My Z4 Makeover

[Sterling Roadster]

So after much inspiration from the 328 Hommage and seeing what many members on this forum have accomplished, I've decided to take a somewhat risky project on.

I have a '03 3.0i in Sterling Grey with a black leather interior and i'd like to make the car a bit brighter and more unique. Specifically the parts which have survived their 140,000 mile (225 kms) life thus far. I have some plans for a partial interior colour change and a concept for some exterior leather. Some retro matching tweed material in the appropriate places and i'll go from there.

I'll be installing a hand-made wooden shift knob, and custom knurled aluminum pedals for some better heel-toe action. I don't want to get too far out of a BMW look but definitely a beyond what might have left the factory in 2003.

I've order some parts already and I will post some before an after pics as things progress. I'm also curious to hear any suggestions and i'll try to tackle them as an experiment. Thanks !

[deemo319]

[Sterling Roadster]

Well first update thus far. After talking with a few people about Colorbond I decided to try it out on some replaceable pieces. I made armrests similar to the ones Leatherz sells except without the craftsmanship they have

It's a lot harder than it looks so I'd recommend just buying those. Mine were with made from the leather of the rear seats from a 1998 530i, silver grey in color and in good overall shape so a great material for this. I bought the rear seats with the intention of making them into a couch but they ended up being used for some leather projects.

I also made some stone guards for the rear arches similar in style to the 80s 911 turbo stone guards except these are made from leather and are coral red haha but we'll see how they look when they're on there but for now i'm happy with them. The coral red colorbond is darker than the true color but still gorgeous and hasn't removed the grain or leather feel as other interior paints i've used have. More on that review later.

Also I got my solid wooden shift knob! it's stunning how perfect it is, the ebay seller said it belonged to an older family friend who passed away. He said it's either from the 70s or the 80s and the box reflects that. But the knob itself is in mint condition I couldn't believe something handmade could be that flawless, must've been expensive when it was new.

Strangely I could find no information about it online. The text on the box is in german and very faded so who knows. But it fits perfectly without modification to the shifter rod which is also very lucky. Who knew BMW had this mounting design for so long. Anyway, input is appreciated as always. Thanks!

[Finnegan]

Ok, someone has to say it "nice knob".

Seriously, that is a really great piece of handy work. It's great to see someone putting time and effort into keeping these higher mileage beauties alive and improving their condition!

[Vanne]

Good job mate.. That picture of the words on that foam.. The bottom bit says "Brul. 62".. Brul is in Germany, near where we used to live.. And I guess 62 was the date of manufacture.

[Sterling Roadster]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Ok, someone has to say it "nice knob".

Seriously, that is a really great piece of handy work. It's great to see someone putting time and effort into keeping these higher mileage beauties alive and improving their condition!

haha! I didn't even think of that! what can I say, i'm proud of my knob

I'm no upholsterer or craftsman but I figured I'd have an attempt. The first time I saw the interior of the Carrera GT in person I was blown away, it had leather similar in color to this and surrounded by aluminum with just one piece of wood on the shift knob as a hat tip to the past. I'm a sucker for the details and even though my car is high mileage the materials BMW used on these cars are aging incredibly well. Thanks for the kind words!

[Sterling Roadster]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Good job mate.. That picture of the words on that foam.. The bottom bit says "Brul. 62".. Brul is in Germany, near where we used to live.. And I guess 62 was the date of manufacture.

Well that explains why google didn't translate Brul into english for me! and if this thing is from '62 I almost don't want to use it haha. Perhaps there was a company in Brul that did some contract work for BMW way back and went out of business. I have to go to Germany. In any case thanks for the info!

[Sterling Roadster]

Hello again! and sorry for the delay. Here is a quick update on the finished wheel. Basically at 140,000 miles the leather on my steering wheel had long surpassed it's pretty days and the plastic trim wasn't doing much better. Keeping with the grey, black and red theme I kind of went for it on the steering wheel and i'm happy with it.

The process was simple if you've done anything like this before but i'll admit I was nervous that I would either detonate the airbag or at least damage one of the connections. But all seems well so far. So I used coral red Colorbond, layered it on and very gently sanded away as much as I could with a 1000 grit and 1500 grit sandpaper and it does feel pretty close to the original leather.

As for the plastic trim, I used an antique nickel base with a hammered steel top coat from Rustoleum. I'll admit it's pretty 'out there' and very bright but i'm okay with that. As far as the Colorbond it did seem to do it's job on the steering wheel but failed on both the shift boot and the ebrake boot and armrest. Everything was prepped the same and very thoroughly. More on that later. So I have those pieces custom ordered already, unfortunately they will be a tad darker than the wheel. But i'll update when I get those on too.

