Thought it was time i did a Progress Thread

Used that renovo Bill on my Z3 twice in eleven years, never had a drop of rain come through in all that time. Only problem I had was waiting for a couple of days to get it bone dry before the next coat, allowed a week for the three coats each time and done it in the best of weather, I defo rate it. Can’t wait to see pics after your respray. Allways liked you Z in black with that lovely light interior, classy.

Roy.;)
 
billz said:
Well after been a zed owner for the last 6 years i thought i would put a thread of our progress.
The Zed bug caught hold back in March 2010 with the purchase af our Z3 3.0 sport in Titanium SilverView attachment 33153
We then purchased our Ruby Black Z4 in June 2013 from a guy on the Z4 Forum
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We did keep both the Z3 and Z4 for around a year but not having any where to park them comfortably it was with regret the Z3 had to go. It did however go to a Forum Member on .net
View attachment 33155 It did take us a while to find the combination we wanted but the Z4 did come with lots of swirl marks and a scuff on the bumper and the Alloys needed refurbing but we got it for a bargain price of £11500 with 30000mls on the clock and was a 2008 model. Take into account i could probably get 9k for it now then you can see what a bargain it was 3 years ago.
The first thing to go was the Alloys we swapped these for the Cades Tyrus that were on the Z3 and put the Z4 wheels on to the Z3 when we sold her.
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The wheels in 2014 really started pitting and we had them refurbished and i was not happy with the colour so i changed them for the ones we are still running today the 3SDM
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In 2015 i decided to upgrade the brakes to Drilled and Grooved and have new pads and shoes fitted all round
Me and the wife had agreed we would not do anything regarding the swirls and bumper scuff till before we sold her, which was due to be next month. Due to this i was never happy with the car and could not bond with it as it had too many issues.
But after deliberating over our next Z4 we decided to keep her as the E89 Model prices are dropping quite rapidly while the 3.0Si ones are holding there own. To get the same comparison i factored in we wanted a Z4 that had around the same performance and economy which brought us to 2 models the 28i and 35i i decided the only one we would have would be the 35i but to get one 5 years old and with around 30k on the clock as that would be the equivalent of when we bought the Z4 we would have to shell out 20k.
So onto the present day.
2 weeks ago we decided to get the body work sorted so off it went for a front end respray. Bumper, Bonnet, Wings and the sill skirts. The remainder of the car had a 3 stage machine polish.
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The Engine bay has always been quite tidy but last weekend i gave it a good going over
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So this weekend i decided to give her some pampering and i have to admit i am now once again getting pleasure from polishing her which i had lost over the last 3 years.
I do now feel i am starting to bond with her for the first time since we have had her.
The next items on the agenda are the Interior.
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looks awesome
 
Sean d said:
They can put extra laqueur on mate, normally 2 coats, the only down side to bulking it is cure time but if they bake it there shouldn't be anything to worry about, I don't see why they said" they would try" to put an extra coat on, if you requested it and they have given you a price then it should have plenty on it,
Ask them what brand Laqueur they are using, there is a massive gap in top and bottom end Laqueurs, some are hundreds per litre and some a £30 a litre, the top end ones are too pricey for general body shops and are demanded by insurance companies
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good stuff to know Sean
 
I hope you get a good finish Bill. You saw the state of mine after mine paint but thankfully with your and another members help it came good in the end.
 
@Sean d What brand would be a good lacquer
 
Well managed to get the roof done, no pics did not get the time and now car is at the sprayers and get it back in 2 weeks time
 
Zed went in last Saturday and i phoned them to see how things are going and the guy asked me if there had been an issue with the bonnet and wings as they found they are full of ripples when they started doing the prep work. So just proves that Car Cosmetics of Derby really f***ed the front end up when it went to them for the front end respray 2 years back
 
Wow that's poor Bill. Hopefully these guys will do a better job for you mate.
 
Nice of them to mention it to you and not just cover it up like the guys did previously. That would give me some confidence they are doing a decent job and they are prepping the car properly.

Are car cosmetics a large company or just a family business? I think a lot of the larger places do the minimum and just tart the car up. A smaller business tends to take more time and pride in their work. When my brother took his E36 to a place that does insurance work for BMW he was never happy with the work and it was always going back. They are a big company and he thought he would get a top end job but it’s not always the case. Trouble is until the work is done your never your never quite sure what standard your going to get.
 
They are a family owned business but have around 10. I found out that they let the trainees work on customer cars so thats not good as i dont think they are supervised
 
billz said:
They are a family owned business but have around 10. I found out that they let the trainees work on customer cars so thats not good as i dont think they are supervised
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Yes I think that’s the case with a few, they let the apprentice practice on them. For the average customer the work looks outstanding but for someone who knows a little about their cars and bodywork their work is average at best. As you said you were never happy with it but to most it probably would have looked like a great job.
 
Had a call from the paint shop today. Told me they had found 2 small dings (1 i knew about) they also found that the rear bumper had a bit of a dent and the headlight washer had been bodged in by the previous sprayers and also that the front bumper repair was repaired poorly and that they had sorted them all ready for painting tomorrow. They also mentioned they got the paint company out to verify the correct mix with the paint to get the right amount of fleck as apparently there are variations of the 2 main colours for Ruby Black. So it sounds that they are doing a good job.
 
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A few images of issues they found
 
You wont want to drive her when she's all done Bill. No thrashing round any more:whistle:. Sounds like they know what they are talking about:thumbsup:
 
Mint said:
You wont want to drive her when she's all done Bill. No thrashing round any more:whistle:. Sounds like they know what they are talking about:thumbsup:
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Will only be able to do runs if i am lead car =))
 
billz said:
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A few images of issues they found
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This all sounds a bit odd to me pal, I can't see any reason why they would point out all the small detail, This should have been highlighted when they first appraised the car, anything after should be taken in their stride and the car should be mint when finished, basically, what I am saying is that anything found during the prep process should be delt with by them without worrying the customer
 
Sean d said:
This all sounds a bit odd to me pal, I can't see any reason why they would point out all the small detail, This should have been highlighted when they first appraised the car, anything after should be taken in their stride and the car should be mint when finished, basically, what I am saying is that anything found during the prep process should be delt with by them without worrying the customer
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I asked them to inform me of any findings mate as i wanted to know how bad/good the job Car Cosmetics had done. I went to see the car today and the guy told me that the previous spray job on the Sills had been done over patches of mud and also the chips had just been painted over and not rubbed back.
I wanted to know of everything wrong know matter how small mate
 
A visit to the Zed today as they started the painting yesterday. Lots of Pearl in the paint which is good. The guy will send me some prep photos when he gets the chance. All in all looks to be coming along nicely
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