Interior and exterior Paints and Coatings - official thread - Page 2

NZ_M3 · 17-04-2013, 11:05 AM

Just to update this ... I managed to get hold of the Chrome Shadow matt spray paint - Part number 51 91 2 160 217 which I originally thought might be the interior plastic paint seen on the trim and steering wheel covers - turns out it is not.

This is the paint finish found on the E46 M3 18inch double spoke wheels.
Quite a cool paint actually as it sprays almost clear until you layer it up and it starts to turn into that shadow chrome finish (ala the Geneva Concept E46 M3 colour).

NZ_M3 · 25-06-2014, 02:30 AM

So I went to the official distributor of Spie Hecker and Glassurit paints here in New Zealand and asked them to search their catalogue for the elusive Titanium Shadow interior paint code to no avail ... instead, I opted for the next best thing ... I gave them a brand new trim piece and paid them to formulate it instead and mix me a batch ... I now have the paint in possession and it is a good match in my opinion. I am just awaiting on email of that formulation, once I get it I shall post for all to have

update:

Okay, so they used a Metalux tint instead as it had a cleaner silver and two correct shades ...

This is the result of a quick spray up (note the paint hasn't dried completely when I took this photo - you can just see it starting to dry in the bottom left corner of the right trim piece- left hand side is original BMW, right hand side sprayed with formulated tint).

Here's the formulation for Titanium Shadow:

karbonkid · 25-06-2014, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NZ_M3

So I went to the official distributor of Spie Hecker and Glassurit paints here in New Zealand and asked them to search their catalogue for the elusive Titanium Shadow interior paint code to no avail ... instead, I opted for the next best thing ... I gave them a brand new trim piece and paid them to formulate it instead and mix me a batch ... I now have the paint in possession and it is a good match in my opinion. I am just awaiting on email of that formulation, once I get it I shall post for all to have

update:

Okay, so they used a Metalux tint instead as it had a cleaner silver and two correct shades ...

This is the result of a quick spray up (note the paint hasn't dried completely when I took this photo - you can just see it starting to dry in the bottom left corner of the right trim piece- left hand side is original BMW, right hand side sprayed with formulated tint).

Here's the formulation for Titanium Shadow:

Nice one mate! Looks like a superb match! May just need a light rub down to flatten paintwork and to get rid of any overspray & texture.

I was only thinking of this last week when I changed mine over with some spares. The paint on the original trim can become loose and rub off very easily when doing a simple task like cleaning the alcantara - catching the edge of the trims.
Just need my spares rubbed down now and re-painted. I wonder if they used a satin lacquer to seal the paint afterwards??

NZ_M3 · 25-06-2014, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karbonkid

Nice one mate! Looks like a superb match! May just need a light rub down to flatten paintwork and to get rid of any overspray & texture.

I was only thinking of this last week when I changed mine over with some spares. The paint on the original trim can become loose and rub off very easily when doing a simple task like cleaning the alcantara - catching the edge of the trims.
Just need my spares rubbed down now and re-painted. I wonder if they used a satin lacquer to seal the paint afterwards??

Alex, the tint formula above is a base coat colour, the reason it was done this way was so it could be sealed off in either satin or gloss should it be desired. To be honest I actually think the factory finish is simply a quick base coat spray with no sealing, hence why it is so easily marked and rubbed off.

Anyway, did another quick budget spray tonight with zero prep work on a random trim I had ... single coat cover and no rub down whatsoever. The base trim colour was black originally and I simply sprayed straight over it ... (the texture on this trim is a little weird as it had a strange texture to the plastic - one of the really early E46 trims that was almost leather like in appearance, hence the subtle difference you see)

Without flash:

Under flash:

JBird · 26-06-2014, 01:08 AM

That does look pretty close in terms of colour Tom. Sorry I haven't fully understood your post, is the formula and brand you have come up with 100% OEM, or a very good match?

I had some bits done recently too. Painter sprayed up 7 or 8 test cards till we found a colour match. We first went through 100's of colour cards, also from other manufactures (as I remember a post on here that a Renault colour was a good match). In the end we decided that it must be a fairly standard BMW colour.

Colour
BMW Sebring Gray #229 was a close match. I was not convinced, but the painter reckoned it would look different with a matt clear coat. We painted up test cards with all close BMW greys, with a 50% matt clear coat. Indeed Sebring grey was as close a match to OEM as my eyes could see, once clear coated.

