Clean Zed and paint related issues

[Alin S]

Gave Zachary a quick clean today. Guess it looks in good condition for a 20 year old car. however I have some issues. Namely:

• rust on sills
• some marks on bumper from previous owner
• stone chips
• perished tail lamp seals

I would appreciate some advice on how urgent they seem and how to solve them

My improv fix for the vapour barrier. £19 from BMW new. Will fix soon:

 

[DavidM]

Remedies and cost for the issues you list will depend on your budget, and how long you intend to keep the car.

To do the work right on the body will require new sills and, depending on where the stone chips are including bumper marks, a respray of the areas or the complete car. Tail lamp seals should be easy enough to get - I think.

Other members may provide alternative solutions.

 

[Rudyrov]

Hi Alin, Just want to say that you have a nice looking car.
If within your budget, I would repair the bad areas as soon as possible, the longer you wait the more damage is created.
Any metal part that keeps water out of internal areas is first, soft tops that leak are also important in areas with rain, look inside the trunk to see if the taillights are leaking water into the trunk or boot as you call it.
If you see water then the choices are clear.
Looking Good Alin!

 

[Alin S]

Thank you for your replies. I was thinking of replacing the sills as they are not very expensive to buy new (BMW employee discount ) and respray the bumper, maybe the bonnet, along with sealing the underfloor. I hope that will give me a couple of more years before potentially a full respray. Has anyone else done this? Has it kept rust away for a few good years?

I've had some is some trouble with water ingress in the passenger footwell due to the vapour barrier, nothing major though. Not sure if that would affect the floor pan. Maybe someone has had the same issue?

Loads to do this summer: was planning on installing factory roll hoops, move the buttons between the seats onto the centre console. But I guess it's worth it.

 

[hard top]

I've had some is some trouble with water ingress in the passenger footwell due to the vapour barrier, nothing major though.

Are you sure its coming from there?

 

[Synclare]

Hi, your bumper scuffs may well cut out with Farecla G3 (a cutting/polishing compound) or Wurth whichever s available, failing that then flat them GENTLY with 2000 grit wet/dry used wet then polish with Farecla again, Your sills exhibit the usual signs, may well be surface only and in any case they will need removing (simply bolt on) and then the front and rear ends can be cleaned down, shot blasting the ends is the ideal way, the main areas are usually o.k..

 

[Alin S]

Are you sure its coming from there?

Fairly sure. I have previously added small strips of rubber on the soft/hard tops to seal the A-pillar better so no problems there.

As for the vapour barrier, it can easily be tested by poring water on the glass, if there's water dripping between the BIW and door casing, the vapour barrier is not sealed properly or ripped.

 

[Alin S]

Hi, your bumper scuffs may well cut out with Farecla G3 (a cutting/polishing compound) or Wurth whichever s available, failing that then flat them GENTLY with 2000 grit wet/dry used wet then polish with Farecla again, Your sills exhibit the usual signs, may well be surface only and in any case they will need removing (simply bolt on) and then the front and rear ends can be cleaned down, shot blasting the ends is the ideal way, the main areas are usually o.k..

Thank you for the advice, I was starting to panic at the thought of a full respray. Especially if one wants it to be done properly (fully stripped) it costs a lot. £££ which I would prefer not to spend at this moment. When the sills are repaired or replaced, will mud flaps help protect them?

Any other areas I should inspect? Are the underbodies prone to rust?

 

[GazHyde]

Are the underbodies prone to rust?

Generally not. When I removed the sills from my first Z3 which were worse than your pictures, everything was solid and sound underneath. You may well find a lot of muck stored under there. Damp deposits like this aren't a good idea, but you can easily clear it out by removing the wheel arch liners.

All the muck from one sill.

But everything was solid underneath, so just limited to the panels in this case.

I did for various reasons though sell the car on and it was broken for parts by Spurs fan. It was a base model 2.0 and I felt it wasn't worth spending out for new sills, panels and a complete respray at that time. Prices for these particular models weren't good, and I had a Z4 as well at the time.

Not much left of my sills once I had them bead blasted