What is the likelyhood that painting the arches yourself would turn out looking good? I found a website:
http://www.paintscratch.com/
that offers exact match colors for the mini in spray cans, as well as primers and top coats of automotive quality... what do you think? (I was also thinking of painting the aero grill inserts in my color (cosmos black) this should fit the bill nicely! :smile:

 

The dealer uses a special kind of paint to make it smooth on the arches. Because of the texture, they cannot use normal paint. So I am not sure how it would come out on the arches, that paint would be great for painting engine bay bits though. If you still want to try, I would buy some extra arches and try it on some that aren't on your car. That way if it doesn't come out good, no harm done.

 

Not entirely true. It's all in the prep. Two ways to smooth them. #1 sand them, #2 use a primer filler and sand them. Most shops use #2. For the paint itself there is a flex agent added to the paint so it will flex with the plastic and not crack. That is the over simplified basics.

To do it yourself, not unless you have the skills and equipment. A rattle can job will look like a rattle can job.

 

Point taken. I was considering buying a body filler, and primer, giving it 2-3 coats, sanding it down to around 1000 grit and then shooting it with the color... after that I was going to color sand it up to 2000 grit or so and then go over it with the clear. The paint does have a flex agent made for the plastic.
The grill should come out good regardless, no harm or foul if it doesn't- I'll just get another; the arches are another story, I bet they are expensive.

 

Umm... I don't think they are expensive, but I can't seem to find them anywhere (and it's way too late to call the dealer and ask) Maybe someone else knows?

 

Do a search on the Roadfly X3 forum. Some folks on that site have painted the wheel arches on their X3's and you can learn what they did and see what the finished product looks like.

 

If you do it yourself don't sand the primer any smoother than 600. If you manage to spray it ok then the only problem is that the spray clearcoat is not catalyzed and is probably laquer. This makes it less durable and likely to be messed up by strong waxes and polish. I only recomend this if you see this as a learning experience and not a way to save money. Also, high build filler primer should be enough to fill the texture, you will regret getting involved with body filler. Good luck.

 

Don't have the exact prices in front of me, but I think it's less than $60 for the 6 pieces around the wheel wells.

 

It cost me about $110 for all 10 wheel arches and another $50 for front and rear bumper trim.

 

I did a How-To here.

 

Great How-to, very informative.

 

great write up! Thanks for the info.

 

Your very welcome!:smile: