New member with a new to me Z4MC

[maupineda]

Outer diameter is 60mm, they are 100mm long.

The inner is about 50mm

[07ImolaRot]

It has been well over a year since I bought the car and been dying to paint correct it. Sadly I just have not had the time as it is easily a 2-3 day process. This thanksgiving weekend I decided to tackle the time consuming project. The car has been sitting outside for over a year and exposed to the elements and the paint really took a beating with baked in water spots and tree sap. I just could not take it anymore.



First I met up with my PDR at a parking lot to remove a few small dings and dents I had on the panels. He did an amazing job for a really great price !




Then I washed the car with meguiars gold class (left), degreased/stripped old wax with simple green (middle) and De-Ironed the entire car with meguiars wheel cleaner.




I decided to try out a clay disc for the first time. Went with Sonax with their glass cleaner as the lube. Really cut down the claying time with the machine polisher. I used maguaris clay for the more hard to reach areas. People say the clay disc Marrs the finish but I did not really notice that, perhaps because my paint was not in the best shape. They also say it doesn't clean the surface as nicely as traditional clay bar. Well I don't think that is true either as I went over the car in a few areas with the clay bar after the clay disc and it did not pick up any left over contaminants.




For compounding. I went with Sonax Cutmax and woolpad for top panels and then sonax cut & finish with red pad for the entire car including the top panels. For those that are not familiar with Sonax compounds, The cut max cutting ability is rated at 6 out of 6 with final gloss rated at 3 out of 6, which basically means you have to hit it again with another compound to achieve maximum gloss. The cut and finish on the other hand is a 1 step product with cut of 5 and gloss of 5 when used with the hard red pad. I ended up not liking the woolpad at all as it got caked with the compound and lost its cutting ability. I felt that a fresh red pad with cutmax was the most aggressive.... well until the pad gets softer due to heat and loses its cutting ability to some extent.




These tree saps were really difficult to remove. I had to go over it again and again to get rid of them




After I went over the car, I decided to take care of some left over rock chips with Dr. color chip. You can see the results of the cutmax in this photo.




Then I went over the entire car again with Sonax EX 04-6 with yellow pad to achieve that high gloss finish.

The results are insane ! hood:




My E92 M3 reflection in the side panels




and she looks amazing. I would say 20-30% of the defects are still there. These include pitting and deeper scratches which require 1,000 or 1,500 grit sanding process to remove and perfect. But doing that to the entire car is not worth it as it thin out the clear coat by a lot and takes up insane amount of time.




I refreshed the old badges with new stickers





money shot !




got new engine cover badge too




the front windshield stripping was totally trashed !





New one installed. Can not tell you how much of a PITA it was to get in. way harder than E92




Sadly she has to sit outside ! But I did get a really nice custom fit cover for it. It cost a pretty penny but I think its well worth it as I do not want to go through this process again !



Absoluty love driving this car which is why it sits outside and ready to go. Hardly drive my M3s as they dont even come close in driving experience. The handling of the Z4M is just insane. Those Bilstein shocks with eibach springs and wider Pilot sport 4S just make this thing razor sharp. Sometimes it scares me when I toss it across a few lanes.... to me it is like a cricket that just jumps from one place to another in a blink of an eye LOL

[rsw1273]

Originally Posted by 07ImolaRot

the front windshield stripping was totally trashed !

Attachment 3332236



New one installed. Can not tell you how much of a PITA it was to get in. way harder than E92

Attachment 3332237

great detail job...i just picked up an 07 Z4M two weeks ago...can't wait till the weather clears to do my own detail job...

with regard to windshield...Any tips regarding this? I've heard mixed info including possibly having to replace the winshield...?

[07ImolaRot]

Originally Posted by rsw1273

great detail job...i just picked up an 07 Z4M two weeks ago...can't wait till the weather clears to do my own detail job...

with regard to windshield...Any tips regarding this? I've heard mixed info including possibly having to replace the winshield...?

start at the corner and slide one end in and then go onto the side and use a credit card to slide it in. do the same on the other side. When you get to the top you will need a small hammer (plastic or rubber ones wont work). put a microfiber towel over the stripping and hammer it in segment by segment. each spot will need to be hit several times before it slides in. I did not try any lubricants but it might help. obviously becareful not to shatter the glass or dent the roof. its a pain !

[grannyknot]

Originally Posted by rsw1273

with regard to windshield...Any tips regarding this? I've heard mixed info including possibly having to replace the winshield...?

Some of the Coupes had their windshields installed slightly crooked, if that is the case with yours then it is cheaper to have the windshield removed, install the new outer strip and windshield at the same time.
I ended up cracking mine, $1,000 for new glass plus $ for installation.