"What did you do to your E39 today V2.0."

[Nfs021]

I found some surface rust when installing the windshield cowel …
I’m not sure what to do …
Attachment 714709

And , I’m not sure how get rid of the glass stains either .
Griots glass cleaner doesn’t cut it .

For the rust, sand off and try touch up spray from this place. Very good at matching factory colors.
https://www.automotivetouchup.com/

As for the glass. Try a razor blade or very fine grade of steel wool.

What was your approach?

More on that to come

[Jason5driver]

Yeah , I want to see a thread on the glass seals …
And , thanks btw .

[Jason5driver]

Also had one of the grommets fall on inside of the firewall , when I was trying to remove it to clean it …
I spent almost an hour trying to fish it out … not fun ! lol
F5E1CE6F-203E-4FD0-B654-FB43D1372238.jpg

[ross1]

I found some surface rust when installing the windshield cowel …
I’m not sure what to do …
Attachment 714709

And , I’m not sure how get rid of the glass stains either .
Griots glass cleaner doesn’t cut it .

0000 steel wool will take that right off.

[SW530]

0000 steel wool will take that right off.

+1 Yep, and if you go easy you might find you can take it off and leave enough paint to look mostly normal.

[Jason5driver]

0000 steel wool will take that right off.

Steel wool for the rust , right ? lol .
How about the red scotch brite ?

[SW530]

Steel wool for the rust , right ? lol .
How about the red scotch brite ?

Red Scotchbrite will scuff and eventually remove paint.. 0000 Steel Wool will remove the rust and almost polish the paint. 0000 if I remember right is like 1000g sandpaper..

[SW530]

The new Giraffe Plus+ pressure washer took all of five minutes to install. The PO of the house was a Cub's fan and painted the garage accordingly.. did all that and couldn't install but a single 110v outlet. I have an extension cord going from the outlet to what I will call the "car wash station" which will work out if only running the vacuum or pressure washer one at a time.. Not pro gear, but sure beats the heck out of a roll around shop vac and a push/pull around pressure washer, both of which need a parking place at the end of the day..

PW.jpg

[SW530]

Does anyone have experience with a filtration system for car washing? Our water leans towards the hard side but has very little sediment. Looking for something that's economical, doesn't stifle the flow (needs to handle 4gpm), and would otherwise be soften the water enough to prevent spots during an average time it takes to dry a car.

[MotorMouth93]

If there's rust on top of the paint, the paint is ruined since the metal underneath is compromised, the rust has to be sanded to bare metal and resprayed. Steel wool will accomplish nothing worthwhile here.

Since its under the cowl though it doesn't matter if the repair looks terrible, sand down the rust to bare metal and spray with some 2k epoxy primer. Or just don't do anything about it at all since it looks pretty minor.

[ross1]

Steel wool for the rust , right ? lol .
How about the red scotch brite ?

No! the glass

[Jason5driver]

No! the glass

Ok , thank you !

If there's rust on top of the paint, the paint is ruined since the metal underneath is compromised, the rust has to be sanded to bare metal and resprayed. Steel wool will accomplish nothing worthwhile here.

Since it’s under the cowl though it doesn't matter if the repair looks terrible, sand down the rust to bare metal and spray with some 2k epoxy primer. Or just don't do anything about it at all since it looks pretty minor.

Yeah , my thinking as well .
I thought about Por15 ?
This is what I have so far …
8D5A5C73-D721-4AAA-A5A4-CF22956A4F44.jpg

[Jason5driver]

No! the glass

Ok , thank you !

If there's rust on top of the paint, the paint is ruined since the metal underneath is compromised, the rust has to be sanded to bare metal and resprayed. Steel wool will accomplish nothing worthwhile here.

Since it’s under the cowl though it doesn't matter if the repair looks terrible, sand down the rust to bare metal and spray with some 2k epoxy primer. Or just don't do anything about it at all since it looks pretty minor.

Yeah , my thinking as well .
I thought about Por15 ?
This is what I have so far …
8D5A5C73-D721-4AAA-A5A4-CF22956A4F44.jpg

[Jason5driver]

Also , replacing the cam sensor on the 528i at the same time .
However , my hands and arms are too big to fit under the intake manifold , to unplug the sensor …. lol
2A23D4CB-712F-4DC9-B21E-8BD95BAAFD1D.jpg

1EA147F9-29FE-41E8-B7DE-E0997E6FB3E7.jpeg

So , had to remove the oil filter housing cap to give me room …
I found yellow gunk at the CCV pipe to the valve cover …
And , the oil filter housing was filled with oil , not draining into the oil pan …
Which points to a bad / clogged CCV …

[SW530]

If there's rust on top of the paint, the paint is ruined since the metal underneath is compromised, the rust has to be sanded to bare metal and resprayed. Steel wool will accomplish nothing worthwhile here.

Since its under the cowl though it doesn't matter if the repair looks terrible, sand down the rust to bare metal and spray with some 2k epoxy primer. Or just don't do anything about it at all since it looks pretty minor.

Sure, but that doesn't mean you can't make it look a lot better in the interim. Paint repairs are expensive and you might not be able to get to a perfect repair right away. Especially on a windshield cowl. Plus its an old detailers trick, especially on chrome. Actually chrome is where 0000sw excels. 0000SW will remove the visible rust leaving very small black pin pricks that might not be noticed from a few feet away. Rust breaks up through these small holes and "blooms" so on the surface it looks far worse than it really is, on the surface. 0000sw will reduce this to tiny pin pricks that you can then cover with a polish or wax and delay the repair for some time. If you can get to the back side of the paint surface then you can remove the rust with muriatic acid and then coat it with an encapsulator and it could last for a long time. Especially on a cowl which in places isn't right in your face anyway..

[spencercat]

Changed out a failed washer pump and a failed FSU, easy peasy for both. Now need to replace the PS front wheel well liner because it was falling apart in chunks when I replaced the washer pump. Went from a ~$50 job to a $270 job quickly (!). At least fender liners are still being made...

[MotorMouth93]

Sure, but that doesn't mean you can't make it look a lot better in the interim. Paint repairs are expensive and you might not be able to get to a perfect repair right away. Especially on a windshield cowl. Plus its an old detailers trick, especially on chrome. Actually chrome is where 0000sw excels. 0000SW will remove the visible rust leaving very small black pin pricks that might not be noticed from a few feet away. Rust breaks up through these small holes and "blooms" so on the surface it looks far worse than it really is, on the surface. 0000sw will reduce this to tiny pin pricks that you can then cover with a polish or wax and delay the repair for some time. If you can get to the back side of the paint surface then you can remove the rust with muriatic acid and then coat it with an encapsulator and it could last for a long time. Especially on a cowl which in places isn't right in your face anyway..

Chrome and paint are VERY different animals and aren't really comparable at all as far as rust remediation goes. Steel wool might make it look a little better in the meantime, but its under the cowl trim so who cares what it looks like.

The only right way to fix this is to sand the affected area to the metal and paint it again. Under the cowl is covered by plastic trim so it doesn't matter what the end result looks like as long as proper procedures and materials are used.

[Jason5driver]

Well , there’s also yuckiness around the windshield as well ..
Notice , the trim is completely rotted away . lol
427FB572-9601-4ABB-9810-8332A13CA322.jpg

[SW530]

Chrome and paint are VERY different animals and aren't really comparable at all as far as rust remediation goes. Steel wool might make it look a little better in the meantime, but its under the cowl trim so who cares what it looks like.

The only right way to fix this is to sand the affected area to the metal and paint it again. Under the cowl is covered by plastic trim so it doesn't matter what the end result looks like as long as proper procedures and materials are used.

It is, and was noted. But I used the word "perfect" for a reason. Perfect to me means the best way possible or in this case what BMW would do. I think we all agree on this? The "right" way to fix it is situational. He might want to just sand it down and POR15 it.. that would be right for him. I might be restoring one to concourse condition and would want it torn down and totally repainted. You might want to do something else and that would be right for you. The important thing is he understands his options and a bit of 0000sw could very well last beyond the cars expected life and could take only minutes.. There have probably been millions of cars sold after leaving a detailers shop where 0000sw was used and it either wasn't noticed for years, or no one cared.. We love these cars and a negative side effect of that is that we tend to take things a bit too far in everything we do with these cars. I friend can't get over the parts I replace that aren't broken on mine.. I'm sure most of us can relate.

[Nfs021]

Well , there’s also yuckiness around the windshield as well ..
Notice , the trim is completely rotted away . lol
427FB572-9601-4ABB-9810-8332A13CA322.jpg

Yeah that will need to go to a body shop to fix properly. Could be way worse underneath.

[Nfs021]

Dropped the car off at the glass shop to get the windshield replaced. Going with the climate comfort glass. Hard to tell from not being installed on the car yet. But honestly it doesn't look any different from the original glass on the car now. Will know for sure when it's done.

[waters17]

We finally got some decent weather, so I made an exhaust video. I attempted to last summer, but the cicadas wouldn't stfu.



More info and pics of the install process:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...2#post30769162

[Nfs021]

Huh, odd. Picked up a new rain sensor from the dealer. It's the later part for E39's made from 9/2001 to end of production. Yet weirdly the part has an early 2000 manufacture date? 20230411_120200.jpg

[lewyd]

waters17, that sounds great. Any pictures of the exhaust?

[waters17]

waters17, that sounds great. Any pictures of the exhaust?

I updated my comment with a link to my original post containing pics.