Project BMW X5: Step 2 – Disassembly And Paint

I felt like it was a drug deal… The classic drop-off. Except that I didn’t get anything in return… At least not yet. I just gave Joe my car.

Back in Step 1 of Project BMW X5, I simply purchased the car.

I paid the guy with a cashier’s check and drove it straight up the 5 Fwy from San Clemente to Costa Mesa to meet my old friend Joe Delio at Wet Works Garage. I had no plans on driving it home yet. I had a lot of work planned for this baby so I need to get started immediately.

One of the reasons that Joe’s shop got popular back in the early 90′s is because he was one of the first to color-match all the ugly black plastic pieces on show cars. Just like today, base-model cars are littered with black accents. You usually have to buy the fully loaded car to get the color-matched bumpers, skirts etc. The show car guys, knowing damn well that they were just going to ditch the stock stereo, seats, mirrors and more, found no reason to buy upgraded models. That left them no choice but to have someone like Joe paint their base-model’s black plastic pieces. And, luckily for Joe, he developed a paint/primer mixture that would not only adhere to that rubbery plastic but would actually bend with it. Still today, paint shops have a tough time getting paint to work on these surfaces.

So, on to the show… First step, disassembly.

Joe and his team carefully remove the tail light assemblies, fender accents, various trim pieces and the gazillion plastic screws holding the bumper on.

In the bumper removal process, they have to make sure not to damage the parking sensors. You know, those little sensors that beep when you get to close to something? I call them blue-hair buzzers since the oldsters can’t seem to cock their heads to the side to actually use their rearview mirrors.

Yup, the rear hatch handle has to be painted too. You see, white is the new black.

Off come the BMW signature kidney grills, head lights and front bumper.

Headlight assemblies… These babies are being trashed in favor of new HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights and assemblies. I loves me some night driving so standard lights just aren’t gonna cut it. More on the lighting assemblies later. I’ll be making at stop by European Auto Source soon for the lighting and steering wheel upgrade.

Like many parts on the car, the mirrors are white, yet have various black pieces attached. I’m not quite sire why the front half of the mirror comes white and the backside black… Strange.  So, to get everything to match, they disassemble and sand down the existing white pieces and prep the entire assembly to be painted.

Table ‘o goodies. These parts are all hand-sanded and ready for primer.

Oh, let me point out a few things on this table. First, what I call “old man wood.” This is the burlwood trim pieces that come stock in just about every BMW. Yes, I get it. Wood is expensive. But, it belongs in a Rolls Royce, not a sporty car or SUV. On my last BMW, I removed all the wood in favor of brushed aluminum. So, on this project, I’m going either high gloss or matte black. I haven’t decided yet. The reason for black is to match the wheels, which will also be murdered out (that means-black on black).

The tail light assemblies will also be painted. They’ll receive a light tint. Not, not dark… A light tint. Although I’m a member of the LB Police Association I still have no desire to get pulled over for ridiculously dark tail lamps. Yes, it’s illegal. There’s a minimum amount of luminescence that tail lamps must put out. Crazy but true.

Next, they yanked off the door panels. And, I think I’ll leave them off for a while because we’ll need to get in there again to swap out the speakers with a new set of Alpine separates. I’ll introduce you to Steve Brown in Alpine’s R&D Department later.

Yup, the center console’s gotta come out if you want to paint the “old-man wood.”

Priming the fender accents with an elasticized primer.

These plastic parts just can’t go in the oven to dry like the car body. The plastic would either warp or melt. So, they take their sweet time drying in the sun like an old woman lying poolside in Palm Springs.

Front bumper and side valances lay drying.

Later this week I’ll have Project BMW Step 3: final paint and re-assembly. I’ll show you a before and after comparison. You’ll be amazed what color-matching the accessories does for your car’s appearance.

At the end of this project, I’ll compile all the costs so we can compare this modified X5 to a new fully loaded version. This one will look better and be priced at about a third.

Check out Step 3 – Suspension, click here.

SOURCES

Wet Works Garage
779 West 16th Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 646-1867
wetworksgarage.com