Detailing My BMW Escalated... Quickly - BMW E28 520i Front End Restoration

Today's afternoon turned out different than I was expecting. The plan was to clean up the exterior of the BMW because I feel like that there is a lot of untapped potential in that department. But sadly an encounter with the cars rusty heritage forced me to change direction slightly.
0:00 Intro
2:47 Removing the Front panel
7:30 Rust Removal
9:59 Battery Tray fix
14:56 Etch Primer
16:34 Welding
18:36 Result
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[@RomasTam]

It's really nice to see you advance and improve! The narration got more interesting and clear, the angles are way better and the whole pace is just right - not too slow, not too fast. I've been really enjoying your videos since the start, definitely one of the channels I look up to coming back every week

[@taunuslunatic404]

Great video. Don't be so hard on yourself for not being an accomplished metal fabricator. You are still learning and you're better than most people will ever be.

[@ivokiller2000intel]

Discovering rust is always a bummer, but also a relief as you know it can be fixed before it does more harm. keep up the great work

[@aaronpentith130]

Memphis, Don't worry about the Silver zinc coating. Better that the hardware is protected than the right Colour.

[@taunuslunatic404]

Can't agree more.

[@francispowell1811]

Full respray. It's worth it. Get all replacement panels while they're available. You've done a really good job. You're sincerity shines through.

[@HAunderscoreVE]

A memphis video? Instant like.

[@nigelbond4056]

I think you’re incredibly humble when you say you’re not the most knowledgeable guy when dealing with bodywork, to me your knowledge and skill is brilliant and the end result genuinely impressive. I love that nothing ever seems to faze you, even discovering tin worm behind the front bumper. Compulsive viewing with fabulous commentary. Love your channel Memphis ❤️👍👏

[@habsom1406]

Totally agree!

[@paulpateman6723]

Loving the E28 content Memphis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿👍🇬🇧👍

[@itsandernow]

Hahaha, loved your laught when you finally took the part in the front of the car ♥

[@dorinbugnar5930]

Such perfect timing, when the video came up I was working on my Audi. Now that the job is done I can finally watch it.

[@BahjatAlaadel]

Huge step! Well done. Buy the yellow chromate from Caswell and you can dip the zinc parts to make them gold.

[@douglasb.1203]

A man and his Makita. Certain to be the best BMW in Belgium.

[@stiliqn007]

I feel ya. Few days ago I was putting sound insulation in the trunk of my car until...I got to the 2nd half of my trunk and poked at 1 spot that seemed iffy. Ended up taking out all the seam sealer in that area, scrubbing it,hammering it a bit, rust converting, epoxy primering and sealing up the whole panel again. Oh ya, a few days later I even managed to put the last sound insulation lol

[@hauke4651]

It is as it always was…if you remove one part from an old car to fix a problem …it’s a unsaid rule that you’ll find an other problem 🤣🤣it’s like a episode of removals unless half of the car is stripped down 🤣🤣🤣

[@arni780pl]

rust converter doesn't stick well to clean metal, only to rust. So after using it you should gring all surface to clean metal, use etch primer and paint coat. In places wher were original spot welds it's better to use copper spray. Every primer will burn when welding so between metal sheets you have bare metal which watiting for a corosion

[@jasper6004]

He used brunox which happens to be an epoxy primer as well.

[@arni780pl]

@@jasper6004 brunox is little overrated for me as a primer. But under welding spot every primer will burn leaving clean metal surface. Copper coat for example Forch L233 or similar is much better: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZnMgGZ6gpJmeJI (in Polish but I'm sure video is clear) Many proffesional car restorers using this method

[@faustp23]

Great work! I have to do the same to my car, I removed one of my light housing and found rust behind the front ...I have to go through the same process, wish I had a garage. That's what holds me up

[@michaeltutty1540]

Great job, Memphis. That old car is going to be bloody gorgeous when you are done with it. I'm really looking forward to watching the progress. For one, I am learning what to watch for when I start a real restoration on my 1990 Volvo 240DL Estate. 31 Ontario, Canada winters have not been kind to Old Arthur, and neither have the 607,000 kilometers on the clock. It will be fun, to say the least.

