[Azzy]

Hey people!

So i've had my e92 for a few months now, and seeing as she survived the scottish winter months, i've decided to treat her to some tlc lately.

Last week i booked a carbon clean to clear out some of the gunk that had been building up over the years - result has been a smoother idle, more uniform acceleration, and improved mpg. win win

Then had some crackin weather over the weekend so roped in a mate and got stuck into some multi-stage cleaning and polishing. I won't go into too much detail [hehe] but there were some swirl marks/holograms/surface scratches starting to appear, which i suppose is expected over time, so i'm more than happy with the finished results.

Next thing on the list now is the wheels - there's some light kerbing on all of them, so i figured if i'm going to get them refurbed, might as well add a bit of colour!

Was initially quite keen on a matt bronze type finish, but it may not provide enough of a contrast against the black, so would be cool to get some feedback from people who may have gone down a similar route?? Pics would be a bonus ofcourse, speaking of which...

Comments/opinions welcome

[old grey steve]

Looks lovely and clean does that. Re colour always a tough one I've seen bronze on a few cars some carry it off really well, some don't quite hit the mark all depends on the shade and finish I guess but its so difficult to decide, me I'd go for a medium grey on the car you've got not too dark like Ferric but lighter as it will look classy yet visually you won't lose the wheels details if you follow me.

But with some playing around with shades of bronze it could well work atthe end of the day like all modding things its your choice and remember its good to be a little different

[Azzy]

Cheers bud, just hope the weather holds up long enough to actually enjoy it!

Out of sheer coincidence a mate of mine, same car same colour, had his done in sepang bronze a few days ago. Looks quite nice in the sun, but ultimately too dark for the look i'm after.

Black and gold would be a pretty sweet combo, but like you said there's so many shades and variations out there, it will be tricky to find that balance between classy and tacky.

[djgandy]

Has your car been lightly wet sanded before? You don't seem to have the trademark severe orange peel in your mirror shot, but it doesn't look quite mirror effect enough for a full wet sand?

Looks nice and clean!

[Tr1ppy]

Car looks great! Is it Black Sapphire Metallic?

And I'd like to know too about the lack of factory orange peel effect

[Azzy]

Cheers lads.

Didn't use any wet sanding mate, was tempted to, but we'd already spent 8 hours on it and were running out of daylight!

At the end we just used Meguiars Ultra-Cut Compound followed up by their Ultra-Finishing Polish, but it was the Angelwax Dark Angel Double Chocolate Wax which really impressed me [plus it genuinely smells like chocolate].

There's some orange peel along the panel above the door handle, but even my OCD has it's limits! Maybe next time..

[Ao1]

I'd guess it has it been re-sprayed. Either that or it was wet sanded at some stage. Have you checked the paint depth?

[Azzy]

Not been re-sprayed bud, although may have been wet sanded prior to my ownership

Had the paint depth checked before carrying out the machine cutting/polishing - average across the car was 100-120 microns so didn't go too aggressive, but still enough for circa 90% correction.

[Azzy]

On a side note, I dropped the car off this morning to get the wheels done roll on Thursday!

[DuckySpud]

Originally Posted by Azzy

On a side note, I dropped the car off this morning to get the wheels done roll on Thursday!

What colour have you gone for? I'm considering going bronze when I get mine refurbished but its really hit and miss...

[Wavey 335i]

Check my thread, I done black and gold. Solid combo and I pulled it off.