[Twix]

Installed euro air box today. Drank a few beers

[JonOhh]

Originally Posted by Twix

Installed euro air box today. Drank a few beers

Have you driven it with the lid off yet? The noise is intoxicating.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Anyone get their car ceramic coated?

I’ve been getting the itch to get mines ceramic coated for a little over a year now.

The quotes I’ve gotten ranged from $700-$1,200 (depending on the durability of the ceramic coat. 1-5 years). The Detailer has to do a full paint correction to remove swirls and such before applying the coating.

The thing is, if the car is not washed properly after getting ceramic coated, swirl marks and all that other stuff can potentially come back.

I take good care of my car. I use the two bucket wash method but I mean swirl marks are easy to create.

I've seen cars get swirled from hand washing after ceramic coating. From what I can tell, applying the coating itself is not really that hard. C-Quartz UK is $60 on Amazon for the full kit, and I'd imagine you'd get maybe 50% of the quality of a pro job for 5% the cost. It works very well for protecting the paint and making it easier to clean; if nothing else it's like applying the best possible coat of wax.

[2one3E90]

Originally Posted by Hoody007

Watch out for that OFHG - I had to have mine done 3 times because they kept using non-BMW gaskets - unbeknownst to me. Mercifully the third time it leaked I caught it before the oil had time to kill my brand new Continental belts...

The third independent assured me they only use OEM BMW OFHG gaskets because they have an extra ridge and better materials sourced from Japan which last much longer.

Also, gave it a rinse and a vacuum - looks pretty good for 130K!

Attachment 2578729

Performance shifter. Expensive but looks good. Ima do something with mines soon. I have the regular shifter

[Vulcan50]

Originally Posted by ky0u

Mentally preparing myself for the fact that everything that can go wrong will probably go wrong. But this is the last piece I need to be FBO

Not much to go wrong here, pull the fascia and remove the stock IC. trim the core support and install the new IC. It will be easier to route the piping if you remove the fan but not impossible without. If you are this close to FBO you should be fine, you've likely been in there before.

[JonOhh]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

I've seen cars get swirled from hand washing after ceramic coating. From what I can tell, applying the coating itself is not really that hard. C-Quartz UK is $60 on Amazon for the full kit, and I'd imagine you'd get maybe 50% of the quality of a pro job for 5% the cost. It works very well for protecting the paint and making it easier to clean; if nothing else it's like applying the best possible coat of wax.

Just be careful! If you apply it unevenly, you'll never be able to look away once you find the area. It usually shows up rainbowey and uneven.

However I agree. I have a friend who swears by C-Quartz. Good shit.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by JonOhh

Just be careful! If you apply it unevenly, you'll never be able to look away once you find the area. It usually shows up rainbowey and uneven.

However I agree. I have a friend who swears by C-Quartz. Good shit.

I figure it's nothing a quick, light [wetsand--if necessary and] polish can't fix, right? Not super hard unless you overapply on the whole car

[Vulcan50]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Went to go get emissions tested.

They got the miles wrong somehow. I am at 72,426. Not 72,000

Now I have to pay $154 for a stupid renewal sticker. Screw Illinois

Surprisingly,...the car failed the inspection

























Jp

You must be near Chiraq. No emissions 2hrs south! 🙌

[JonOhh]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

I figure it's nothing a quick, light [wetsand--if necessary and] polish can't fix, right? Not super hard unless you overapply on the whole car

Nothing too bad, just something to be aware. I definitely say go for it.


My friend says he prefers to strip the panel and reapply if it happens- but I never questioned why so I'm not too familiar with how well it polishes down to the level of everything around it.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by Vulcan50

You must be near Chiraq. No emissions 2hrs south! 🙌

Yup, roughly 45 min if I take I-90

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

I've seen cars get swirled from hand washing after ceramic coating. From what I can tell, applying the coating itself is not really that hard. C-Quartz UK is $60 on Amazon for the full kit, and I'd imagine you'd get maybe 50% of the quality of a pro job for 5% the cost. It works very well for protecting the paint and making it easier to clean; if nothing else it's like applying the best possible coat of wax.