[@vwfanatic2390]

Yours is one of those channels for me, that I get totally stoked when I see there’s a new video, and you never disappoint. Some things I’d like to share as a point of interest, not a criticism, are that when welding, the areas to be welded should be bare metal, then use a seam sealer for the areas that could not be pre-treated, and secondly, when replacing the insulation under the hood/bonnet, if you’re not fanatical about original material, I learned from Chris Valone, about “Quick Roof” aka “Press & Seal”. It’s almost exactly the same as Dynomat, just a bit thinner. The aluminum surface may reflect too much heat, but sticks really well when pressed with a roller. Lastly the hood drains could use a modification to add a drain hole, and a funnel & tube mounted in the engine bay to drain all the wet away and dump it under the car. Again, not original, but functional. My Porsche 914 has such a design, from the factory. I even bought replacement funnels.

[@illdoyouhere]

Yes!!!! a Memphis vid, what a fantastic saturday morning!

[@Elmantukas]

Ah man the quality of your work is great! Always waiting for that next episode! Thanks for what you do.

[@Max_-zt5bm]

Take the opportunity to install front fog lights... My father had them on his E28 and they really fit him. Good luck with the reassembly!

[@grahamlewis3387]

Great job as usual! I've been restoring cars for 40 years, but you and your friends are very good at what you do and it's great to see the interest and enjoyment you all have from that. Well done!!!!🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👍

[@rabk5702]

That's how you learn by doing never be afraid to get stuck in and have a go at painting that car yourself great posting 😀👍

[@simondoesthings]

I remember you having less than 500 subs, it's so nice to see you grow

[@matthewbell1968]

Memphis don't knock your work mate you're doing a fantastic job and we're all enjoying the journey 👍👍

[@johnliu7893]

Another E28 video always makes my day! This classic car deserves the attention she’s getting and I learn a lot from watching you. Thanks!

[@fluffstar_]

Hi Memphis, another great vid (although I’m VW fam) FWIW I’ve just searched the entire internet and found that the cabin air intake ducts on your bonnet/hood aren’t available as a separate part. If it were me doing it I’d attempt to remove parts and again add in fresh metal (filler/sand/paint) and reinstall. The other option I’d consider is to remove and fabricate new from sheet metal, passenger side looks a lot easier than driver’s side but still doable. Final option is create your own sheet metal forming dies, produce the parts you require, then flood the market with aftermarket replacement cabin air intake ducts :)

[@Pcwmotorsport]

For bonnet vents i used fiberglass bonned with glass glue and came out perfectly

[@TheLuisg92]

I wish I had half the dedication and will Memphis put into doing this kind of work. I have to tackle the same issues in my W123 but have little to no motivation whatsoever. By the way, since you have to replace the hood pad and take care of that bit of rust, consider removing the hood. Is a lot easier and less messy to lay the hood in flat surface when scrapping the old remnants of insulation. Even if you put blankets over the engine, some pieces and dust will find their down into the engine bay.

[@arthurmiller9434]

Greetings from Chiang Mai. Very enjoyable project and segment. As I viewed your work and approach to this project, I couldn’t help but think that your decisions were practical and cost effective. Keep up the good work!

[@hywibowo8618]

I'm so happy to watch that you starting to work on that e28 again broo, can't wait this beauty hit the road again, cheers from Indonesia😊

[@habsom1406]

Nice to see you tackling the bodywork now that you've sorted the mechanical side. The e28 sounded very sweet as you reversed it into the garage. The car would have looked really decent if the paint code had been correct when spraying the door and front fender but you could always spray the rest of the car to match the door and fender instead? Nice to see you doing a thorough job attacking the rust and holes, giving this beauty many more years of use (very satisfying to watch). This video was like deja vu for me, I replaced a dented lower front valance and bumper sections on my e28 after it had become dented too. Keep up the good work!

[@JimBrodie]

Seen good results if you *very* carefully heat the plastics with a blowtorch. Brings out a near showroom shine. Can easily go wrong of course...

[@davidk.2517]

Wire wheels and Short Pants. Best Combo😂

[@toothferrin]

This is one of my favorite channels. Thanks for the quality content

[@mohamedliher2670]

Your work exceeds all expectations, your work is very wonderful. Greetings from Algeria💯💯✔🥇✅😎

[@aigledelaroot8166]

As someone mentioned you shoud use an epoxy primer instead of etch primer. And to treat rusty you are supposed to sand with a 80 paper grit. Tannic acid should only be used when you removed almost all the rust. Wire brushed is not enough. What works great for removal parts is citric acid with hot water but be careful on what you use it. Don't do a caliper for example.

