Door tweeter grill

UK forum for general and technical discussion about the Z3 roadster
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mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Door tweeter grill

Post by mrscalex »

These things often end up stained - mine certainly is. Has anyone tried to paint these to refurb them? What sort of preparation (does it need to be sanded) and paint (type and finish - matt?) are best?

Thanks
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
bentley-boy
Joined: Mon 28 Oct, 2013 19:35
Posts: 261

  blank

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by bentley-boy »

Hi, guess a degrease with meths and assuming there is still paint on then just use an aerosol acrylic paint, matt finish probably closer match than satin matt. If paint has gone or partially gone then use an aerosol acrylic primer. Wilko is the cheapest place for paint and they do stock it. If you use a vinyl dressing on your interior this will probably give a deeper black finish in which case a satin matt finish would be better.
Hope it goes well, Adrian
bertiejaffa
Joined: Fri 26 Jul, 2013 09:28
Posts: 1733

  M roadster S50
Location: Manchester

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by bertiejaffa »

mrscalex wrote:These things often end up stained - mine certainly is. Has anyone tried to paint these to refurb them? What sort of preparation (does it need to be sanded) and paint (type and finish - matt?) are best?

Thanks
see my 2.0l journal under my signature.... can of spray from halfords
Here come the girls.....
Image
My //M Refurb
My First Zed Journal
Mor61e
Joined: Mon 21 Jan, 2013 20:11
Posts: 96

  Z3 roadster 2.8

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Mor61e »

I've done this too. Gave them a sand with a scotch pad and satin black spray

You can actually buy them new still for a bargain £30 each :roll: :D
Image
mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by mrscalex »

Nice one. Cheers guys.

And does anyone know where the felt sandwiched under the grill is meant to sit? Over both speaker holes? Mine would never have been touched from the factory but on one side the felt is intact over the speaker hole and on the other it is torn away. Barely matters but if it's all coming apart and is being sorted I might as well do it. Any ideas for suitable replacement felt - it's very thin? Thanks!
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Del »

Did a “Rolls Royce” job on mine a couple of years back. Removed and carefully unpicked & rubbed down with scotch pad. As the aluminium looked a bit flaky/dusty, sprayed with etch primer with coat of semi-gloss black on top. The “netting” behind was breaking down so used (as recommended elsewhere) pieces of the black weed suppressing material used by gardeners under chippings etc. Looks like new now. :)
mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by mrscalex »

Del wrote:Did a “Rolls Royce” job on mine a couple of years back. Removed and carefully unpicked & rubbed down with scotch pad. As the aluminium looked a bit flaky/dusty, sprayed with etch primer with coat of semi-gloss black on top. The “netting” behind was breaking down so used (as recommended elsewhere) pieces of the black weed suppressing material used by gardeners under chippings etc. Looks like new now. :)
That's funny as I nearly suggested the weed barrier but I thought I might induce horrified comments from audiophiles. Good enough for you Del, good enough for me.

Did you stretch it over the whole internal surface area including the speaker area itself? I guess that's right and like yours mine had broken down too giving the impression it wasn't meant to be over the hole.

I'll use the etch primer too as you're right, it does look like aluminium.

Thanks!
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
Boosh
Joined: Sun 30 Nov, 2014 22:40
Posts: 324

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Boosh »

Hi, my RedZed needs that done, too, as one side seems to have streaky rust marks. I recently vinyl-wrapped the door card runners, but didn't think of even looking into doing that job while the door cards were off... Are special tools needed to remove the grilles from the door cards, or can that be done in situ?
Thanks for your advice,

Boosh.
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Del »

Unfortunately you need to remove the door cards to do this job as there is a screw at the back holding the mesh unit in place. When you remove the mesh unit you will see that there are small tabs in the mesh that go through holes in a frame to hold the two together. You need to very carefully straighten the tabs to gently separate the two – a job best done carefully on the kitchen table, without rushing and with a glass of beer. :D The cloth lining covers the whole of the mesh – you are not supposed to see a hole or the actual speaker.
Boosh
Joined: Sun 30 Nov, 2014 22:40
Posts: 324

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Boosh »

Thanks for that, Del.
Unfortunately the cloth lining has disintegrated to fluffy bits on both sides: I take note of the gardener's replacement mentioned above. But even worse: I now live in France, and proper beer is very hard to come by! Fizzy gnat's p*ss is readily available, but I wouldn't even try the stuff... Horses for courses, I suppose.
Still, it looks like easy enough a job, shame I didn't think of it last time I took the doors apart...
Thanks again
Boosh.
Brian4
Joined: Mon 19 Dec, 2011 19:02
Posts: 541

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Hinckley

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Brian4 »

Agree with all regarding weed control fabric. Carefully take them apart as Del said and clean repaint as needed and then the fabric covers all the grille. Carefully bend the tabs back when finished.
Brian
3.0I Topaz Blue


2000 E36/7 Z3 3.0i
2016 F31 335d
2015 F21 118i
bertiejaffa
Joined: Fri 26 Jul, 2013 09:28
Posts: 1733

  M roadster S50
Location: Manchester

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by bertiejaffa »

bertiejaffa wrote:
mrscalex wrote:These things often end up stained - mine certainly is. Has anyone tried to paint these to refurb them? What sort of preparation (does it need to be sanded) and paint (type and finish - matt?) are best?

