Derby on an E3?

[E3AV]

Slow progress. After cut and buff I decided to clear coat the whole car. The single stage paint kind of lost its glow. Now after cutting and buffing getting the clear coat, getting rid of some of the orange peel, the color has a much better shine to it. Not so easy to tell the difference in pictures, but in real life..
CSL air dam painted and fitted as well.

 

[dang]

It's always a little disappointing to me when after you spray it on it looks REALLY shiny, but since I always have some dust in the paint and want to sand the orange peel down it never seems to get as shiny as it is untouched. I have a macro lens on my phone and have taken super close-up photos and there's always a little bit of scratching that never seems to go away.

Car looks great. Once you get it out in the sun it will really pop!

 

[E3AV]

How coarse sandpaper are you starting with when cutting?
Some say to start with 800 or 1000grit on a hard block. I do not dare start that coarse. I start of sanding dry with 1500 on a DA with interface pad then 2000 damp sanding with the DA. After that buffing with a wool pad on a rotary or a da polisher.
Ofcoarse this method will not completely remove peel/wave in the paint, but will make it that much better. Starting with 1500 I know my buffing compound will remove the scratches.
I use a 20W 6500K led light for inspection.

 

[dang]

I think the grit used for the first sanding depends on what you're trying to accomplish. A close friend paints high production as a day job (for over 30 years) and has done some classics on the side. Obviously two different processes. He did a '56 Chevy a couple years ago and started the finish sanding with 600 grit! More clear is put on because of it but the concept is that the rougher grit "cuts" through the top of the high areas where the finer grit tends to roll over the top somewhat, so it starts out flatter but with more scratches to work out. Another way he explained it was with rougher grit paper you're "shaping" the surface instead of making it smoother, like when you sand body filler. No matter how you do it, it a LOT of work. LOL

 

[DerSchwede]

Bristol?
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Yes that is an early 3.0 S in Bristol. That very car was for sale with this picture in the south of Germany some 15 years ago.

 

[Christoph]

Yes that is an early 3.0 S in Bristol. That very car was for sale with this picture in the south of Germany some 15 years ago.

Exactly. I stored the pictures on my hard drive, then: 2009 May 5. We talked a lot about that car and everybody said: "Brilliant car, instant buy". But nobody of the E3 Club did. Since then, it has completely disappeared. No sign where it is now. It is a pity, an unmolested 3.0 S from early June 1971 in Bristol, Blue fabric interior. Sigh.

 

[DerSchwede]

Hood painted
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Trunk lid in place
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That looks very nice! I´m starting to question my intension to redo my ´69 2800 in the original Nevada when seeing this!

 

[E3AV]

I would have kept the original nevada color if I where you. I do like Nevada and it was one of the alternatives I considered before I decided on Granada.

 

[DerSchwede]

Yes I‘m very much sure I will keep it Nevada. Looking at a fresh nice full red paint like Granada is however very joyful!

In the end of the 60s, it was a fairly common hue, not only on the E3 or the other BMW like the 2- and 4-door 4-cylinder cars, but also with other manufacturers like Alfa, Saab, Citroën and Porsche. Though, very few of these were kept Nevada-ish, espacially when receiveing a fresh layer of paint in the 80s or 90s when so many classics turned first sliver metallic (polaris), then light-blue metallic (fjord) only to focus on the stronger colours from the period (colorado, inka, taiga) in the last 20 years of restorations.

 

[Christoph]

I will keep it Nevada. Looking at a fresh nice full red paint like Granada is however very joyful!

Very good indeed to keep a car Nevada. Red on an E3 is refreshing, though. Always good to have one in a line of mostly white, silver and blue cars.

On other cars, well. Take Ferrari. Lots of classic cars are turned bright red (Rosso Corsa) regardless of their original configuration. Most of the rest are turned bright yellow (Giallo Fly). How very boring.