Just completed phase 1 of my BMW project, and figured I should post it up here since this site has been the most informative in helping me learn to paint. It's a 98 M3 that I drive most days in the summer. I had a wavy fiberglass hood on it with failed clear coat peeling off from a previous paint job where I used inferior paint. I shelled out for some HoK clear this time, and it turned out much better. I put on a new ABS bumper, a new steel nose panel, and spent about 50 hours trying to block the ripples out of the hood. I got it about 95% straight before I ran out of primer.

I sprayed the red (looks a bit orange in the picture, but it's actually Ferrari Rosso Corsa), taped it off, sprayed metallic black to match the rest of the car, unmasked, clear coated whole thing, and then knocked down the tape ridge and a couple runs with 1500, sanded up to 3000, then Meguiars 105, Ultimate Compound, and Polish.

Phase 2 - I'm going to do the rear end in similar fashion, it has a shallow dent in the center of the tail panel right below the trunk lid from mounting an ill-advised bike rack on it a few years ago. So that part will get some filler, and then the red stripe.



This was my first time in a shop with a real spray gun and compressor. The only paint I've done previously was a filler and rattle can BC/CC job on my race bike (which was totaled at the track a couple years later).

I like the way it's turned out so far, and am starting to think my old Impreza would look good in a fresh coat of Rally Blue Pearl:

Watch out once you have the bug you will want to paint everything Keep up the good work and the project photos, we love to see them!

That turned out great!!

Thanks! Just finished the back of the car.
The back had pretty good factory clear, but had a shallow dent in the tail panel that's welded in right below the trunk lid. I went to bare metal there and fixed it up with some filler, then feathered it out to 600 grit and hit the rest of the tail panel, the bumper, and the trunk lid with 600 too.
Then I did two layers of masking and sprayed the red, pulled off the first layer, cleaned up the tape lines, and then clear coated the red and all the black parts I sanded.

Ended up with some nasty orange peel in the clear in one spot - around the license plate. I'll have to sand that flat and re-cut and buff at some point. The rest of it turned out pretty good with no sanding.
Then I ran out of paint before I could do the bumper trim, so it's missing from the photo. Have to order a little more and finish that up next week.

In between doing the front and the back, I replaced all the timing chains, guides and tensioners, motor mounts, and variable valve timing actuator, power steering hoses, and all the gaskets and seals on the front of the engine. No more leaks, ready for some track time!

And, my next project is going to be my '98 Honda VFR800. The original Honda Italian Red has faded too far towards pink due to years in the sun, so I'm respraying it HOK Kosmos Red.