doors. Anything else parts wise that typically gets replaced?

Thanks

Derek.-

[Binjammin]

Money and time are all relative. Relative to how good you want the paint to look. There are people here that will happily tell you never to let me near a spray can, but I'm looking forward to trying my hand at a rear spray gun. From experience I can tell you that the vast majority of an awesome paint job is all in the prep work. You'll need some sanding tools like a d/a, some sanding blocks, and several different grits of paper.


Is there a painting forum on BF.c? I never bothered to look, if there is then you should start asking in there, you'll get better advice than I can give, but basically you'll get the best results by taking the waves out of the body, filling the dents, and making sure everything's smooth, smooth, smooth.

[tonyroc14]

Smooth, Smooth, Smooth, Smooth, and Smooth. Remember that. especialy if you're painting the car a dark color, you want the body work to be as smooth as possible. Someone did body work on my driver door, and you can see the bondo. So crapy...

[camaroguy]

The prep work is definately the part that makes or breaks the paint job. As stated above the smoother you get the surface before shooting the paint on, the better. This is also the most time consuming part.

This consists of repeating a process known as "blocking" multiple times. Body filler -> primer -> guide coat (dusting of a color that contrasts the primer) -> sand off guide coat with flat sanding surface. The idea is that you know areas where the guide coat remains after sanding are "low spots" which you then fill and start over again.

The spraying itself is not too bad usually. The hardest part is getting the paint consistency correct for a good even spray. A super clean working area is a must, the last thing you want is dust and/or hair or anything else hitting the paint before it dries. A paint booth is nice if you can get access to one :)

[Armageddon535]

I'm working on my black 535 right now. So far what I've gathered are these simple steps: Sand with 320 until cracks, chips, etc are smooooth (a hand sand of 400 after is optional/recommended). Prime (if you needed to sand to original primer/sealer). Seal. Paint. Pretty simple...

With my DA sander it hasn't been too labor intensive. I'm replacing the door trim also. BMA probably has it. Check RealOEM and call em up.

my pics: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=994892

[Deanx2009]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=996351

In the process and documented with pics =D

[upallnight]

Patient

Most amateur painter spray too heavy of a coat on. Spray light coats, even though you don't see yourself in the paint. Build up the layers slowly and spray the final clear coat evenly. Wait a couple of days, wet sand and buff out, but don't put on any wax for at least six month. You want the solvent in the paint to evaporate completely.

[Derek A.]

I have a friend who is going to spray the car for me. I figured I would have a grand in materials to actually paint the car (base/clear - island green metallic). Plus moldings and any other parts and pieces. Was going to do a bumpers off, doors on scuff and shoot. The key question. How long does the process take start to finish? Tough to work a 60 hour a week job and then try to paint your daily driver.

[MacR]

I've painted a fews panels before and I'm now preparing for a full job including engine bay and door jams. I is sooper excited!

[Derek A.]

I am not excited about doing this. I hate bodywork, its like professional sanding. But I also don't like te rust creeping around my car either.

[HausBimmer]

Basecoat/clearcoat finishes can be sanded and buffed out to remove dust and runs (as can single stage urethanes) - so a home paintjob can come out looking good. I've painted two (my sons) e30s in single stage and one (my convertible) basecoat/clearcoat.

If only the lower panels are bad, you can paint from the door strip down and not have to paint the whole car. Most paint shops will custom match colors for you if you take them the gas lid door.

You can also get primers that may help cover up your work so that you can rework different areas each weekend (white car, white primer) and not look like you are driving a junker. I think I do a better job of treating rust and other problems than most bodyshops - who specialize in paint and bondo and don't loose sleep about rust that reoccurs 2 years later.

Paint and materials are very expensive and the labor in fixing a panel can be very large. For example, I'm working on a black 89 535iM now that has a small dent near the crest of the trunk lid - If I can find an undented one in black for $50 or 100 - I would swap in a heartbeat - same for a dinged up door. It really takes a good eye (and your hand can "see" better than your eye) to get repairs right (especially on dark colors).

This covertible has the crappiest dried up poster paint respray ever on it - I prepped it and then applied the basecoat - reworked the basecoat where I could still see problems and finally it came out pretty nice.