Aluminium front trim

marcus

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I have a 1973 BMW E9 CSL that I am restoring and unfortunately the front "waistline" trim is damaged, so I need a new one – and what-do-you-know BMW Germany just sold out!!! IF ANYONE HAS ONE (or two!), I will pay top dollar. Thanks, Mark
 

sandhu

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Mark

I think I have 2 in the garage , don’t know what condition they are in

Will check for you this weekend and send some photos ... where you based ??
 

teahead

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W&N doesn't have it?

I bought mine from bmwofsouthatlanta I think couple years ago. Haven't tested fittment, but I heard the new stuff sux for fittment.
 

Marc-M

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Hi


pics of the trim - as you can see, it not so good - I did get it stripped of the old anodizing and then polished - and then bright anodized....


BUT - the corrosion in the aluminium was so deep - when it was re anodized it showed up all the corrosion - and came out Cra*


However - if it was re done is satin finish it would come out more consistent, or if you get it chrome plated that would solve all the problems - but you would have to get all the trims done to match...


Chrome plating aluminium is hard and there is only one company who I know does it in the uk- they did my grill....

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marcus

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Thanks teahead, I will try BMW Atlanta. The chrome grille is great. I did read on a post somewhere that a gut had his aluminium sprayed and then brush-finished them (I guess with wire wool or scotchbrite?) and then clear ceramic coated.
 

teahead

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disappointing that BMW chooses to not reproduce these badly needed items.

It would be very prudent to start buying up BMW-made E9 parts ASAP before they they all go NLA and become NOS.

They made only 30k+ E9s so I don't see any of the aftermarket makes these parts, unlike Mustangs, Camaros, Tri-5 chevys, etc.
 

JamesE30

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I’m curious, what the correct finish is for the belt line trims?

I actually purchased a brand new nose trim piece last year as mine was missing. I’m yet to install it as the car is now undergoing full restoration.

But i was a little bothered by the fact that the new piece has a slightly more satin finish than the original trims, is this just because the originals have had 40 years of cleaning and polishing? Orate the new trims finished differently? (It’s an original Bmw part)

It’s annoying because it doesn’t exactly match the body side trim..
 

rsporsche

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more important than the finish - does the shape fit on the front of your coupe? i just learned that the rears that have been recently made fit ... the ones made a few years ago do not.

Marc
Thxs for the link and advice about getting all the chrome parts done in one go !!!
I recon its would be cheaper to get them all re chromed by the above than buy new! ...

there aren't many chrome plated trims on our coupes - most (the aluminum ones) have a polished anodized finish. the best refinish is to have them polished and ceramic coated - Speedway in Santa Ana, CA is probably the best choice.

if you were to go chrome plated, do it all at one time as the color of chrome varies - depending on who does it. my opinion is that chrome is softer than the ceramic coated finish.
 

Marc-M

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This is what I found….


If you can get new trims – just get them at whatever cost, as they are not available all the time – or some less than others.

The only options you have are

1) Use your old trims and try and re finish. I did, and my results are crap.

The correct finish is bright anodizing, but due to the years of corrosion - and with aluminium corroding like a worm it forms worm tracts deep into the aluminium... when you strip off the old anodizing, you then need to polish them out, but you just can’t get in deep, to get rid of worm holes completely, plus they need to be polished to a high finish to get the brightest finish, you can only polish so deep, otherwise the trim will look all wonky, but as I said polishing only does the surface and you can’t get into the worm holes of the corrosion.

When it gets anodized the worm holes cause the decolouration (what you see on mine)

However, if you don’t go the bright anodizing route, and go for statin finish, they come out more constant.

Now if your trim is in pretty good condition with little corrosion, you may get away this this when it goes back to the anodizers.

As you have seen, I tried it and mine look like crap – however all the internal ones came out great….

2) Chrome plate all the outside trims – not original look, but better than nothing, and if you can’t wait or get new, this is an option and all the car is a constant finish – so the window caps etc look the same.

3) Strip off the anodizing and polish the trims and apply a coat of lacquer – I’ve not done this and can’t comment on the longevity of the lacquer not peeling off, however with new high-quality paints I’m sure this is a great option, but this would be the cheapest and easiest way to get a good finish on your trims.

Options option options……
 
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