Clear Coat
I also though that the OEM finish was just a base coat since it wears off so easily. Painter said that was not possible, and it would have had a very thin clear coat. Question was how much matting agent should be in the clear coat. (Sorry for the lack or correct terminology of what exactly the 'matting agent' was, the painter would not say, just that it was what every painter used). We painted up cards in 5% steps, 100% being a full gloss, 0% being completely flat. We started at 40%, and went down from there. The painter would not tell me the final value, but I have a feeling it was around 30% gloss.

Parts wet & dried back to bare plastic:

Even though the lower trim is white plastic and the upper black (really BMW?), a base coat was not really needed, however, I found that on the awkward clippy bits on the sides of the parts (where I hadn't fully removed the OEM paint) the over spray caused the original paint to bubble, so to prevent this its good to do a thin grey primer coat first.

All Painted:

I don't have any comparison shots, but in the areas where the OEM paint was left and masked over you can get a good idea of how close it is.

All in all I would say the colour is a very good match, but I won't go out and say it is exactly what BMW used (or better or worse than Tom's match). More of a challenge is the clear coat. I'd say the parts I had done are slightly more reflective than OEM, so there may have needed to be less matting agent, but we are talking 2.5 - 5% less gloss. The thickness of the clear coat has an effect to. Obviously you want a bit on there so it lasts, and I think this effects the texture and reflection. The BMW coat was very thin to the point of being unpractical, so difficult to get a 100% match.

Anyway, I got a whole set (dash, steering wheel, console) done at once, so no one can ever tell the difference. Anyway, at worse the difference between the end result and OEM, was less that the difference between OEM door handles and OEM steering wheel trims (they are a bit off, more clear coat on the door handles???).

Hope this helps. They were done the Oxford area, so PM if you live nearby and want the painters details. I'm not mentioning him directly on the forum as he wouldn't give me the full details of the clear coat even though I paid for his time. He has kept the paint card though, so you could use this as a starting point.

My recommendations for improvement would be:
- Either 100% remove all OEM paint, incl the back sides and clips (don't know how, light sand blast or chemical), or just use a primer, (even though BMW didn't)
- Test the degree of matting agent on a spare trim first (any E46 steering wheel trim will do). Paint cards are only a starting point.

Jeewiz, that was supposed to be a quick post, talk about OCD. CSL did that to me.

toenheel · 03-03-2015, 08:11 PM

Thread resurrection!!

I've got wear on the steering wheel trim, I've had some Sebring grey paint mixed tonight and it seems a good match. Debating if it needs lacquer but bought matt finish which seems to be there or thereabouts certainly better than it looks at the moment. Will post some after pics tomorrow hopefully.

JBird · 04-03-2015, 10:57 AM

I don't know what paint you have purchased, but you most certainly need a top coat. As I mentioned, the Sebring Grey did not look like the closet match until the mat clear was put over the top. You also are going to want the clear coat for some protection so the same thing doesn't happening again.

toenheel · 04-03-2015, 02:55 PM

Pretty happy with the result just this minute re assembled.

geminiM3 · 15-03-2018, 08:05 PM

Great post!
Someone can help me explaining me how ti remove the M-track mode button from the upper trim of the steeering wheel?
Best regards

NBTBRV8 · 29-12-2023, 07:17 AM

Did anyone ever come up with the correct paint and finish for the rubberised product on the rear seat console and rear seat backrests?

25-06-2014, 02:30 AM	#12
NZ_M3 S5, Sport On, DSC M-track Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,434 Casino cash: $13579	So I went to the official distributor of Spie Hecker and Glassurit paints here in New Zealand and asked them to search their catalogue for the elusive Titanium Shadow interior paint code to no avail ... instead, I opted for the next best thing ... I gave them a brand new trim piece and paid them to formulate it instead and mix me a batch ... I now have the paint in possession and it is a good match in my opinion. I am just awaiting on email of that formulation, once I get it I shall post for all to have update: Okay, so they used a Metalux tint instead as it had a cleaner silver and two correct shades ... This is the result of a quick spray up (note the paint hasn't dried completely when I took this photo - you can just see it starting to dry in the bottom left corner of the right trim piece- left hand side is original BMW, right hand side sprayed with formulated tint). Here's the formulation for Titanium Shadow: Last edited by NZ_M3; 25-06-2014 at 06:03 AM.

15-03-2018, 08:05 PM	#19
geminiM3 Mode S1 - Starting Out Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Brescia, Italy Posts: 21 Casino cash: $1137	Great post! Someone can help me explaining me how ti remove the M-track mode button from the upper trim of the steeering wheel? Best regards __________________

17-04-2013, 11:05 AM	#11
NZ_M3 S5, Sport On, DSC M-track Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,434 Casino cash: $13579	Just to update this ... I managed to get hold of the Chrome Shadow matt spray paint - Part number 51 91 2 160 217 which I originally thought might be the interior plastic paint seen on the trim and steering wheel covers - turns out it is not. This is the paint finish found on the E46 M3 18inch double spoke wheels. Quite a cool paint actually as it sprays almost clear until you layer it up and it starts to turn into that shadow chrome finish (ala the Geneva Concept E46 M3 colour).