I doubt the coating itself is hard.

I just don’t have a buffer or anything to do a paint correction with

[Gregrobin]

Originally Posted by 3PedalJake

Gave the 325i a consumer grade paint correction with my consumer grade equipment, it got the swirls out at least but not the heavier clearcoat scratches, but it softened those up a bit. Don't look too shabby for a $4k Craigslist car.

+1 for Chemical guys and Porter Cable orbital, love mine. Polished and waxed the daily driver a couple of weeks ago with the same. I used this new to me product and was impressed:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[RealJ22]

Last layers of paint on the roof. Right in time for me to cut it off

[ky0u]

Originally Posted by Vulcan50

Not much to go wrong here, pull the fascia and remove the stock IC. trim the core support and install the new IC. It will be easier to route the piping if you remove the fan but not impossible without. If you are this close to FBO you should be fine, you've likely been in there before.

Yup, I did have a spot of trouble attaching the coupler from the lower CP to the IC as it was a super snug fit and there was limited wiggle room thanks to the hoses the vertical part goes through but definitely a straightforward process compared to some of the other stuff done to her

[unixnerd]

[QUOTE=RealJ22;27471383]Last layers of paint on the roof. Right in time for me to cut it off

Not seen anything like that since the Webasto sunroof on my uncle's Fiat 126! :-)

[unixnerd]

Just did the thermostat and waterpump. Sprayed it all with brake cleaner last night and it made the job far less mucky. Still a horrid job but I've done worse.

As it's in the air I'll do the clutch delay valve tomorrow and fit new anti-roll bar links.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I doubt the coating itself is hard.

I just don’t have a buffer or anything to do a paint correction with

You could even just use clay bar then apply the coating. If your car is a lighter color you will still be amazed at the results and cleaning for the next couple of years will be amazingly easy and rewarding.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by tlow98

You could even just use clay bar then apply the coating. If your car is a lighter color you will still be amazed at the results and cleaning for the next couple of years will be amazingly easy and rewarding.

I did clay bar it and applied mother CMX 2 weeks ago?

It hasn't rained so I can't say how well the CMX works in terms of water beading

But, the car looks the same

Not any shinier than it was before. Maybe because I always keep it clean and it's silver

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

I did clay bar it and applied mother CMX 2 weeks ago?

It hasn't rained so I can't say how well the CMX works in terms of water beading

But, the car looks the same

Not any shinier than it was before. Maybe because I always keep it clean and it's silver

Benefits of ceramic over a wax (as I see it):
-protection from bird shits
-ease of cleaning
-some protection from scratching/marring
-some added shine, likely minimal on a light color

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

Benefits of ceramic over a wax (as I see it):
-protection from bird shits
-ease of cleaning
-some protection from scratching/marring
-some added shine, likely minimal on a light color

Mothers CMX is a Ceramic spray.

I don't think it works as well as legit ceramic coating would.

[Vivek.]

Originally Posted by Mosaud1998

Mothers CMX is a Ceramic spray.

I don't think it works as well as legit ceramic coating would.

Based on my armchair analysis it sounds like snake oil to me. Like those "liquid carnauba" waxes were years ago--I'm sure it has SOME ceramic (SiO2) in it but CQuartz claims 90%; CMX I'd imagine would be around 1% or less, seeing how even at full retail price CMX per ml costs 75x less than a true ceramic coating.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by Vivek.

Based on my armchair analysis it sounds like snake oil to me. Like those "liquid carnauba" waxes were years ago--I'm sure it has SOME ceramic (SiO2) in it but CQuartz claims 90%; CMX I'd imagine would be around 1% or less, seeing how even at full retail price CMX per ml costs 75x less than a true ceramic coating.

might be a bit, but the project Farm youtube channel said otherwise.

What Ive learned with those product on a black car (mcguire ceramic spray) :
- same awesome shine than a wax, and takes 6x less time to apply. (I was using the famous Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax, ultra wet look))
- cheap ( cost me 20$ a bottle )
- bottle last for 2-3 summers @1 wash a week.
- Less stain after a rain