I used to use this until I discovered 3m Adhesive remover. That was nearly 30 years ago.
51ghXj2vweL._AC_SL1000_.jpg
A great ending is all you'll see..
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OK, thanks for all the suggestions.
I ran out of the 3M stuff a while ago, time to get more.
I’ll start the cleaning with a tooth brush and soapy water then move on to what you guys have suggested.
The faint horizontal line looks like it’s always been there.
42B0601A-EE49-41A8-B818-6CA9E053416F.jpg
It’s still the same stuff.
That mark will come off with the steamer, or you can also use a heat gun and flash it with heat, don’t sit there and concentrate the heat at it, you can, to a point, but if you do a few passes with the heat cranked up, it will little, by little, blend back into it’s old self. You can also do that to the red buttons of your seatbelt release buttons if yours are faded to pink, you flash it with high heat, it will shine back up, just don’t over heat it to the point it melts!
I’ve got a few different size heat guns, I’ll start off with the smaller one.
I think I can get my hands on a steamer too.
My seat belt buttons are still nice and red. That was good info bringing them from pint back to red, someone should be able to use that info.
G Techniq C4 Permanent Trim Restorer works wonders on the red seatbelt buckles, too, without the risk of burning/melting plastic.
https://gtechniq.com/shop/auto/wheel...trim-restorer/
Nate J.
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 201,000mi+. Engine rebuild thread.
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 161,000mi+. Increasing daily.
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Wow! I’m gonna order some of that stuff! The black fender flares and rocker trim as well as the bottoms of the front and rear bumpers on both my Mini Coopers are a faded black, I have hit one of them with the heat gun already about two years ago, and it’s already back to it’s old ragged out look. Hopefully that stuff makes them look new again. POR15 also came out with their own formula, I was gonna try that too, but have not ordered it yet.
Man, your buttons are still nice and shiny red? Garaged life. The heat guns can do some damage, so be careful, especially on your door panels that vinyl is real thin.
I’d use steam just to be safe. With the heat gun, basically, you are flashing the surface with high heat, and it literally melts the top layer, and shines it up. If you get carried away, it could melt a hole. So if you do use a het gun on the panel, do it real fast, with the heat turned down.
Yup, nice and shiny red, it’s garaged 99% of the time.
OK, I’ll use the steam first.
Caution: I have I think four different size heat guns. They all throw the same level of heat more or less. But the smaller ones concentrate that heat and can do some real damage. On the New Edge Mustangs the bottom of the door card has this fake carpet that looks more like colored steel wool than carpet. I got this wild hair to pull that stuff off and replace it with a nice color matched suede. Great in theory. I can still picture that clean modern look. But bad bad bad in practice because somehow the fused it to the plastic frame of the door card and the only way to get it off was with a heat gun.. the small one.. man it made a mess. I'm still looking for a cherry set of 1999-2004 charcoal door cards with the Mach 600 speakers.
A great ending is all you'll see..
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What are the best VCG's to buy? Is there anything else to add to the shopping list when changing VCG's?
I'm going to bead blast and re-coat my VC's with an appropriate color paint.. anyone know what that is? I'm going to use Cerakooe that's good to 4000f, or until they melt whichever comes first. Anything should look better than the vibrant blue the previous owner used..
A great ending is all you'll see..
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I've had good results with Elring. I believe they're the OE manufacturer for many gaskets. I've only done it once, though.
From the factory the valve covers were an odd gold. JimLev's own blue powdercoated valve covers look quite nice. I'd go for a gunmetal/silver on a 540i, personally.
Nate J.
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 201,000mi+. Engine rebuild thread.
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 161,000mi+. Increasing daily.
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Yep, Elring is who makes them for BMW.
Recently replaced the fog lights. Left side one was original with original bulb and pitted badly. Right side was replaced at some point having a 2015 date stamp. But yeah, took a nasty hit from something earlier in the year. Most likely a rock.
20220915_135026.jpg
Got annoyed by looking at them and finally bought new ones. I know HID's are popular, but I think they are overkill. So stuck with Genuine BMW. Put some Lamin-X on them for better protection.
20220908_161433.jpg
As for bulbs. I still wanted some extra brightness, but not blinding like those little d**k a-holes in their lifted trucks that blind everyone with. So I went with Sylvania Silverstar Ultra 9012 bulbs. 9012 bulbs are brighter than 9006 bulbs. Had to carefully trim one of the tabs to fit. But plug-n-play after that.
20220915_121352.jpg
As for comparison. Here's the old, not quite as bright as it is in the pics, but not horribly bad.
20220917-093917_Gallery.jpg
And here's the new. Yes I did aim them low, but will lower them some more. Again, not quite as bright as the pics show. But still bright enough to use as headlights lol.
