1981 BMW E12 M535i - Gold

[bstardchild]

Mar 5, 2011 22:42:55 GMT Mark said:

One of the many good things about German cars is that manufacturers were required by the Government to manufacture spares for a minimum of 10 years after production ceased. I doubt Vauxhall or Ford would have done that.

Nope Vauxhall/Opel read the rules differnently and decided that 10 years after the start of production would be fine

[Mark]

Can you post a step-by-step next panel you do please Tony? I'm determined to get the TWR to the same standard.

[tonybmw]

Mar 6, 2011 13:51:58 GMT Mark said:

Can you post a step-by-step next panel you do please Tony? I'm determined to get the TWR to the same standard.

Mark

Thats the last panel done now, but the sequence I use is this


I block sand the paintwork with 1200 or 1500 grit wet and dry to get any orange peel or bits out of the paintwork
Then go over that with 1500 or 2000 grit DA discs, this removes the wet and dry marks
Then Machine polish with Farecla G3
Then Machine polish with Farecla G10
Then DA polish with Meguires Speed Glaze
Then wax polish

Then stand back and admire

[tonybmw]

Got the bonnet all bulit up today with the rubbers and trims and badges, and polished the glass

Stripped off the Pitman arm as well, to find that the bush is a separate part and not included in the pitman arm, DOH, so will have to order that now as well

[brennon]

Mar 6, 2011 19:18:58 GMT tonybmw said:

Mar 6, 2011 13:51:58 GMT Mark said:

Can you post a step-by-step next panel you do please Tony? I'm determined to get the TWR to the same standard.

Mark

Thats the last panel done now, but the sequence I use is this


I block sand the paintwork with 1200 or 1500 grit wet and dry to get any orange peel or bits out of the paintwork
Then go over that with 1500 or 2000 grit DA discs, this removes the wet and dry marks
Then Machine polish with Farecla G3
Then Machine polish with Farecla G10
Then DA polish with Meguires Speed Glaze
Then wax polish

Then stand back and admire

very jealous of the equipment and materials you have! i wish i had just a compressor man enough to run something like a DA

beautiful work, real hats off to you!

[will]

Bimmer looks lovely Tony, a credit to your awesome skills

[gt]

beautiful car and some amazing skills you have there

[tonybmw]

Mar 6, 2011 20:19:00 GMT brennon said:

Mar 6, 2011 19:18:58 GMT tonybmw said:

Mark

Thats the last panel done now, but the sequence I use is this


I block sand the paintwork with 1200 or 1500 grit wet and dry to get any orange peel or bits out of the paintwork
Then go over that with 1500 or 2000 grit DA discs, this removes the wet and dry marks
Then Machine polish with Farecla G3
Then Machine polish with Farecla G10
Then DA polish with Meguires Speed Glaze
Then wax polish

Then stand back and admire

very jealous of the equipment and materials you have! I wish I had just a compressor man enough to run something like a DA

beautiful work, real hats off to you!

Brennon its an electric DA so no compressor needed

[brennon]

Mar 6, 2011 21:58:14 GMT tonybmw said:

Mar 6, 2011 20:19:00 GMT brennon said:

very jealous of the equipment and materials you have! I wish I had just a compressor man enough to run something like a DA

beautiful work, real hats off to you!

Brennon its an electric DA so no compressor needed

oooooooooooo tell me more!! do you use the same da for sanding and polishing?

[Mark]

I know what I want from the Mrs on my birthday!

[el Presidente]

WOW WOW & WOW!!! Bloody amazing work, the Gold looks truly amazing absolutely outstanding!!!
I wish I kept my old e12 now !!!

[tonybmw]

Brennon

I don't use the same DA, but I have just checked the speed ratings on both machines and it looks like you could use the polishing machine to DA sand the body as well, as it has a variable speed control

This is the DA that I use for polishing, the Meguirs G220, its not as aggressive as a standard rotary polisher, used together with the Speedglaze its good for getting rid of swirl marks, and producing a really good finish, I guess you could use it after the sanding but it will take longer than the rotary polisher











But I use a traditional rotary polisher first, after the sanding, a bit like this






But you have to be careful when sanding or buffing paintwork as its all to easy to sand or buff through the paint, and then your in trouble, especially on the edges and corners

[prc]

The finish on this car is stunning. I'm half way through flattening and polishing my E28 and this has given me the kick up the ass to get on with it.

Cheers!

[brennon]

Mar 9, 2011 19:36:38 GMT tonybmw said:

Brennon

I don't use the same DA, but I have just checked the speed ratings on both machines and it looks like you could use the polishing machine to DA sand the body as well, as it has a variable speed control

This is the DA that I use for polishing, the Meguirs G220, its not as aggressive as a standard rotary polisher, used together with the Speedglaze its good for getting rid of swirl marks, and producing a really good finish, I guess you could use it after the sanding but it will take longer than the rotary polisher











But I use a traditional rotary polisher first, after the sanding, a bit like this






But you have to be careful when sanding or buffing paintwork as its all to easy to sand or buff through the paint, and then your in trouble, especially on the edges and corners

with the da what head do you use for getting rid of swirl marks? we have a waffle head where i work (yeah, i work with this stuff daily )

on the cars we use a 1500 wet disk (3M) to sand down, then a 3000 trizact before a polish with rotary polisher and then we call it a de-hologram with the DA and waffle pad to get rid of the swirl marks/ hologramming effect. I wish i could show pictures of where i work but sadly i cant there is a few pics of cars that i have worked on at shows floating about on the internet!

[tonybmw]

Brennon, Yes I use the waffle type pad on the DA, and a sponge type pad on the Rotary polisher, sounds like you have access to all the gear you need

[tonybmw]

Mar 10, 2011 10:37:16 GMT prc said:

The finish on this car is stunning. I'm half way through flattening and polishing my E28 and this has given me the kick up the ass to get on with it.

Cheers!

Thanks PRC, have you posted your E28 on Retro Rides

Got the Pitman arm and bush from the Dealers today, right on time, you have to love the Germans.

So tonight got it fitted and its booked in for its retest tomorrow, so fingers crossed this time

[brennon]

Mar 10, 2011 21:01:47 GMT tonybmw said:

Brennon, Yes I use the waffle type pad on the DA, and a sponge type pad on the Rotary polisher, sounds like you have access to all the gear you need

sadly its not somewhere i can get my own cars in to

on the up side they did change the DAs at work a year or so ago so i got a chance to walk out with a carbon fiber type rupes DA ;D just need to pull my finger out and get a proper sized compressor as my previous one only had enough puff for a spray gun!

[Diabolu]

looking fab! I'm looking forward to trying to match your finish!

With respect to clear coating (I need to and have clear coated a metallic basecoat on the galant) I'm not sure I've put enough clear coat down on the door shut I've done as a test. I think I put 4 coats down leaving 5-10mins between coats. I'm fearing it needed some more; especially when I get to do the whole car I want to leave enough for rubbing back...? no?

Two questions really. How do I know, or to what experience can you draw on to know/guess that you've put enough clear coat on...

..and b) can I add more clear coat to my door shut now the latest layer has most definitely cured (I did it two days ago)

Chris

[tonybmw]

Hooray just got it back from the MOT and its passed ;D ;D ;D

[sharknose]

Fantastic - I love the E12 M535i and good ones are so rare!

I'm not usually a fan of gold cars but this one looks perfect.

Really enjoyed reading this - great work Tony!