My Life with a Z4M Bumper !

[v8z4]

NICE WORK!

[ben g]

Whats with the ...'s all over the place?

[BMWZ4MC]

Looking forward to seeing this completed. My first car at 17 was white and the previous owner had painted the grill white...I suspect that this will look better

[Carol M]

Great pics/work but am I the only one that's noticed the ghost in your garage?
I'd get outta there if I were you.

[Bumpy]

Thanks Carol ..
You are very observant !!!
Actually those pics are from the basement.
And that pile in the background is stuff my son returned from University with.
Now he has gone to NYC for Grad School and that move was limited to one van load.
So I guess Im ghost sitting for him.

Update on the Bumper Prep ..
Well there has been a slight setback ....
I was prepping the rims for my other thread.
And prior to painting I used a cleaner called paint prep.
Worked well on the rims, but when I wiped a portion of the bumper, the "flexy filler primer" started to dissolve.
I knew that miracle chemical was too good to be true!
Luckily I didn't do too much damage to my prep. Just a little set back that needs some wet sanding ....

Cheers Bumpy

[Bumpy]

Whats with the ...'s all over the place?

Just my Canadian accent ...

[Bumpy]

Update ....
Decisions or Not ?
Grills ?
As many here already know, changing out a grill is about a 15 second exercise.
Many also opt for the totally blacked out grill with some discussion as to whether a gloss black is preferred to the flat black 'bad boy (or girl)' version.
I have 3 grills to play mix or match with. Plus I have 3 different grill trims to ramp up the decision making process.
Grills are in argent, white and black.
Trims are chrome, black chrome and flat black.
Any opinions ?

Black or white ?


Stock ?


Actually I am not finished with the black grills. They are currently all flat black. Im considering gloss clear coating the grills while leaving the trim flat black.
Also the white grills will be flat white to contrast with the gloss body colour. That's something I learned from my biker daze. Same colours with different gloss makes for more interest.

[Bumpy]

Next up ...
Fawx Brake Cooling Ducts.
As mentioned I have been curious about colour matching the brake ducts after I saw a rear bumper aero pan that was body coloured and exposed much more of the visual impact of that detail than the more common black or argent.
Also the Z4M bumper deletes the much loved by some, foglights.
I currently have the foglights and rarely use them, but the designer in me figured that, with the wiring already in place ..Why not swap in some LED Fogs for when I need more light.

Here is what I've currently worked up :



If I don't like the colour matching a relatively painless spray with black bumper paint will return me back into the Z4M Bumper fold with the all too common black faux brake cooling ducts.

Bumpy

[Bumpy]

Sad News ...
The attempt at spraying and clear coating the front bumper with custom blended rattle cans has been judged a failure !
I have had to accept that some things are best left to the pros.
After 3 cans of white I wasn't happy with the finish or the colour coverage.
I could have gotten a couple of more cans mixed with the hope that my colour was still showing some of the gray / silver base bleeding through..
Or I could just take what I have to a paint shop and plead for financial mercy.
A visit to a local autobody shop :
The painter agreed to a reasonable (?) cash price to do the job.
He actually complimented me on my prep
When it came to 'colour' I was schooled on the complexities of modern factory paint .
DIY doesn't have a chance because the factory colours are anything but consistent.
After searching his database of Alpin Weiss 300/0
There were a dozen variations spread over the years of production.
Next he took out this portable contraption that looked like a Game Gear video controller with a large suction cup attached
Cleaned off a section of my front fender, nearest the bumper and stuck the thing on it.
Next he explained that this paint analyser takes shots of the paint from 3 different angles to determine the colour.
Back at the database computer, the download suggests exact factory matched as well as a custom mix.
Actually being a late 08 model I was surprised that the closest match was the current Mazda White ?
But the painter explained he will custom blend the colour.
So I wasted almost $200 on miss matched custom colours hoping for the best
But I am now schooled in what is possible which I consider an education for the better.

Bumper should be completed by Monday at the latest.
Cheers Bumpy

[LukeMace]

Brilliant thread and some great work! It's ways nice to be able to do things yourself and huge credit for attempting to do the spray job on your own! I think that's the headrest thing to get right with all this modding, the paint. I've had to spray my front and repair and spray the rear and shuddered at just the thought of attacking it myself!! Had a good friend with a paint shop sort it and came out top!
You'll have the added satisfaction though of prepping it, which is arguably the hardest part anyways!

[Bumpy]

Just returned from the painter.
Very pleased with the quality of work and the related schooling on paint chemistry.
Not much different than any other M Bumper, but it's mine

[Bumpy]

Probably my last post on this project until I do the bumper swap.
No sense in doing it now just in time for winter to blast the thing.
Trying to get a feel for the grill colour and brake duct match.
I can always go with stock, but who wants to look like everyone else ?

Colour Matched ducts


Black Grills ?


White Grills?


Salt and Pepper?


Apologies for the picture quality
Low light in the basement.

Cheers Bumpy

[aquazi]

I like the white grills!

Looks forward to seeing it fitted next year


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[neilthomas]

Loving the white grill mate!!

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[srhutch]

Need to see it on the car to decide on the grilss, but im guessing all black will look best.