[@kalibsaxon4680]

Obviously, running a closed cell battery after this is the best solution to prevent the tray from rusting out again, but if you don't, then just get a plastic hose fitting and a rubber hose and just run it from the vapor hole on the battery and then down and out under the car. A lot of newer cars have the same typa thing built-in, and it definitely helps to prevent battery tray rust.

[@fernandoruifaria5417]

It’s really nice to see you working in the BMW. Keep up the good work

[@Ammerstol]

It's just very enjoyable listening to you explaining what you're doing and taking on :) That BMW is looking good already with all it's flaws. Gonna be a beauty when you're finished with it.

[@anverdutoit9546]

Very beautiful work on the BMW.. Would like to see the Mk1 golf and how its doing, maybe at the end of the next video.

[@user-wu3jx3hu6k]

Hi from Belarus! It's very interesting to watch your channel. I trudge around old cars. You are doing a great job, Volkswagen is just love, good luck with your projects!)

[@JITISH1]

Great job overall, you should probably put some sealer or coating on the inside of rails and tubing parts though. To avoid rusting from the inside in the future.

[@MihaBevcStraxer]

Hey. I did the same process on my e28 few months ago. After taking out the engine, the project took a turn from just an engine swap and a bit of metal work to full body restoration. I suggest you take a good look at the firewall. Where firewall meets wheel wells its probably gonna be rusty, especially if you still have original firewall protection on. Check behind it.

[@sandrodunatov485]

I clearly remember back then, when these models roamed on the streets in Europe , the notorious Italian monthly specialized car newspaper Quattroruote interviewed Toyota experts about their cars, and tried to ask them 'what's the best car in the world in your opinion?' to see if they had the guts to admit that it was the Corolla.They flatly conceded 'The BMW 520.'. '..what?..' 'No doubt - it is the BMW 520, our reference point'. Great, great car. They bought many components in Italy (or had them painted/chromed here) and always asked for the best of the best, no matter the cost, way beyond what (already expensive) Mercedes Benz asked for. Great great car, the queen of the road, quality-wise, in her days.

[@JB77070]

Deserve 100K subs Memphis for all of this excelent videos, respect dude!

[@poldoniec]

Your videos are amazing. One of the best if not the best garage channel on YT for me.

[@markstorer7204]

Another great video Memphis, it's good to see you going about this to the best of your abilities, you are always fun and interesting to watch....👍

[@injifata]

love this! ❤ can't wait for the next episode

[@FastLab_Garage]

Take o break at garage looking at my car and watching this guy love your work

[@Chris-uu3cp]

Great episode, thanks for sharing!

[@brunob97]

What a great video! We need more! 🤪

[@walterbutscher8438]

I guess now that the golf is done you got bored lol. The BMW is going to look great when its done. You do fantastic work. I remember the initial paint and bodywork on the door and fender. Even though it doesn't match the color and finish is very nice. Can't wait to see what comes next until its complete. I know it will be great. Have a great weekend

[@Berven-gf9jq]

Great video :-) Looking forward to the next one already.

[@Imn0talan]

The fastest 22min of my day

[@mohamedelhousni7267]

wonderful work!! always waiting for the next episodes

[@stephen6378]

Great work

[@vancogocevski767]

As always amazing work, keep it up and i love ur videos :)

[@espowari]

Very glad to see this project!

[@adamv242]

You are really doing right by that old BMW. Bravo!

[@nicojager686]

Awesome job again!

[@veritasaequitas9875]

Wow! The luxury of having a lift. You lucky fellow.

[@grayfool]

Good job. It's amazing how a "simple" job soon gets crazy. How many times have all of us said "how hard can it be"? Usually just before finding out that it can be very difficult indeed.

[@DenizPain]

Nice Video!

[@seanfinlay7393]

Terrific work! Like your videos.

[@michaelhynds8035]

Great stuff, superb result. Thank you for sharing.

[@initialspeed]

Looking good. Good job sir.👍🏼

[@dexhex1]

Another great E28 episode! Thanks

[@1ihnut]

Rust never sleeps. Living in the Detroit area I don't even try to fix it, it's just part of everyday life.

[@ergz-vr6]

Good content. Love. The work you do 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

[@affordablevs]

Good job! Isn't always the same. You start one hob and create five. Good luck with it, I am sure it will all be worth it in the end.👌

[@dillanmistry]

Damn that came out great

[@MichailDoc]

Great content mate, well done

[@paultaylor9652]

Another really interesting video, keep up the great work on these cars, it's also good to see you not rushing or taking shortcuts.