20220917-093928_Gallery.jpg
Overall quite happy with the results. Next up, headlight rebuild.
Another pic with the car facing other direction on same road.20220917-093938_Gallery.jpg
Thank you.
Is this the color gold?
og.jpg
I thought this was the OG color since it's what comes on the new ones.
og1.jpg
This are mine. I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if they weren't flaking but as it is, it's a horror show.
E39smalllhood-1.jpg
Anyone have the official color names or codes?
I'm also looking for the frame/bracket that the beauty cover widgets attach to under the beauty cover if anyone has any they'd like to sell. Currently the cover just sits up there and it doesn't look bad or have any functional issues but it's not right.
Last edited by SW530; 09-17-2022 at 02:19 PM.
A great ending is all you'll see..
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Yup, that's it. They peel and crack badly from the factory. I believe they're made from magnesium; should be a little ">Mg<" stamp on the underside.
IMO, a powdercoat is the only way to go. Or anodizing, if you can find a place to do it.
No idea on the official names/colors, sorry.
I believe the frame brackets you're looking for are listed in this parts diagram
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=11_1592
Nate J.
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 201,000mi+. Engine rebuild thread.
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 161,000mi+. Increasing daily.
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Prepared for the new pressure regulator but forgot to put the new valve in the freezer so work is paused till tomorrow, at least. Took some pictures while I was working. Repair is easy and I hope shifting will be significantly improved.
954240C2-ABFE-44AA-A7A4-EF8B6B8982FD.jpg932962D5-01AB-4CFA-B7EE-F76395DC33ED.jpg23687AC0-DA56-4C52-B8EA-ADF80F5ADA20.jpgE79A5663-58C7-4BBC-9EBC-523BFB8EE3EF.jpgC6AAD8B9-437D-4ECA-8880-D84217FFFA8D.jpg
Last edited by kallekula; 09-17-2022 at 08:59 PM.
The valve covers are supposed to be plain old silver.
The color and flaking is how you tell how hot the engine has been.
And sw530;
I'm also looking for the frame/bracket that the beauty cover widgets attach to under the beauty cover if anyone has any they'd like to sell. Currently the cover just sits up there and it doesn't look bad or have any functional issues but it's not right.
PM me, I throw these out by the handful, although shipping stuff to everyone starts to add up.
Last edited by wagons ho; 09-17-2022 at 08:12 PM.
Nate J.
Titanium Silver/Black Nappa Full 07-18-2001 E39 M5 Heritage (BZ99672). 201,000mi+. Engine rebuild thread.
Alpineweiss III/Black Merino Full 03-26-2007 E60 M5 Manual (CX08265). 161,000mi+. Increasing daily.
RIP, Seabiscuit. Black Sapphire/Schwarz 03-11-2003 530iA Sport (CK39185). T-boned 03-01-2017 at 155,861mi.
Take 2 "Otto" - Toledo Blue/Sandbeige 04-25-2002 530iA Sport (CH98032). Sold 11-10-2017 at 147,743mi.
Take 3 "Manuel" - Toledo Blue/Grau 10-29-2001 530i5 Sport (CE92358). Sold 02-01-2019 at 217,600mi. I regret that. Build Log
Reliable P.O.S. - Green/gray 1995 Camry V6 LE. 270k mi. Sold for space.
Powder coating is the way to go. Here is a set of X5 4.6 covers (same material) crinkle finish. These where done by the wheel shop in North Carolina a few years ago. Still look great.
http://www.princewheelservices.com/
Last edited by StephenVA; 09-18-2022 at 09:37 AM.
Current Garage Highlights
2003 525iT TiSilver
2002 M5 TiSilver
1998 528i KASCHMIRBEIGE METALLIC (301) (Goldie)
Former Garage Highlights
2005 X5 4.8is
2004 325iTs (2x)
1973 Pantera L
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger "Lite Package"
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack Alpine White
1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 340 Six Pack GoManGo Green
1969 Road Runner 383
1968 Barracuda Formula S 340 Sea Foam Green
If you can find someone that is willing to coat Magnesium. I didn’t so I bought VHT wrinkle spray. Came out looking pretty frikkin good at the cost of a can of spray. 4 years later it still looks good and seems to hold up.
Agreed, used VHT engine paint on my valve covers last year and it came out great. And still look great a year later.
20210707_193902.jpg
Looks nice!
I even put quarters in the indentations before I painted them. Probably doesn’t matter but I didn’t want to introduce any new oil leaks.
Yeah I did a ton of masking making sure no paint gets into areas it doesn't belong. Probably took two hours per cover masking off lol.
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