billybunters - from a bmw z4 to a mx5 se

timk · Postby **timk** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:53 pm

Did it stain the white paint red?

Good to see you posting on here again!

billybunter · Postby **billybunter** » Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:11 pm

actually did. you can probable see the red tint in the above photos. i had to do a wet rub with 400 wet/dry to take it out.

as for the front bar it was a bit cold on the stripe removal day and unfortunately pulled the top coat with it. no drama though -i can fix it pretty easy.

Gladiator · Postby **Gladiator** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 2:25 am

I just stumbled across this thread. Helped fill in a few hours of my night shift. Very inspirational stuff indeed. Thanks BB.

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AndrewJZX100 · Postby **AndrewJZX100** » Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:30 pm

just read all 30 pages in one go, was an awesome read, had me constantly wishing I had the skills to paint like that (or even just had the patience to prep properly

).

I've always been a fan of white rims on white cars so I got plenty excited when I saw you were doing the wheels too haha. White works so well on an SE, I can't believe they didn't offer it here.

Loving the result so far, keep up the good work mate

billybunter · Postby **billybunter** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 8:20 pm

I had a bit of trouble removing the red plasti-dip stripes on the SE and with the help of a hair dryer i finally completed the task in hand lol.Unfortunatelythe red plasti-dip had bleached into the pure white paint work and you could easily see where they once were.
So i got into it with a few sheets of wet/dry 320 grit paper and rubbed out the mess i'd made of it.
I was about to seriously get into it and do the re-spray but seeing i painted the car under the verandah and the outdoor temps hovered around the 12 degree selsius mak it would be a waste of spraying time.
To do a reasonably job you need at least 20 deress for the base coat and a bit better when shooting on the clear coat. So the repair paint job is off till September.
Mean-while with little to do i decided to head to supercheap and bought 4 rattle cans of matt black. Sprayed it all over where I had the red stripes earlier and come September this will be my guide or rub out coat for the full re-spray or pretty close to it.
Lucky for me I still have a couple of litres of the original white so no problem there. Rub out itself will be a 2 or 3 hour job. Only a guide coat nothing serious.
Meanwhile I bought another BMW Z3 to play with. This is my 4th Z3.... Silver maual 2.2 litre.
Gotta say they go OK and look the part but to be serious they are truly a heap of crap. Handling is pathetic and tramlime consistantly and your fighting to keep them on the road.
This is not a one-off opinion - they all did it. Always good to compare one make to another and as handling goes on a stardard SE i think the boxster I had 4 years ago was on par with it and as for the Z# ...forget it LOL

Few photos to date

1. Look carefully and you can see the remains of the red stripe in the white paintwork

[IMG]
http://i907.photobucket.com/albums/ac27 ... 585dad.jpg[/IMG]

Here we go

That's it till September - It's starts again :lol:

taminga16 · Postby **taminga16** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 9:12 pm

Matt black really highlights the beauty of the bonnet, Mazda made a grave error when they detailed the 'Bulge' on the NC's and I still shudder when I look at mine.
Greg.

bootz · Postby **bootz** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 9:34 pm

taminga16 wrote: Mazda made a grave error when they designed the NC's and I still shudder when I look at mine.
Greg.

Fixed

billybunter · Postby **billybunter** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 10:00 pm

Should look like this again by September

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Sun Jun 29, 2014 1:14 pm

Good to hear from you again BB!

taminga16 wrote:Matt black really highlights the beauty of the bonnet

+1 - even the rear looks ok - would be interesting if all matt black, with possibly some silver or gold.

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Sun Jun 29, 2014 7:54 pm

93_Clubman wrote:.......would be interesting if all matt black, with possibly some silver or gold.

Not the image I was looking for (there's someone over in the US who did their SE in a matt black vinyl wrap) but this gives you a bit of an idea of how it would look. :wink:

billybunter · Postby **billybunter** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:50 am

scarey thought - i'm that close to a matte black car it would only be a rattle can away ...lol

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 11:08 am

Nevyn72 wrote:
93_Clubman wrote:...would be interesting if all matt black, with possibly some silver or gold.

Not the image I was looking for but this gives you a bit of an idea of how it would look.

Yeah, needs something to break-up the all matt black.

billybunter · Postby **billybunter** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:55 pm

pretty close now to the repaint so over the past couple of days i have started on the rub back

plus a couple of new additions to the garage

billybunter · Postby **billybunter** » Sat Aug 30, 2014 10:01 pm

started work today on the car so i have 3 good days of weather to get it together

rubbed back all the clear off the front bar - some areas deeper than other to rubb out a few stone chips. after that hit it with a plastic primer

then hit the two piece front bar with the colour coat. unfortunately it was a bit cold today to go the top coat clear so after i apply the colour to front bar/bonnet/rear bar and boot i will rub it dawn again with 600 wet/dry and blend the clear and white to complete the spray. ....or thats what i think!....lol

ManiacLachy · Postby **ManiacLachy** » Sun Aug 31, 2014 8:49 am

I always look forward to updates to this thread, thanks billybunter! You do some fantastic work, great attention to detail. How has the SE held up over time, in your opinion? Do you still rate it as a better drive than the BMWs and Porsches?

I also love your car history, and bikes. Before deciding that the SE was the car for me, I was very much considering Z4s and Z3s, with Boxsters on my halo list. What motor is that Z3 running? She looks very tidy :wink: