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      07-14-2008, 05:09 PM   #1
Starscream
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Few little cosmetic mods, Painted Reflectors + New Wheel Caps

Just a few little cosmetic mods done over the weekend,

as per this thread
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5388
This introduced me to the new style center caps for BMW's so I put an order in and changed them over this weekend,

Here is a few pics of that,

Mostly comparison pictures of how the new style is compared to the old,






Alright thats enough of that for now, We can see finished results on the car shots further down,

Next was something thats been bothering me for a while, Those horrid orange reflectors,
On my previous Z4 I bought the euro clear half moon shaped ones but the M bumper uses the older Z4's "orb" style <shudder>
So I got myself a can of Imola red, can of primer and a can of clear coat and got to work,

Now I'm not the worlds best painter, I'm sure people can and have done little cosmetic paint mods much better than me but those people wasn't here with me this weekend to do it for me so I guess I'd have to do

Firstly I removed the reflectors which was easy, I already had the wheels off to do the center caps and give the inside of the rims "another" coat of wax, The way I took them out was to remove the headlight access panel in the wheel well and gently push the reflectors back into the bumper and catch them as they popped off,
Sounds easy right, Well not if you DROP ONE! Took me longer to fish the one I dropped out that it did to paint them both lol,
anyway after removal I sanded them to remove all casting marks and part numbers or whatever was on the front of them, after the first stroke with the sandpaper you suddenly realize this is it, no turning back now.
So first was to prime them, (NOT the best pics or walkthrough I know)





I did 2 or 3 coats, Can't remember now as I left them a long time to dry between coats,

Then on to the Imola (which doesn't look to good in these photo's but is a very nice color)



3 or 4 coats of red seemed to do the trick,

I left that overnight to harden before I came in the next morning with the clear, Not much point in showing pictures with clear coat because thats an oxymoron
I used 3 or 4 coats of clear too as I wanted a nice shell of clear as I plan to polish these in a week or so with the porter cable so I want to be sure Im only smoothing the clear,

Next Post, finished pictures!
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      07-14-2008, 05:09 PM   #2
Starscream
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Here are the fitted finished pictures,

I think they came out great and should look even better when polished (I know I have the option of wet sanding but Im dubious on my own ability to perform that)

I chose an "Industrial" background for these set of pics, hope you like it












now I'm debating to do the rear red reflectors, On the Imola they don't stand out so much and don't bother me too much,
Opinions? Should I do the rears too?

I'm wondering If I paint the rears the light wont shine through or it might only "just" shine through and look (for want of a better word) crap.

Well thats it for these two small mods,
I have a few others planned again very small cosmetic ones and I'll post them when done
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      07-14-2008, 05:20 PM   #3
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I like the new center caps...
too bad there isn't any red reflectors for the fronts.
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      07-14-2008, 05:34 PM   #4
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good job with the reflectors. looks perfect. imola is so btw

how many miles you got on her. your contis look new
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      07-14-2008, 11:02 PM   #5
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Looks good great job
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      01-05-2009, 01:37 PM   #6
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Thumbs up Finally painted and installed

I went the route of buying new front reflectors and painting them. I used clear primer.
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      01-05-2009, 04:28 PM   #7
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Rick Hunter did the same mod too,

am I the only one that got a true Imola Red color match?
Seems every other Imola I see the color is different,
Jim can you take a few far away shots to see if its just the camera flash making it look different,


and look at you with your carpeted garage
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      01-05-2009, 08:53 PM   #8
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No Scotchgard yet

Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream View Post
SNIP
Jim can you take a few far away shots to see if its just the camera flash making it look different, and look at you with your carpeted garage
I'll do some distance shots but one reason the color doesn't match is because the bumper cover is 3M Scotchgard covered while the painted reflector isn't. I have the Scotchgard pieces for the reflectors but am waiting for the paint to cure before applying.
The carpeted garage is the vestige of it being my son's bedroom many years ago.
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      01-11-2009, 03:10 PM   #9
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Outdoor shot

Got the Coupe' cleaned up after a wet driving school day yesterday. Dark cloudy day (big surprise for Seattle).
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Black out grill
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Reflectors are covered with 3M Scotchgard clear film.
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      01-11-2009, 07:53 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream View Post
Rick Hunter did the same mod too,

am I the only one that got a true Imola Red color match?
Seems every other Imola I see the color is different,
Jim can you take a few far away shots to see if its just the camera flash making it look different,


and look at you with your carpeted garage
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmillet View Post
I'll do some distance shots but one reason the color doesn't match is because the bumper cover is 3M Scotchgard covered while the painted reflector isn't. I have the Scotchgard pieces for the reflectors but am waiting for the paint to cure before applying.
The carpeted garage is the vestige of it being my son's bedroom many years ago.
I dunno if it's really the scotchgard that's the issue, since my bumper was never scotchgarded by the stealer when they stole my money for the coverage.


[IMG][/IMG]


The mismatch actually doesn't bother me anymore, and I don't even notice it either.
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      01-12-2009, 03:24 AM   #11
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Is there an easy way to remove the rear reflectors?
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      01-12-2009, 08:43 AM   #12
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I know red is the color most prone to fade... Could it be that the "lighter" cars with the darker new reflectors sat on the dealer's lot in the sun for a long time before purchased? Whereas Starscream's is the vampire car of the fleet?
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      01-13-2009, 04:59 AM   #13
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The best mod would be to lose that front license plate!!
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      01-13-2009, 05:44 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marcus1701 View Post
The best mod would be to lose that front license plate!!
Trust me I was furious when I arrived at the dealership to pick the car up and seen they had done that,

FURIOUS

So If I remove it Im looking at 4 holes, unless I find a mint imola bumper for sale
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