Repainting rusted or worn parts on your BMW.
 

Does anyone here repaint parts on their cars, interior or exterior, small pieces or anything just to add that perfectionist touch?

On me and my brother's E30, we have repainted the cruise control stock, ignition switch, and many other things that the original finish wore off of so it would look better.

and if so, would you guys like me to make a tutorial how-to on how I repaint our parts?

I sprayed my rocker cover black then sounded the BMW logo so it showed silver. Also polished the AFM, rubbed down and repainted my sills. I will work on some of the other engine parts when I have time, and also get the underneath waxoiled :)

but a how-to-do would certainly be nice, and a great help for members who don't know how to deal with things like this

That's cool, I wasn't sure anyone else really did this or cared.

Next time I paint something, which may be soon, I will take pictures and post the steps I took when painting the part.

Painted Ignition Switch
 

11/15/07

I painted the ignition switch a few days ago before I had the idea of making any tutorials so all I have are pictures after it was painted, it is still taped up, I used blue painter's tape, the Duck brand, I tore off small pieces and put them on the key slot and pushed parts of the tape around the edge of it and I taped all around the mechanical part as shown. I used a dremel tool with a wire brush to remove all of the powder coat black before I painted it. Then I used Rustoleum primer spray paint and put 3-4 coats on it letting each coat dry, and then waited one day. After that I just used Wal-Mart brand glossy black spray paint and put about 4-5 coats on it letting each coat dry before another application and then let it sit for about 2 days to finish drying.
I took the best pictures I could.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5272/1002029vi0.jpg

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/6646/1002030pr3.jpg

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/1733/1002031yg7.jpg

http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/3637/1002032fu0.jpg

that looks neat... Dremels really do come in handy, I'm glad I have one as well

Cool, yea a full write up or something could be helpful, we are always looking to expand our Knowledge base articles!

I wish I would have thought of this sooner...about two weeks ago I polished up the chrome part on my kidney grills and the chrome rings aroung the headlights and they look amazing! but soon enough I will polish my chrome diving board bumpers, I'll be sure to make a how-to for that also..

By the way, I'm kind of new and I was wondering if their is a way to edit your previous posts? Thanks.

yeah, normally ther should be an "edit" button, left of the "quote" button on the down right side of your post. Sometimes it isn't there, just re-log in, that helped me out...

As you're on the topic thought I'd share my caliper painting with you guys. (Please note, the sticking caliper problem mentioned in another thread was noticed while doing this job, and not a product of my shoddy workmanship....lol).

First off, I jacked up the car and removed the wheel. I always place the removed wheel under the car for added safety. I used a wire brush to clean the calipers. While there, I also had a brush around the lip of the arch. Wear safety goggles to do this, then you won't get a load of dried dust and mud in your eyes like I did!

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...erpainting.jpg

Next off, with all the loose crap cleaned off, I used two brushes, a .5'' and 1'' brush, and carefully applied a generous coating of paint, making sure to use the smaller brush when working near the pad itself, so as not to contaminate it.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ingcaliper.jpg

Each caliper took me around 45 mins, as I really tried to do the neatest job I could, even using a mirror to make sure I hadn't missed anywhere.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...callipers2.jpg

Overall I'm pleased with the outcome. I chose this colour because I wanted something subtle, although maybe I should have done red instead, as you have to really look to see them between the BBS cross-spokes. Anyhow, it looks better than rust brown :laugh

yeah, it's better, but I painted mine red and they're awesome...
i took the calipers off, tho, and spray-painted them (special brake paint) to make sure I don't miss anything...
bad thing is while doing the work, a brake cylinder fell down ...it had only a really minor scratch (about a millimeter, and maybe .1 mm deep) so we decided to put it back in. I haven't really noticed a problem with braking afterwards, so it seems to be okay...

Looks awesome :shades