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Thread: Early Model Z3 Black Vinyl Windshield Surround

  1. #1
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    Early Model Z3 Black Vinyl Windshield Surround

    My 1997 Z3 came with the matte black tape around the windshield. It finally started to crack, so I got rid of it today. A heat gun is absolutely necessary for this stubborn stuff, but if you get it warm it comes off okay.
    This is without a heatgun:20131208_123335.jpg This is with a heatgun:20131208_123345.jpg I actually wrapped it in gloss black:20131208_143431.jpg

    I do apologize for some of the bad quality pics, but I was in a hurry to get this done!
    Last edited by thomas88162; 12-08-2013 at 03:30 PM.

  2. #2
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    So what color is it, looks blue in the pic but your car is white?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by IgotBMW View Post
    So what color is it, looks blue in the pic but your car is white?
    Yes, the car is Atlanta Blue but its wrapped in matte white at this time.

  4. #4
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    Just courious? Why did you wrap the car in Matte White?
    Life is Amazingly short. Everything you do should put a smile on your face and those around you.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by MPKaier View Post
    Just courious? Why did you wrap the car in Matte White?
    I wanted to see how it looked, so I tried it out. It also serves as a good ermm "sacrificial" layer on top of the paint.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by thomas88162 View Post
    My 1997 Z3 came with the matte black tape around the windshield. It finally started to crack, so I got rid of it today. A heat gun is absolutely necessary for this stubborn stuff, but if you get it warm it comes off okay.
    This is without a heatgun:20131208_123335.jpg This is with a heatgun:20131208_123345.jpg ...20131208_143431.jpg ...
    I have the same tape, on a red car with tan top. Your white car with tan top makes the tape even more obvious and worse. What was BMW thinking? I am going to wait for a 90º summer day for the sun to get the metal very hot, so the heat gun does not cause so much differential temperature. The metal is 30º or lower at this time of year. In July it will be too hot to touch.
    BMW MOA 696, BMW CCA 1405

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vintage42 View Post
    I have the same tape, on a red car with tan top. Your white car with tan top makes the tape even more obvious and worse. What was BMW thinking? I am going to wait for a 90º summer day for the sun to get the metal very hot, so the heat gun does not cause so much differential temperature. The metal is 30º or lower at this time of year. In July it will be too hot to touch.
    Yea, this stuff has always been a mystery to me. After doing this myself, I would agree that waiting until summer would have made this much easier, but it was peeling too much for me to tolerate.

  8. #8
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    How do you like having the matte white wrap? How hard it's it to keep clean?

    Which brand of wrap did you use? Get it done professionally?

    I'm considering the same

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by ADAz3M View Post
    How do you like having the matte white wrap? How hard it's it to keep clean?

    Which brand of wrap did you use? Get it done professionally?

    I'm considering the same
    I do like the wrap, it looks very nice in my opinion. The matte white color in particular can be hard to keep clean, especially on a DD. I think a gloss finish wrap would be easier to maintain. I used 3M 1080 scotchprint and I did it myself .

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vintage42 View Post
    I have the same tape, on a red car with tan top. Your white car with tan top makes the tape even more obvious and worse. What was BMW thinking? I am going to wait for a 90º summer day for the sun to get the metal very hot, so the heat gun does not cause so much differential temperature. The metal is 30º or lower at this time of year. In July it will be too hot to touch.
    I waited until it was 80º and did it yesterday.
    1. Some people recommended a heat gun or hair dryer to heat the tape. A heat gun will burn your fingers and overheat the rubber. I tried a hair dryer and saw that could happen, so I quit after a minute. I parked the car in the sun for a half hour and that was all the tape needed to come off easily.
    2. I parted the tape its full width, starting at an upper corner where it had a wrinkle that I tore open. The warm tape came off down the A-pillar, pulling out intact from under the rubber, using a steady pull at 90 degrees. The tape then came off across the windshield and down the other A-pillar.
    2 IMG_2743.jpg
    3. The adhesive remained on the paint. I tried GooGone as some recommended, but stopped quickly, as it was softening the adhesive but not removing it, and the label said don't use on rubber. I found that it's made of naphtha and citrus oil.
    4. I next tried 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover, which I had:
    http://www.amazon.com/3M-08987-Gener...6VN5H6PN8N767X
    It was about the same as GooGone; softened the adhesive but did not wipe it off. After much rubbing, the adhesive did ball up some, but this was not going to work.
    5. I then used a ChartPak hard vinyl burnishing tool that I had from doing press-on lettering:
    3 IMG_2746.jpg
    http://www.amazon.com/Chartpak-Adjus.../dp/B001Q5LN86

    After applying the 3M with a little piece of rag to keep the adhesive soft, I would scrape full width off the A-pillar, an inch downward at a time, chiseling the adhesive off the paint, piling up a carpet roll of adhesive that I then picked off whole. Each inch took a few seconds and the job went fast. The tool was perfect and removed the adhesive quickly and safely.
    4 IMG_2744.jpg
    6. I made a final pass of rubbing the paint with 3M on a rag, then rubbing with a dry rag. Then I coated the rubber with silicone on a rag, to remove any trace of the 3M, and polished the rubber with a dry rag.
    7. The job took me an hour. If I had known what to do, it would have taken a half hour.
    Last edited by Vintage42; 04-27-2014 at 12:14 PM.
    BMW MOA 696, BMW CCA 1405

  11. #11
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    A handheld steamer (as used for clothes) would be best. No overheating, and not terribly dangerous for trim or paint. Also removes tint extremely fast without glue residue.
    -Abel

    - E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
    - 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by 328 Power 04 View Post
    A handheld steamer (as used for clothes) would be best. No overheating, and not terribly dangerous for trim or paint...
    The tape came right off in the sunlight on a warm day. A steamer would be good for removal in cold weather.
    BMW MOA 696, BMW CCA 1405

  13. #13
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    More of a reference to the hot air gun. Not directed towards you, obviously if good results were obtained, no real change needed. Want to share some of your cold-ish weather with us?
    -Abel

    - E36 328is ~210-220whp: Lots of Mods.
    - 2000 Z3: Many Mods.
    - 2003 VW Jetta TDI Manual 47-50mpg
    - 1999 S52 Estoril M Coupe
    - 2014 328d Wagon, self-tuned, 270hp/430ft-lbs
    - 2019 M2 Competition, self-tuned, 504whp
    - 2016 Mini Cooper S

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