Let me know your thoughts, thanks!

[Vanne]

Wow, that looks really good, not my colour, but the finish looks great mate. Good on you. :-)

[Twixboy]

Yikes, my eyes are hurting! Red goes well with either black or gray, but when all 3 are put together the gray becomes the odd color out. IMO it's really hard to make a 3-color scheme look good on a car. With a 2-color scheme you can just follow basic color theory (pair either analogous or complimentary colors).

[Sterling Roadster]

Originally Posted by Vanne

Wow, that looks really good, not my colour, but the finish looks great mate. Good on you. :-)

Thanks! it's brighter than I hoped but I like it for now.

[Sterling Roadster]

Originally Posted by Twixboy

Yikes, my eyes are hurting! Red goes well with either black or gray, but when all 3 are put together the gray becomes the odd color out. IMO it's really hard to make a 3-color scheme look good on a car. With a 2-color scheme you can just follow basic color theory (pair either analogous or complimentary colors).

I hear you, there's a few more red pieces to go in the car and it does look pretty odd duck but it does look better in person. I'll post pics when the rest is done!

[Twixboy]

Originally Posted by Sterling Roadster

I hear you, there's a few more red pieces to go in the car and it does look pretty odd duck but it does look better in person. I'll post pics when the rest is done!

Thanks, keep us updated. I'd like to see the finished product!

[Sterling Roadster]

Warning Brief Novel Ahead!

Well I'm currently working on the third brake light replacement, ECS has a sale on em' so I ordered one. Also picked up the cool saddle bags from a local Z4 owner. I'll be uploading photos of the majority of my finished work soon but first I'd like to make my own review on a few products I used.



Colorbond: Here's a pretty nifty idea. Paint in an aerosol can that bites into leather, makes it look and feel factory new while also being able to color change. They even have some factory color options which in my case 'Coral Red' was pretty darn close. Much cheaper than new leather and labour for the upholstery. Here's the issue, it's a little too unpredictable. I have an all black but very worn interior, so I figured what's too lose here? Even if the product doesn't work I'd have to buy new parts anyway.



I used it on the steering wheel, shift boot, ebrake boot/armrest, knee pads, leather stone guards and some makeshift door armrests. On everything except the ebrake boot and shift boot it stayed on and really felt much better than the typical vinyl paint which I've used before. I sanded it down with 1500 grit for a really smooth feeling and so far so good. Everything was prepped with their prep cleaner, there was no oil left on the leather, and the paint was warm. But on those two pieces it stayed on for a while and then as I flexed it around, half flaked off and half held on, so the leather was garbage. No idea here as to why it failed on those two pieces, as the test pieces were fine.



Verdict: If you have faded leather that you're thinking of replacing give it a shot, you might be able to do a color change that wasn't even offered by the factory! But on decent leather I would avoid this product as there is a risk of failure and the paint that does on stick won't come off.




Rustoleum For Steering Wheel Trim: Nothing really to note here, it looks pretty cool and is a primer/paint so it should bite into the plastic pretty well after a good sanding. Most Z4s get faded plastic trim pieces, specifically around the 9 and 3 positions, and it's not very flattering. I used the Satin Nickel as a base and the Hammered Steel finish on top, looks much better in person.




Verdict: I'd say it's a go! 15 bucks a can for paint sure beats 200 bucks for new trim pieces. And it gives you a chance to do something a little different. But do a test piece before, some paint has more flake then it may appear.




Bimmian Aluminum Ebrake Handle (Round-Base): Okay at 90 after tax it's pretty pricey but wow does it feel high quality, it fits great and makes the handbrake feel more substantial. All the edges are perfectly rounded off so nothing is too sharp, the ergonomics are great also.


Verdict: Definitely worth it in my opinion, you'll forget about the price after it's in the car. Also the bushed silver option is pretty close to our brushed aluminum trim. One solid chunk of pretty aluminum.


eBay Leather Trim Covers: The concept is pretty straight forward. Some companies, and many of them based in the UK, put together leather replacement pieces for your worn interior leather such as shift boots, ebrake boots, armrests and so on. They are pretty cheap around $30 - $60.

Verdict: I used a shop called, 'the-tuning-shop-team' and I have to say the leather color was gorgeous (I went with Calypso red) and the leather quality was superb. I opted to have the armrest cover done by a local upholsterer for an even better fit and even he commented on how impressed he was with the quality. It's just the leather and you reuse your existing plastic bases. I say go for it because as our cars get older and things wear out this is a great option to bring back the youth.



That's it for now, photo's soon. Input appreciated as always!