It’s hard to get motivated to do anything related to my cars when it’s 15 degrees outside. If I’m lucky, I can keep the garage about 30 degrees above the ambient temperature, but when the best you can get is in the low 40’s, you don’t want to stay there long. Fortunately, we had a break in the cold today. With sunny skies and temperatures in the 60’s it was time to break out the hose and wash away the salt and grime. Much like the groundhog seeing his shower, the mid-February car wash means another six weeks of winter for sure. To hedge my bet, I put snow tires on the BMW.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to make any progress with the appearance of the BMW. I started out this morning to see what a little polish and a random orbital polisher could do to the severely oxidized paint on the trunk lid. Here’s a photo of what it looked like last summer.

I started off with polish and made no progress. Then I tried rubbing compound; nada. Then a combination of wax and advanced polymer polish; nothing. Getting frustrated, I got out the sandpaper. First 400 then 1000 wet/dry. I couldn’t get anything that would take a polish, so I got out the spray bomb and painted the thing.

Once I put the snow tires on and backed the car up into the sun, I realized I am making progress. The look I’m shooting for is a satin finish because this is the Stealth Bimmer after all. I’ve painted the front back to include the doors and now the trunk lid. I also got the rear-end and rear valance. Now just the rear quarter panels and roof to go.

I’ve got about 6 weeks to go until the first track event. Now I just need some drive-line work; a new clutch; brakes and… Anyway, here’s the finished product of today’s work.