Thanks
see my 2.0l journal under my signature.... can of spray from halfords
Apologies - I thought I had put the speaker grill in my journal but I havent - anyway, here are a couple of pics of mine.. pulled them out as described, the felt was also shot as well as the grills being rusty...

1. Remove Grills and pull apart
2. Sand down Grills and spray with suitable paint - I used Titanium Silver spray paint from Halfords to match the car.
3. Get girlfriends best black tights and cut them up
4. Get beer and a pin, sit in sunshine and slowly open up all the little holes that closed with when the paint dried
5. Refit to car

Image

Image
Here come the girls.....
Image
My //M Refurb
My First Zed Journal
DC
Joined: Tue 15 Sep, 2009 17:31
Posts: 571

  Z3 roadster 1.9
Location: Inverness-shire

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by DC »

Another thread which I found useful when I did mine a few years back.
http://www.zroadster.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11887

Dave.
Dave. 1998 Arctic Silver Z3 M44 1.9 Automatic
Bonzo
Joined: Wed 21 Mar, 2012 21:52
Posts: 866

  Z3 roadster 2.8
Location: Norfolk

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Bonzo »

Mine were a bit discoloured, went over them with a black permanent marker, 2 coats, perfect.

:cheers

Bonzo
Z3lda (Zelda), 1998 2.8, Montreal Blue, Beige Oregon leather interior and M steering wheel, Sports Seats, Wood trim, Chrome Line Interior, Centre armrest with Cupholder, Alpina Softline wheels, Chromed Angel Eyes, De- tango'd, Rear stone guards, Sport aerial, ASC front strut brace, Strong Strut Butt Strut and Body Brace, Uprated brake fluid, Yellowstuff pads 78k.
mrscalex
Joined: Fri 13 Mar, 2015 09:14
Posts: 910

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by mrscalex »

Bonzo wrote:Mine were a bit discoloured, went over them with a black permanent marker, 2 coats, perfect.

:cheers

Bonzo
I collect and restore old Scalextric cars and I use marker to touch in chipped black paint on the engine areas etc. It does a an effective job. Although it can have a purple-ish hue to it.

I'm gonna have a go at spraying though. Last time I used a spray can was about 30 years ago on a Mk 1 Escort! Was never happy with the finish but maybe spray paints have moved on since then.
ImageImage
2001 Z3 2.2 Topaz Blue (Trudy) - Keeper rebuilt from a write-off
2002 Z3 2.2 Titan Silver (Cookies) - Keeper rebuilt having been bought with a seized engine
2002 Z3 3.0 Sapphire Black (Peanut) - Keeper awaiting rebuilding having been bought as an abandoned project
Plus Willy, Kodak & Maycee - All 2.2 Sport projects. Yes, 6 is a lot of Z3s :)
Always happy to try and help with spares :)
bertiejaffa
Joined: Fri 26 Jul, 2013 09:28
Posts: 1733

  M roadster S50
Location: Manchester

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by bertiejaffa »

To be honest, I think it will be fine - my advise would be to spray in one direction at a time, ie left to right, stop, then right to left, and do it quickly. I moved my arm quickly when doing mine but didnt release the button as I moved from left to right and I think that extra milli second of paint is what resulted in the blocked holes as they were only at the ends - the middle was perfect.
Here come the girls.....
Image
My //M Refurb
My First Zed Journal
Boosh
Joined: Sun 30 Nov, 2014 22:40
Posts: 324

  Z3 roadster 1.9i

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by Boosh »

Got on with doing mine this afternoon. It's a fairly easy job, as long as you don't rush, as the grilles can easily be bent out of shape. The only problem I encountered was the primer blocking up some holes, but that was caused by my spraying too close. After waiting for it to dry, and stabbing the grille with a longish nail brush, I was back on track. Just remember to start spraying from afar, and get closer as you need to: if you start too close and spray too thick, there's no going back... I used a black ladies' tight (the tight was black, you know what I mean...) to replace the belly-button fluff that the original felt had become, and hey, presto! back to its original glory! I can't have taken more than 45mm for the second side, including stripping and refitting the door card. An easy and cheap job that makes a nice difference. Can only encourage other members to do it.

Boosh.

Ps: I like the silver look pictured above, and thought of vinyl-wrapping the plastic edge of the grilles, but there wasn't enough material to stick properly, so I stuck with original black look.
Image
Last edited by Boosh on Wed 23 Mar, 2016 08:39, edited 2 times in total.
bertiejaffa
Joined: Fri 26 Jul, 2013 09:28
Posts: 1733

  M roadster S50
Location: Manchester

Re: Door tweeter grill

Post by bertiejaffa »

Good work that man - nice to see someone else spraying too close as well... "a trap for young players" is the phrase that springs to mind :cheers
Here come the girls.....
Image
My //M Refurb
My First Zed Journal
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