Need M3 Side skirts? Here's a CHEAP ALTERNATIVE (long writeup...)

[Snappie]

Hey guys,

I found a way to get rid of the ugly-ass gray rockers. No, it doesn't involve paint. No it doesn't involve purchasing new side skirts. Just a little ingenuity and laborous effort involved. Here's an alternative to getting side skirts for E36's with ugly gray rockers (92-95):

**** My Rant ****
But first, I need to rant a little. You can skip this paragraph if you don't want to read. It's kinda pointless, just my way of letting off steam. Anyways, the reason I am doing this is because of a fuckhead named Kevin Williams. I ordered a complete M3 body kit with painted mouldings, diffuser, bumpers, side skirts, spoiler, etc... 9 months ago! NINE! Yes... I'm still missing my side skirts, front lip, and jackhole covers. I'm sure you all would be bitter as well if you were waiting 9 months for your side skirts. If anyone knows or lives near this guy in Scottsdale, Arizona, please tell him I want my fucking side skirts! Oh well, atleast he sent everything else. That's it for the rant, hope you understand my p.o.v.
**** My Rant ****

Okay, on with the thread. The following procedure will show you how to get color match rockers for less than $10. Be willing to work for atleast 3 hours because it is no easy task.

Take a look at this pic if you're confused about what I mean by the "ugly-ass gray rockers:"



You're probably wondering how this works now. The secret is that there is color-matched paint below the gray texture. The only downside is that it isn't clear coated. However, this works for ALL colors. Trust me, my friend has a purple BMW and has done the same thing. If you're wondering why BMW has the ugly gray crap underlying the car, its because they felt it was necessary to prevent rock chips. For me, I could give a shit about rock chip prevention. Gray on white is simply disgusting, and it makes me want to crap in my pants every time I look at it.

You don't believe me? Check this out:



Okay... so there's your proof. Now how do you do it? Here it goes:

Step 1: Get necessary supplies:
* atleast 6 Brillo pads available at any grocery store (the nonsoap work the best)
* atleast 6 "Medium coarse" steel wool pads available at Home depot
* a pair of gloves
* someone who likes to clean stuff (preferably a woman)
* LOTS of time and PATIENCE
* mosquito repellent (I'm like Chinese buffet for mosquitos)

Here are pictures of the supplies I used and would recommend:

* Brillo pads and gloves



* Home depot steel wool (found in paint section)



* Mosquito repellent (not really necessary... just for grins)



Step 2:
Put on your gloves and grab one of the Home depot steel wool pads. Find a section to start rubbing the rockers in a steady fashion. Start off in a teeny-tiny area to get the feel of how it works. If you try and rub large sections at a time, it won't work. Some force will be necessary to get all the gray crap off. Take utmost precaution when rubbing the painted sections as they begin to appear. Paint will scratch if you're not careful. Take a look at these pics so you can learn from my embarassing mistakes:





Notice all the discolored sections. This was because I impatiently tried to use a powertool with a paint removing brush. It was too "powerful" and scratched the paint. Stick to the steel wool, it's very hard to scratch the paint if you're careful.

Step 3:
SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB with the Home Depot pads, wiping the rockers every now and then with a moist towel or sponge to clean off excess residue. When you finish getting the majority of the gray off, use the Brillo pads to clean up the small little "dots."

NOTE: do not rub the jackhole covers (little circle thingies). They are not painted, and will look like crap if you try to rub over them.

Take your time... this is by no means a short process. It took me a whole week to finish because I didn't have enough time. Allocate atleast 3-5 hours.

Here's a tip: feel your gray rockers to see if they're smooth or coarse. The coarser they are, the harder it will be to remove the gray. This process can be a bitchload of work depending on how much rock chip crap they put over your paint. Some sections of my rockers were absolute hell. Look at the light gray section in the picture above.

Anyways, it should turn out something like this:







My passenger side turned out 100% better than my driver side. Follow my tips and you won't mess up like I did. I hope my mistakes will prevent any of you that choose to do this from screwing up.

I hope that this has been helpful for those of you with gray trim. I think it was a mistake on BMW's behalf because it ruins the "cleanliness" from the car.

Do this at your own risk! Don't blame anything on me if you screw up. Test hidden sections (on the very bottom) to see how this works. Feel free to email me at alex_076@hotmail.com with any questions, comments. I would like to see pictures of other enthusiasts that decide to do this. Call it "ghetto" or whatever, I don't care. It was by far the best $10 I've ever spent.

Happy motoring,

Alex Nguyen
93 325is

[Ali]

very informative post, we should have more posts like this!

[.....Dhan.....]

Turned out very clean on pass side. What r u gonna do about the "little circle thingies". Regardless very nice work and informative post, its goin into my archive

[z 318is]

Great job, I can't wait to try this out. I've always hated that grey area.

