[plarkin]

Been a lurker here for a while, finally registered for an account a few months ago, and I figured it was about time to post some pics of the progression of my car.

It's a 2008 335xi Pre-LCI CPO. I picked it up with everything stock and have been slowly tweaking it to make it my own.

First up was the lighting. I replaced all of the interior lighting with an LED kit from E92-Lighting along with the MTEC v2 angel eye bulbs.

OEM Bulb:


MTEC v2:


Next was the recoloration (Pasti Dip) project to bring more Carbon elements to the mix. I read up everything in the forums regarding different Plasti Dip techniques and the results that followed. It really was pretty easy. I removed the front kidney grills and painted them on the back deck and they came out flawless. Not a single drip anywhere. What worked for me was putting on VERY light base coats, maybe 10% coverage then allowing to dry for about 5 minutes between coats. Once I had the base coats built up to near 100% coverage I was able to lay on much thicker coats with 10 minutes in between without any runs.

With the kidney grills completed, I moved on to the plastic "splitters" in the bumper in front of the intercooler and brake vents. For this step I couldn't find an easy way to remove the painted plastic from the bumper so I just masked off the front of the car and left the whole vent area exposed. With a couple screws removed underneath I was able to slip up a piece of cardboard in front of the intercooler to prevent any overspray from getting in. Same process as the kidney grills, and no drips. I did gaff up the left side removing some tape, but that just served as a great opportunity to show a friend how easy the stuff can be removed and then repainted.

The bumper portion is only temporary as I will be replacing it with the M3 bumper this summer.

OEM Kidney Grills (Also includes daylight comparison of OEM and MTEC v2 LED Angel Eyes):


Front end masked off and plasti-dipped:


Front bumper close-up:


Completed Grill/Bumper:


I'm working on the door trim and side mirror covers now, most of which is done. The mirror covers are complete and back on the car and the door trim is completed. I ended up doing this with the doors completely open and masked off the interior with newspaper. I wanted to be able to get a single even coat covering the chrome trim both outside AND inside the door. I do not have the chrome trim under the windows painted yet.

I don't have any pictures of the mirror covers/door trim just yet, but I'll post them later today once I finish giving it a bath.

CF lip spoiler and OEM blacklines are being ordered today, so there will be more pics coming!

[gdkalyanapu]

great mods to start with.

[nosmo72]

It's looking good man . Since I've seen it in person I can attest that the matte black is a vast improvement. Looking forward to seeing the OEM Blacklines.

[plarkin]

Here are some updated photos as she sits right now.

[rush jamaica]

Nice job man

[datbimmerdoe]

muuuch better, diy ftw!

[AceBMW]

really nice work on the DIY stuff

[eforty6_m3]

I'm a big fan of plasti-dip...great job!

[Alen E90]

Nice start, everything looks good

[project335i]

Nice start keep it up

[SneakyDeeky]

Originally Posted by the infamous...

muuuch better, diy ftw!

+1, big-ups for the mechanic in all of us.
I've done all the mods on my car except for the painting and install of my bumpers, trunk and sideskirts (I took advantage of my proximity to LTBMW and let them do their thing).
Oh, and Mike's Muffler shop welded in my custom Magnaflow Quads.

[kblang]

very clean car.

[ibeclueless]

looks good, nicely done

[plarkin]

VMR 710's ordered! Hoping to get the smoked blacklines and CF lip spoiler done this week.

In the meantime, I got bored this weekend since I'm waiting for parts so I used the boredom as an excuse to break out the GoPro for the first time and I threw this together:

I didn't spend too much time on it due to the factory wheels, but once those are replaced I'll have to make a new one with some better scenery, more camera positions, and some rolling shots.

[plarkin]

Got bored today so I spent 15 minutes and gave my badge a little Plasti Dip love.



I cut a hole out of the bottom of a shoe box and then taped that to the car to mask the badge and help prevent overspray. It was in bright sun so the coats set up quick enough for me to get full coverage in only a few minutes. Pulled the box off immediately and then pulled the still-curing plasti dip off the car and it came off clean leaving just the badge coated.

I think I need to hunt down a new badge that will match the Hyper Black VMR 710's when they arrive.

[nosmo72]

Originally Posted by plarkin

Got bored today so I spent 15 minutes and gave my badge a little Plasti Dip love.

Looks great! Reminds me of the graphite badge the IS300 had a few years back.

[plarkin]

Smoked blacklines and carbon fiber spoiler installed!

OEM:


FIXED:

[Chismakop]

Everything you have done so far are quality mods

[plarkin]

19" VMR 710's in Hyper Black with Ventus V12 evo's installed.

Front: 19x8.5 ET35 235/35
Rear: 19x10 ET38 265/35

[ModBargains.com]

Car is coming along great and looks amazing with the new VMR V710 Hyper Black wheels. Thanks for your order/support

[E90Company]

Car looks good.

Get windows tinted

[nosmo72]

Looking sweet! Love the choice of VMRs in hyper black. They really tie together all the mods you've made.

I love the fact that people are staring at are rides parked side by side at the office. You know the Audi guys are jealous but they won't admit it.