What did you do to your car today?

[slow_ti]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

136 down, 136 to go. My fingers feel like leather


Edit, BTW, I stripped the clearcoat and then polished the factory zinc plating.

dang Jess, looks tedious, and very aggravating haha. good work bro

[roadrash]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

136 down, 136 to go. My fingers feel like leather

Dang, dude... I'd make a jig to clamp the bolt into and use a Dremel to do the polishing.

[M-System]

- Did some maintenance work, suspension, cooling/heating. (need a cat. and fresh injectors)
- Removed M-System wheels and installed OE staggered polished LTWs
- Replaced E-brake boot with new leather one.
- Replaced shift boot and knob with leather combo ///M unit
- Replaced headlights with Euro ZKWs
- Replaced broken front corner signals
- Replaced dented front nose panel
- Replaced front and rear bumpers with used M-tech version
- Replaced side moldings with new OE M-Tech version
Next up is H&R/Bilstein, and replacing the ugly stock steering wheel with this custom rewrapped Euro Sport wheel.

[slow_ti]

That's a sweet steering wheel. How much??


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[M-System]

Originally Posted by slow_ti

That's a sweet steering wheel. How much??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't know why I can't see the pictures anymore. But the wheel was less than $400 shipped from a guy in Latvia, on ebay.
Hi did a magnificent job. Besides the OE pattern M stitching, he made it thicker and and added the thumb rests.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by roadrash

Dang, dude... I'd make a jig to clamp the bolt into and use a Dremel to do the polishing.

I used a milling machine. Eventually got a rhythm going. Used Strypeeze semi-paste paint remover to strip the clearcoat. Then inserted a bolt into the drill chuck on the milling machine. Each bolt received a 3 step process approx 5sec per step @ 1500rpm. Step 1, wire brush to remove any leftover clearcoat. Step 2, BlueMagic polish on a terrycloth applying firm pressure(wore several holes through the cloth). Step 3, final buff with tshirt to remove polish residue(still on milling machine @ 1500rpm). Believe it or not, the worst part was threading them into the mesh, but hopefully that should save me a bunch of money. I'm sure the factory zinc plating will probably protect them against corrosion, but before I spend the money getting them gold plated, I'm gonna do a chrome/nickel combo just to be sure they won't corrode. I'm also considering having the wheel lips/barrels chromed so I won't have to spend my whole life polishing bare aluminum every week.

[cooljess76]

M-System - dang dude, you've been busy! Love the steering wheel, can't wait to see the rest of the car after the suspension.

[roadrash]

Originally Posted by cooljess76

I used a milling machine.

Whew... good... I should have known you were too smart to be doing that by hand. LOL

Originally Posted by cooljess76

I'm also considering having the wheel lips/barrels chromed

Or better yet, just buy my chrome wheels and you won't have to go to all that trouble and expense to get your chrome fix.

[jca]

Jess, that's beautiful craftmanship. Today I polished my lug bolts with a wire wheel on a bench grinder. I am sure I got them down to bare metal...the natural finish is pretty in my opinion. Are they stainless steel? Anyone have any advice about coating them with anything?

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by jca

Jess, that's beautiful craftmanship. Today I polished my lug bolts with a wire wheel on a bench grinder. I am sure I got them down to bare metal...the natural finish is pretty in my opinion. Are they stainless steel? Anyone have any advice about coating them with anything?

Thanks jca, I'm pretty sure the lugs are grade 8, grade 10 steel or perhaps cro-mo, but definitely not stainless. The black finish you removed was likely a hard anodized corrosion barrier and they may rust. As far as coating them goes, I think most over-the-counter sprays ie; clearcoats, paints etc will just peel, scuff or flake when you tighten them. Even powder coat would scuff or chip when you torque on them with a lug wrench. Your best bet is probably going to be getting them electro-plated in zinc or TiN. The other option is getting them hard anodized in another color. I think I have a set of chrome lug bolts w/locks laying around that I'd let go for the cost of a tall-boy and shipping

[stefan323ti]

Got my wiper arms from the painter:

[airborneSGT]

Stefan,

Will your painter also do smaller parts of the car vs. repainting the whole thing? I am impressed with his work. I think maybe in May it would be a good time.

[stefan323ti]

yes, they will paint everything you bring to them

But repainting the complete car could take some time, it´s more important for them to do their daily work

[airborneSGT]

Okay alles klar

So touching up parts of my car should be kein problem!

[jca]

Thanks for the information, Jess, and the generous offer. I'll run these guys a while and see what happens to them.