E30 Guys...Refinishing Valances

[MUDSCOW@xxxxxxx]

On later E30's The front and rear valances were painted with over a textured
undercoating resulting in a 'bumpy' finish. After nearly 90,000 miles these
areas on my 325iS were badly chipped and fading. 

On the late "iS's" there was also ~3" chin spoiler which also fade to a color
totally independant of anything else on the car.

My solution was to scrub the whole area thoroughly with an abrasive 3M greenie
and plenty of soapy water, (had to use some tar & bug remover in some spots). 

I Masked off the front and rear bumpers and simply rolled on a new coat of
color matched paint using a 21/2" roller which leaves a surface which matches
the original. (Areas near trim, foglights, and brake ducts were done first
"cut in" with a small brush ~3/4"). 

The 'iS' body colored spoiler was also rolled-now it matches the valance
texture, actually looks very original that way.

After two coats of body colored paint, I sprayed on some matte clear textured
rocker panel paint over the whole mess to protect against chipping and to dull
the gloss. The whole project took 2 days and cost about $50, ($40 for a quart
of body color paint & hardener and $10 for the rocker paint, masking tape and
newspaper was on hand...).

The black undercoating on the sides and bottom of the rear valance was also
cleaned and sprayed with the clear rocker paint further protecting it. (since
this faces down, there was no chipping so I chose to just protect it...could
be rolled also if in bad shape).

The advantages to rolling the paint on are 

#. No overspray
#. EASY
#. Matches texture of lower body panels
#. Runs are easily controled by re-rolling if they start
#. CHEAP-Little disposable rollers with plastic paint tray cost ~ $3.00
#. Rollers don't leave pubic hairs behind like brushes
#. No equipment needed

Since my car is Cinnabarot (RED) the process really spruced up the appearance,
given that the front end was three differing shades of red/purple/pink and all
chipped up down low from highway stones...

I'm sure that other models of this era would benefit from the same
treatment...

Thought I'd Share
Steve H
89 325iS

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