engine and drivetrain Painting the 2002...the final steps.

[FL02]

OK, I'm getting my car painted. I've removed all the trim, grill, weather stripping, etc and I'm getting to the final stages before I have the glass removed, painted, glass reinstalled & piece it back together good as new. I'm having the door jams, window jams, trunk jam, under the hood, and along the ridge of the engine bay painted, charmonix white to match the original color. I'm trying to make sure all body parts to be painted are free of anything that is in the way, and all trim holes are drilled out. Which includes removing the antanne, hood latch, windshild squirters, etc. I'm going to remove the hood to be painted seperately & have the hinges done in body color. All the little sticker decals are going to be replaced, as is the front and rear window seals, door gaskets, etc. I'm getting a brand new Front windshield installed to replace a foggy one I had before, so visibility should improve.

However, I do have a few questions:

-Should I replace the headliner, If I'm taking the windows out?

-What else should I remove? -I'm leaving the interior panels and door handles on.

-Does anyone have front and rear window gaskets and lockstrip 2 sell?

-How about a Blue Headliner (new)? no sunroof

-Decent Trunk Gasket?

Can't wait to get it done, and I'm sure the full reassembly process will take some time but that's OK, I want to get it right. I'm just wondering what expierence/pitfalls you all have had getting a 2002 painted. What would you do differently, if you had the chance. What are you glad you took care of or removed before you painted the car.

Any help is appreciated.

[Guest Anonymous]

I restored two '02s and my '76 530. I tore cars completely apart, including engine removal. I re-finished cars top to bottom, inside and out. I would recommend using a rocker panel protectant, been years since I did my cars so I don't remember the different product names, but I used the 3M Rocker Shutz and sprayed the lower areas around car, front and back, and rocker panels, and trunk, before color coat. I also used a high quality two-part epoxy primer that is extremely durable and waterproof. I would recommend having car clear-coated, three or four coats, so that you have plenty of material to polish out car if needed. 3M also makes an undercoating similar to the Rocker Shutz that is black in color and looks great on wheel wells, and on the bottom of the chassis. This is also an extremely durable product that will withstand commercial car washes.

I did replace headliners but that can be difficult job to do since the nylon retainers used to hold the rods in place probably aren't available.

[02turbo]

I did replace headliners but that can be difficult job to do since the nylon retainers used to hold the rods in place probably aren't available.

I replaced the headliner a month ago, and the nylon retainers are still available at my local BMW-parts dealer.

http://www.2002turbo.com/

[Mike Self]

do the whole thing and remove the door handles and door upholstery panels. If the painter is gonna do the door edges, he's gonna get paint on the edge of the upholstery panels, and you'll swear at yourself every time you look at the door handles with overspray on the rubber gaskets. Both items take less than 30 minutes a side to remove; less if you've done it before. And the little rubber door handle gaskets are available new for a few bucks.

And BTW, all OEM 2002 headliners were white.

cheers and good luck on the paint job (been thru that twice on my two cars).

mike

[FL02]

I'm afraid of taking out the interior panels. I started to and almost butchered a decent door panel in the process. And I assume you take off the interior panels to take off the door handles. I was thinking that the interior could be masked out or roll the windows up and mask them and paint arouind it. The interior of the car is good but the headliner is sort of ratty and needs to be sorted. So, headliners are hard to install? Shouldn't all the hardware be there in the existing headliner? Looks like the one that is in it now was installed after the windows were put in. I thought that you should do a headliner with the windows out. If not then I can do it later. I saw one on ebay for like $89, so I thought it would be good to do at that price point.

[a54atii]

How do you like the darker headliner? I've been toying with the idea of going with something other than the OEM white but worried that going too dark might loose that airy 02 feel. Anyone else have an alternate color that they like?

TIA,

Karl

[Happy Face]

I'm considering doing the same to my car but I've gotten a few quotes on a full paint resto and it exceeds $3000. Can you tell me what you are expecting to dish out and if there is a way to get a quality paint job for a bit less dollars?