26-06-2014, 01:08 AM	#15
JBird S5 - Full Throttle Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Munich Posts: 280 Casino cash: $5259	That does look pretty close in terms of colour Tom. Sorry I haven't fully understood your post, is the formula and brand you have come up with 100% OEM, or a very good match? I had some bits done recently too. Painter sprayed up 7 or 8 test cards till we found a colour match. We first went through 100's of colour cards, also from other manufactures (as I remember a post on here that a Renault colour was a good match). In the end we decided that it must be a fairly standard BMW colour. Colour BMW Sebring Gray #229 was a close match. I was not convinced, but the painter reckoned it would look different with a matt clear coat. We painted up test cards with all close BMW greys, with a 50% matt clear coat. Indeed Sebring grey was as close a match to OEM as my eyes could see, once clear coated. Clear Coat I also though that the OEM finish was just a base coat since it wears off so easily. Painter said that was not possible, and it would have had a very thin clear coat. Question was how much matting agent should be in the clear coat. (Sorry for the lack or correct terminology of what exactly the 'matting agent' was, the painter would not say, just that it was what every painter used). We painted up cards in 5% steps, 100% being a full gloss, 0% being completely flat. We started at 40%, and went down from there. The painter would not tell me the final value, but I have a feeling it was around 30% gloss. Parts wet & dried back to bare plastic: Even though the lower trim is white plastic and the upper black (really BMW?), a base coat was not really needed, however, I found that on the awkward clippy bits on the sides of the parts (where I hadn't fully removed the OEM paint) the over spray caused the original paint to bubble, so to prevent this its good to do a thin grey primer coat first. All Painted: I don't have any comparison shots, but in the areas where the OEM paint was left and masked over you can get a good idea of how close it is. All in all I would say the colour is a very good match, but I won't go out and say it is exactly what BMW used (or better or worse than Tom's match). More of a challenge is the clear coat. I'd say the parts I had done are slightly more reflective than OEM, so there may have needed to be less matting agent, but we are talking 2.5 - 5% less gloss. The thickness of the clear coat has an effect to. Obviously you want a bit on there so it lasts, and I think this effects the texture and reflection. The BMW coat was very thin to the point of being unpractical, so difficult to get a 100% match. Anyway, I got a whole set (dash, steering wheel, console) done at once, so no one can ever tell the difference. Anyway, at worse the difference between the end result and OEM, was less that the difference between OEM door handles and OEM steering wheel trims (they are a bit off, more clear coat on the door handles???). Hope this helps. They were done the Oxford area, so PM if you live nearby and want the painters details. I'm not mentioning him directly on the forum as he wouldn't give me the full details of the clear coat even though I paid for his time. He has kept the paint card though, so you could use this as a starting point. My recommendations for improvement would be: - Either 100% remove all OEM paint, incl the back sides and clips (don't know how, light sand blast or chemical), or just use a primer, (even though BMW didn't) - Test the degree of matting agent on a spare trim first (any E46 steering wheel trim will do). Paint cards are only a starting point. Jeewiz, that was supposed to be a quick post, talk about OCD. CSL did that to me.

03-03-2015, 08:11 PM	#16
toenheel S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Tyne & Wear Posts: 128 Casino cash: $2832	Thread resurrection!! I've got wear on the steering wheel trim, I've had some Sebring grey paint mixed tonight and it seems a good match. Debating if it needs lacquer but bought matt finish which seems to be there or thereabouts certainly better than it looks at the moment. Will post some after pics tomorrow hopefully.

04-03-2015, 10:57 AM	#17
JBird S5 - Full Throttle Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Munich Posts: 280 Casino cash: $5259	I don't know what paint you have purchased, but you most certainly need a top coat. As I mentioned, the Sebring Grey did not look like the closet match until the mat clear was put over the top. You also are going to want the clear coat for some protection so the same thing doesn't happening again.

04-03-2015, 02:55 PM	#18
toenheel S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Tyne & Wear Posts: 128 Casino cash: $2832	Pretty happy with the result just this minute re assembled.

29-12-2023, 07:17 AM	#20
NBTBRV8 S5 - Full Throttle Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Other Side of the World Posts: 278 Casino cash: $10857	Did anyone ever come up with the correct paint and finish for the rubberised product on the rear seat console and rear seat backrests?