[@CF-xu7pb]

Another outstanding video. Great job on the BMW.

[@MrCarlyMS]

Good methodical job. Well done.

[@felimmackin3832]

always entertaining and informative an automatic hit like channel well done

[@antonio13pa]

Bravo! Capacità e passione, ♥️

[@johnwoodman9350]

Huge improvement! Great plastic Resto product, much easier than painting. Noticed that your headlights are fogged inside - I've had many classic VWs and Audi's with those lights and it seems something in the materials possibly sealants or coatings gives off volatiles which condense on the glass inside. I have had great success with using a twisted wire loop over a standard cotton wool ball and some good quality glass cleaner. Take the globe out and use it to mop the inside of the glass until it is clean use a second mop to dry off any residual and just leave the back off long enough to let any excess dry off. Makes the lights look new again and improves the light output to factory. Looking forward to the next one.

[@TheReelMob]

Really looking forward to future episodes on this car, can't wait for the body and paint to be sorted, excellent work. :-)

[@motheolebelo]

Awesome restoration of the front. Looking forward to the series.

[@fluffstar_]

Nice work 👌

[@AndrewKNI]

A mega interesting video and narration. Great to see so much detail on the front end body work on the BMW and a fantastic result. Very impressive indeed. Looking forward to the next stage. Have a great weekend :-)

[@dagenhamdave2611]

Hi mate your videos are really interesting I enjoyed the golf engine rebuild and watching your bmw getting renovated will be good as well Can’t wait for the next episode

[@MousemanLV]

Such a well made video and very informative. Lovely to see an old car getting the love it deserves. Subscribed!

[@paulschmolke188]

Good detail work as usual. It’ll be great when it’s complete.👍🏽

[@lolman77]

Few advices for the rust, since I’ve been there: for the metal sandwiches (where 2 sheets are against each over), you really need a zinced primer. The zinc will protect your future weld since it melts into it, and is far more rust resistant than anything else. Without it, it will rust again eventually. Also, rust converter is nice but isn’t long term solution. Prefer to use phosphoric acid to actually kill the left over rust you couldn’t reach with the wire wheel. It’s the ONLY product that actually removes the rust. Then prime it and paint it. Rust converter is ineffective on the long run. And finally, for your choice of primer, given the very harsh exposition of that front panel, prefer an epoxy primer. It’s very resistant to scratches and shocks and it’s very effective against rust. Forget the « anti rust primer », that have a just a weak additive that will disappear after the first rock chip or conventional etch primers. Epoxy primer is what industries are using, and it’s not expensive. Keep it up! You’re doing a very nice job

[@lolman77]

Oh! And the spot welds on the battery tray isn’t enough. Humidity will sneak in between the metal sheet and it’s going to be the same nightmare in a rather short time. You 100% need to cover all that by body sealant, from the top and under. That will protect your welds (they rust very fast) and your work. You can do it after the primer or even the paint.

[@donovan22]

Ziet er echt goed uit man! Lekkere werkplek heb je ook :)

[@tylerhaines2023]

End result was amazing, I cant wait to see how this finishes, will surely be an eye turner at any car meet

[@robertjordan9075]

You do nice work and I really appreciate your humility. That’s very refreshing.👌🏾👍🏽👍🏽

[@cleanman5685]

Very good job 👍🏻

[@philipp8636]

Nice video as usual :)

[@gemech01]

Your videos works better than therapy hahaha, keep up the good work bro see yaa in the next one!

[@ruudmobile6726]

Top job erg netjes en goed gewerkt... ziet er top uit! Complimenten! Grt Ruud (Almere)

[@snelluhmans]

Netjes gedaan👍🏼

[@andymille]

Genial gute Arbeit👍👍👍👍 Das hält wieder 30 Jahre👍👍👍

[@Retrobeemer]

Great job and good to see another E28 being saved and used as intended. I've just been going some work on my E34 before winter sets in here. Anyway, looking forward to the next videos. Mark

[@driedprinterke6988]

Weet je wat ze bij ons in de werkplaats zeggen? If you need a grinder to clean op your welds, you are not a welder but a grinder. 😆 Keep up the good work guys...👌

[@morganplurien3745]

Tu as fait un super taff sur la face avant et le bac a batterie !! Vivement les prochains épisodes

[@kaigolla9504]

Lovely car, I would love to own one! Never liked them when I was young (back in the nineties), but there were growing on me...