A long time client of mine (Vette owner and forum member) called me up about his friend's old (1985 i think) BMW 325i. Said it was badly faded but it was single stage. It was in very bad shape, but thankfully the paint was soft too and corrected nicely. There was heavy pitting as it was neglected in the elements for over a decade. The rubber bumpers and metal trim were toast and beyond repair, as was the lower valance on the front bumper. The car really needed a restoration but cost was a factor so i did what I could with it. Thankfully since the paint was soft the process was pretty simple...

M205 on LC orange
M205 on LC white
Menz 85RD on LC black

Finished with Blackfire Wet Diamond
Like I said, nice and simple

Total time 22 hours



I lost the SD card that had all the before pics on it, but I have most of the "in process" pics and all the afters. So here's what I got.




"Test Spot" as requested by owner, who chose its location as well



















My long-time client's Vette in the background, parked at his neighbors house














After 2 steps of correction...







*Excuse the 3 different tapes. I had both the 3M Painters tape and the Meguiars tape and I wanted to directly compare the two. The long-time client (who's home we were using) is a painter and wanted me to try "Frog Tape" and see how I liked it. It worked ok, but not very durable protection from a foam pad.*






















After 85RD and Blackfire Wet Diamond. It wasn't perfect, but this paint didn't have perfect left in it after so much neglect. But I couldn't convince the owner of that, he was literally shouting that it was perfect. Haha, as long as he's happy.













No micromarring here, thats the excessive pitting I mentioned earlier.
















Lower rockers could not be saved, there was a lack of paint material....




















Thanks for lookin!

 

holy crap! Looks like a brand new car. Great work!!!

 

move to ny please

 

great job man. you saved that one for sure

 

I am still in amazement at the work you do, where do you purchase blackfire wet diamond and is that your favorite?

 

Thanks!

I like it here in CA, but send me a plane ticket and I'll visit your car

Thank you

Thanks man! You can get it at Proper Auto Care, and yes its my favorite. Not expensive but its really great stuff.

 

Wow, looks like it needed it, ...,

 

Quick question. With the paint that old will it oxidize and go back to the way it was? What steps can be taken to prevent that? Awesome work as usual.

 

You will always be fighting oxidation with single stage paint. It must be kept up very regularly, especially after its been neglected for a long time. You must keep it sealed/waxed on a strict schedule to help shield it from UV rays. If your sealant lasts 4 months, reapply it at 3 1/2. Don't wait till 5 or 6 or longer as most people do.

 

Is the black fire that you use the all finish paint protection one?

 

well done. she needed that!

 

That's one of my all time favorite body styles and you definitely brought that paint back to life!

 

Yep. They're closing down too, so if you want to order some I think its gotta be by tomorrow. They are having a 25% off sale (unheard of...). I bought a TON of the stuff. Gotta love BFWD.

Thank you!

Thanks!