What have YOU done to your 986 today ?

[Bradders59]

On 10/23/2021 at 7:26 PM, 999mch said:

Swapped wheels and tyres over as old fronts worn badly, and managed to pick up a good second set a couple of weeks back. Just need to get a 4 wheel alignment done next week. Think the new ones look pretty good

I would recommend Tyresmart at Witham for four wheel alignment. 

[kevs]

Fitted new wiper blades and got rid of the yellowing at the top of the headlights with some Turtle Wax headlight restorer. I wasn't expecting it to work as well as it did.

[RalphyBMW]

Used it for the first time since fitting rear speakers; as everyone says, don’t expect a big difference; noting they are small speakers and largely blocked by the seats. There is a definite improvement though.

Also, got nearly 60 litres onboard which cost £96!!!!!

[Halfordwill]

Washed, cleaned, re coloured and sealed the hood for winter. 
 

[the baron]

SORN’d the old girl……..

as I’ve now bought a 996 C4 to use through the winter 😀

[map]

2 hours ago, the baron said:

as I’ve now bought a 996 C4 to use through the winter 😀

Will you post some pictures and updates?

[the baron]

18 minutes ago, map said:

Will you post some pictures and updates?

Of course

[the baron]

1 hour ago, the baron said:

Of course

 

[Daboy3000]

Painted over the odd green colour to match my paint callipers (when I paint them). Although I did think about doing the callipers in green, to match the badge.

Before

Edited November 2, 2021 by Daboy3000

[Photogirl]

You've done a fabulous job with that badge, it looks perfect. 

[Daboy3000]

1 minute ago, Photogirl said:

You've done a fabulous job with that badge, it looks perfect. 

Thanks.  Alfa Rosso  Shhhhhh...

[edc]

36 minutes ago, Daboy3000 said:

Thanks.  Alfa Rosso  Shhhhhh...

http://imgur.com/NSELxpL

[½cwt]

Finally forked out for the last two main suspension components I haven't yet changed (except for ARBs), 2 x TRW rear tuning forks from Autodoc, just under £130 incl delivery and with 4.85% cash back (about £6) from Top Cash Back.

Fill fit them some time over the the winter if/when I get a fine dry Saturday or Sunday.

[RalphyBMW]

That’s pretty good value, I went Spyder and they weren’t much cheaper iirc

[edc]

3 hours ago, ½cwt said:

Finally forked out for the last two main suspension components I haven't yet changed (except for ARBs), 2 x TRW rear tuning forks from Autodoc, just under £130 incl delivery and with 4.85% cash back (about £6) from Top Cash Back.

Fill fit them some time over the the winter if/when I get a fine dry Saturday or Sunday.

Unless your arbs are compromised or you want to update them I'd leave them alone. 

[½cwt]

10 hours ago, edc said:

Unless your arbs are compromised or you want to update them I'd leave them alone. 

Front is getting rather corroded near the bushes, and rear in the middle but no rush. May be take them off strip and remove rush the powder coat them if not too bad.

[Daboy3000]

Been working on these this week, never done a colour change on seats before. Today I pulled out the drivers seat.

My seats were in mediocre condition, I had to patch and fill a hole on the side and lots of cracks. Painted the runners, restored the seat belt buckle etc. Still got to do the drivers seat as well as the door cards and dash etc. 

Couldn't find the right grey, the seats seem to be darker than they should be, nothing else is the same shade. So I decided to go lighter, next to white it looks fairly dark, but when you see it next to the old one it looks much lighter. 

It's going to make it much lighter in there and bring all the shades together. 

[jonogt6]

11 minutes ago, Daboy3000 said:

Been working on these this week, never done a colour change on seats before. Today I pulled out the drivers seat.

My seats were in mediocre condition, I had to patch and fill a hole on the side and lots of cracks. Painted the runners, restored the seat belt buckle etc. Still got to do the drivers seat as well as the door cards and dash etc. 

Couldn't find the right grey, the seats seem to be darker than they should be, nothing else is the same shade. So I decided to go lighter, next to white it looks fairly dark, but when you see it next to the old one it looks much lighter. 

It's going to make it much lighter in there and bring all the shades together. 

Wow that looks great. Top job 👍

[Photogirl]

Awesome job @Daboy3000!  I've recently finished restoring my interior leather, time consuming but well worth it. My leather (factory original) felt almost like it had some kind of coating on it, it was so hard to get the dye to soak in despite endless cleaning prep and stripping attempts. I used the Colorlock dyes and found them to be quite thin, I used around ten thin layers on some areas.

Then first time in the workshop after finishing and they managed to scratch the side of the driver's seat. 

[½cwt]

I don't want to put a dampener on this, however my driver's seat had the side bolsters filled and coloured by a previous owner.  Unfortunately by the time I got it the cracks had reappeared and an upholsterer I took it to said new leather was the only option, or as I did in the end a better second hand seat.  Hope yours lasts better @Photogirl and @Daboy3000.

[Photogirl]

23 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

I don't want to put a dampener on this, however my driver's seat had the side bolsters filled and coloured by a previous owner.  Unfortunately by the time I got it the cracks had reappeared and an upholsterer I took it to said new leather was the only option, or as I did in the end a better second hand seat.  Hope yours lasts better @Photogirl and @Daboy3000.

I'm hoping mine will last - I spent an age just on the prep and the end result looks original. I wasn't recolouring, just restoring areas of the same with an exact dye match. My bolster leather colour is scratch-prone (metropol blue) and came to me with a bit of wear. It's back to looking good now but may need periodic retouching (when other people damage it - always the way and I literally dread taking my car to a workshop). 

As you say, sometimes restoration is the bit in between an eventual re-covering (or replacement) if you're doing large areas. 

[Daboy3000]

2 hours ago, ½cwt said:

I don't want to put a dampener on this, however my driver's seat had the side bolsters filled and coloured by a previous owner.  Unfortunately by the time I got it the cracks had reappeared and an upholsterer I took it to said new leather was the only option, or as I did in the end a better second hand seat.  Hope yours lasts better @Photogirl and @Daboy3000.

I would imagine that yours was just badly prepared, too far gone or just a cheap fix. With the products I'm using they're is no reason for it not to last. 

[Photogirl]

6 minutes ago, Daboy3000 said:

I would imagine that yours was just badly prepared, too far gone or just a cheap fix. With the products I'm using they're is no reason for it not to last. 

Yes, the prep is everything - I literally spent days on the cleaning and degreasing. It also depends on which products are used, and some require a separate sealant. A lot also depends on the type of leather.

[½cwt]

4 hours ago, Daboy3000 said:

I would imagine that yours was just badly prepared, too far gone or just a cheap fix. With the products I'm using they're is no reason for it not to last. 

You may well be right, an amateur not being disciplined enough to do what is really a pro job.  Sounds likie you are doing the hard yards in the preparation.  Hope it works out.

[Slinger]

Not done anything to it apart  give it a dam good blast to Whitchurch and back.