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Ron Stygar Carl Buckland Dale Beuning Forums Help
From digest.v7.n1022 Mon Jan 26 19:43:52 1998 Most S-14 and S-38 engines (E-30 M3, M5, M6) have accumulated various scratches in the wrinkle finish of the cam cover and plenum over the years. This damage can be repaired easily by anyone with a few hours of free time, a little bit of concentration and a few days during which the car can be retired. The key ingred ient is black wrinkle paint from the Eastwood Company ($6.99,800/820-9042). You can probably touch up the parts, but I chose to strip them both to get rid of the residual yellow in some areas from the shipping preservative that BMW is inclined to spray on everything and which most dealers do not get entirely removed prior to delivery. Paint also ages, and I wanted a uniform finish. After stripping the metal and washing in clear water I ran the parts through a cycle in the dishwasher (ask first!) to clean any residue off that I might have missed. The parts then need to be carefully masked, a process that takes a couple of hours. There may be an easier way, but I used 3/4' masking tape, trimming with a sharp Xacto knife. The entire process takes at 2 hours. Once masked, follow the directions on the can. Note, however, that drying time may be longer. I would suggest that you not even look at the parts for 24 hours because the wrinkle finish doesn't appear until the final part of drying. Looking at the parts before they are dry causes one to think that all his/her effort s will need to be repeated ‹ not a pleasant thought after all of the masking! Once dry, the masking tape should be removed as soon as possible as the adhesive tends to bond with age and cause problems. If you want to refresh the polish on the silver parts of the parts, use a few straight strokes of a flat sanding block with 1500 grit wet or dry sandpaper. Total cost ‹ under $10. Lots of improvement to most cars that aren't concours queens. Also promotes bonding between driver and machine ‹ very good for carma. Have fun!! Jerry Kolb
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