Thanks again

[1995red318i]

has anyone else tried this yet? i would love to get rid of that grey area too! but i am wondering if this is the best idea. what do you guys think.
it's very clever nonetheless. does it also work for the front and rear bumper too?

[themadhatter]

under the knowledge that the drivers side has been "chewed" up by the power tools, have you considered getting some color matched spray paint to hide the damage before you spend big $$$ at a body shop?

It look really good on the passenger side, I wouldn't know you had the gray panels before, you did a great job!

[Stylin]

That is very clever.. good job. Very imformative for the 318/325 guys.. You should just use touch up paint or color matched spray paint to take care of the jacking holes.

Is it me or does your painted moldings not match your paint? They look more grey...??

[1995red318i]

I think i will go ahead and do it. all red looks looks so much better than red and grey:

a $10 solution!!! not bad.

again, however, does this technique work for the front and rear grey trim as well?

[Snappie]

I've had two friends to try it, and it turned out awesome on their cars. One has a white 93 325is and one has a purple 318is. As for the front and rear trim, I'm not sure if they have paint underneath. If I were you, I would use the same method to test on a hidden portion just in case there isn't any paint.

I plan on getting the jackhole covers painted to match, but I don't know if I want it done professionally. Does anyone know where I can get color matched spray paint? Will it work to touch up all the crap on my driver's side?

My passenger side turned out immaculate. The texture is smooth, looks clean, and great close up.

My mouldings weren't color-matched to my car. They were painted Alpine White II (My color code), but obviously UV light has taken its toll in the past 8 years, fading the existing paint. However, at most angles you can't even tell the difference.

I look forward to seeing pics of this done on other cars. Just don't screw up like I did on my driver's side.

Regards,
Alex

[1995red318i]

thanks for the idea man. i was a little skeptical...i didn't want to mess up my car! but the pictures don't lie.
i think i will do this after i get my front and rear bumpers installed. i don't want to have red in the middle, and black trim on the front and back you know.

[themadhatter]

Originally posted by Stylin
Is it me or does your painted moldings not match your paint? They look more grey...??

It's possible that the wrong color primer or not enough primer was used.

[UD///M]

Originally posted by 1995red318i

again, however, does this technique work for the front and rear grey trim as well?

No it will not work on the bumpers. If you examine them closely, you will notice that the grey areas there are unpainted. Do Not scrub these with brillo pads or you will want to shoot yourself.

[Snappie]

Hey z 318is,

If I remember correctly, you're the one I sold the wheel and tire too right? You never let me know how it turned out... :

[outkastaliens]

Hey, if you used water when using the pads, would that not help out the cause? I think it would be better and a lot cleaner, just a thought. I am thinking of doing this soon!

[Snappie]

No, water will not work better. Here's the reason why:

When I tried using the "soaped" brillo pads, I wetted em first to get the soap to work. The ball crumbled up into a tiny piece and was hard to work with. If you leave it dry, the steel wool ball will be more effective.

Oh... another pointer for you guys intending to do this. DON'T USE PAINT REMOVER. I tried this on the driver's side and it screwed up the gray portion in the picture. I forgot to mention that.

Also, be aware that the coarser sections on the rockers take MUCH MORE time to do. I skipped the coarse sections and did the smooth sections with the Home Depot pads to prevent discouragement. I was pissed when none of the shit was coming off, so I did the easier, smooth sections.

BE CAREFUL!

[1995red318i]

so what your saying is: keep it dry.
hey, how did you come up w/this idea in the first place?

[z 318is]

Snappie, yep that's me. You IMed before and I told you everything was ok. I guess you didn't get it?

[Snappie]

Yes... dry is good!

My friends at school did it to their cars first. They don't go on these boards, so I thought I would share it with you guys. Credit goes to them... I'll see if I can get pics of their cars and post em tomorrow.

Peace,
Alex

[1995red318i]

sounds great man. thanks.
i'd love to see some more pics!

[Disco Stu]

I am going to give this a try on my black bimmer!

[1995red318i]

let us know how it goes man. good luck...hope it looks great!

[Snappie]

Here are pics of my friends' cars. One is dark blue and one is white.

[DuckMuck]

Holy cow man, I must admit...when I first read this...I thought it was pretty freaky...takin' steel wool to your car...u got a lot of guts man!!!

However, I just wanna ask how you did the final clean up...after the steel wool + Brillo was all over...did you clean off the rockers with some bodyscrub, then wax 'em? 'cause I notice that on your friend's purple bimmer, they rockers are nice and shiny and match the body pretty well...thanx for the info!!!

[Snappie]

I haven't even bothered washing my car. I simply just wiped off the excess residue. I'm sure you can get the rockers really shiny with some wax. I will clean my car when the weather gets better. More pics to come...