[FL02]

People might be mad, but I'm probably going to bring it to MAACO. I didn't pay too much for the car, and I'm looking to preserve it and make it look as nice as I can. My car is relatively rust free, but it is in primer white and wont last too long if I don't get it painted. They are having a half price sale on the presidential paint job at the local Maaco. The offer is for $250..which is crazy. So, I got the car started again and drove it, no grill, no door seals and all over to Maaco to see what they had to say about it. I told her that I wanted both door jams painted, the trunk jam painted, under the hood painted, etc, so the price shot up some. Here's a breakdown of the estimate.

$250-Presidential Paint Job

$90-Value Prep (Primer)

$150-Paint under hood & Hood Jam

$150-Paint 2 Door Jams

$85-Trunk Jam

$111.25-(materials and supply charge?)

now my $250 maaco paint job came out to a total $902.33 w/ tax.

Still not that bad of a price, I'm doing all bodywork myself and getting the glass pulled before it's painted.

Glass Quote from local Glass Doctor

-$288.17-New Front window w/ installation

-$132.50-Rear Window removal & Replacement

I have to bring them the F & R windsheld gaskets & lockstrips cuz they can't get em'.

The Quote I got from an online source:

F seal-$38

F lockstrip-$18

F molding joint-$4

R seal-$38

R lockstrip-$18

R molding joint-$4

Trunk Seal-$30

Headliner-$89.99

Remember, these are all Maaco and Ebay discount prices & I'm still looking at over $1500 for everything w/ a new front windsheild. I figure, If I get it there sealed and smooth on my end, the paint quality should be good. I might pay for an extra clear coat in the end to make it shine. I've heard about a $4500 number for 02 paintjobs, but that's too much for me, for a toy car. I'll make sure to tell how it goes w/ maaco, and what quality comes back. I know I might be cheapin' out, but I've found that Mechanics and Body shops think their time is worth way too much money. If MAACO was any more expensive I'd probably buy a HVLP gun, some charmonix paint, some clear and do it myself. I bought the car as a project anyway, and am learning something new everyday.

[esty]

People might be mad, but I'm probably going to bring it to MAACO. I didn't pay too much for the car, and I'm looking to preserve it and make it look as nice as I can.

you're doing the right thing and that is....

[[ Do It How You Want To Do It ]]

you'll love it when you get it home and back together and i'm certain many others that see it will be envious of your beautiful o2

[wohleb]

Pulling the door panels is very easy. You have to remove the interior hardware first and that's pretty easy as well. The only tricky part is removing the vent operators and they aren't that hard. There are instructions for this on line. Once the panels are off you won't have to worry about replacing them due to paint damage. History has indicated that MACCO will not be careful. So assume anything you can do to insure they don't cause damage is worth the trouble.

If you are replacing the door and rear quarter window seals expect to find rust under the chrome trim below the rear vents. Save the chrome trim that runs below the vents because it runs about $140 each piece to replace.

[FL02]

I'll probably try to pull out the interior. Thanks, but sometime when your up to you elbows in alligators it is difficult to remind yourelf the innitial objetive was to drain the swamp.

[DaveB]

LOL... Figures that you're in Florida!!

pulling the door panels really would be in your best interest. Other than that, I'm curious to see how your paintjob comes out!

... sometime when your up to you elbows in alligators it is difficult to remind yourelf the innitial objetive was to drain the swamp.

[Madvibes]

That's a great quote! Despite myriad spelling and grammar errors, you got a laugh out of me.

[Harv]

Go to NAPA and buy the 9 dollar tool that pulls the door pannel away from the door. They work well and you'll never break a clip or door pannel again.

As Mike said, remove the door handles.

IMHO, Don't go for a black headliner. I had one and hated it. Made me feel like I was in a dark cave.

John