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2002 E46 330i Touring - Treating Rust

403 views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  M3G 
#1 ·
Hi,

My trusty old BMW is coming up to 243,000 miles - that's about 7.5 years of ownership and 100,000 miles that I've done in it. Great car, and one that I will drive for as long as possible.

She's in Titan Silver - 354, and in great shape. I had the alloys refurbished a few years ago and I replaced the passenger front wing last year due to rust.

There a bunch of tiny blemishes that have developed into small patches of unsightly rust. None are bigger than 3cm squared area, some are less than 0.5cm squared.

They seem very superficial as opposed to deep in the metal. I've got a couple around the rear window hatch, a couple on each rear wing, a couple on the strip between the doors and the skirt. Because they cover multiple panels (although each is small and quite minor) the cost for a professional respray would be far too high for me.

I've tried to find somewhere that would do a basic job for around the £300 mark, but we didn't even get as far as a cost as every place said....oh metallic silver, you need a professional spray shop.

All I want to do is stop the rust and stop the repair from being too visible from 2 or 3 metres away. I'm aware that metallic silver is one of the hardest colours to blend in, but that's fine, I'm just protecting the old girl's dignity in her twilight years :)

So, finally, I'm looking for specific recommended details for having a go myself.

  • Perhaps a recommended guide, perhaps a youtube video for treating rust and applying paint lacquer - but without expensive specialist tools.
  • Make/ details of rust treatment recommended
  • Make / details of paint / laquer recommended
  • Any tools needed for the whole process

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks,
Andy
 
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#2 ·
I have the very same paint on my E46 and find that a lot of body shops like to inflate the difficulty in order to justify a high price, seems they dont want small jobs. Later I found some guys who came to my house in north London and they worked in the street, did a fantastic job on my front spoiler for a great price, and no fussing about a pro paint shop. I'm going to have them back when the weather is dry, they will do my rear wheel arches for just £160.
 
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