Matte or semi-gloss paint jobs

[M3M3]

lol....that would be "light malaga"...on the roof too. nice and flat. lack of reflectivity really cuts down on the glare on track....

[esty]

looks like old school, red oxide primer

[nbcbird]

Go semi--it will show less wear and hopefully weather a little better.

[jmon0261]

Yes, go the art car choice and please both of you

http://www.bmwdrives.com/artcars/bmw-artcars-calder.php

[vintage_car]

I painted my jeep cherokee with the cheapo gun (I like my harbor freight gun) and cheap paint from ebay, search "car paint kit". It turned out to be a 5 footer. good prep work, wet sanded and buffed out really nice!

I have rattle can'd a F150 I had, it was the matte finish and again...prepped right you get a decent paint job- it was probably a 10ft truck.

Make sure that it is not windy and warm outside when painting, the less debris the better.

[calicolorado]

I'd just like to add a comment about the Harbor Freight spray gun. It is awesome and it has parts that interchange with a SATA ($400) gun. I bought one in 2001 and have used it many times since, mostly with DuPont Chromabase paint. They have a few guns for sale, so I recommend the HVLP gun, it's now purple, and it costs 39.99. They also have a $20 one, but I think it differs from the HVLP enough to avoid it. Make sure you buy a few extra brushes to clean it and it will last a long time. I shot PCL epoxy primer on Wednesday and the thing works like a champ!

[storm]

For those using the HF gun method, what size compressor are you using? I'm trying to figure out how small I can get away with if I just go panel by panel or so.

[calicolorado]

I'm using a Craftsman 5 hp 25 gallon compressor that I bought used. I drain the tank before I use it. With the HF gun, you should spray using 35-50 psi, so keep the regulator set somewhere in there and allow the tank to fill to auto shut-off before you start. I'm a thrifty, low budget guy, so that's where my advice comes from...

[TJF]

I went from this:

To this:

To this:

Without any prior bodywork or painting experience, a couple hundred bucks in paint/primer/clear coat and lots of hours sanding.

It cost more than the rattle can approach, but way less than paying someone to do it. It's not perfect, but it's way better than it was before.

[M3M3]

is that some sort of jet engine attached to the hatch? ;-)

oh wait...mailbox....

[MrNvgtr]

Here's a few more for inspiration.

[Hammer03]

Also, some guy over at bimmerforums has a pretty awesome matte back/primered 02:

Haha, thanks that one is mine

It looks much more complete with the early side markers (Thanks again Rob!) I need to get it out and take some new pictures.

[clc]

in MrNvgtr's post above the second 02 pic, flat black, on the right is a mini with the same paint scheme, BRG & white top, you painted your mini. Thats our mini in the pic.

[TJF]

I missed that the first time, but now I see it. I went with a silver roof, just to be different. I went back and forth on which color to paint the flares and let myself get talked into silver, but would be happier with them in green. I donated the leftover paint supplies I had from the project when I moved, so I still have silver flares a couple years later.