[donvargas76]

Hi fellow Beemer owners,

A few months ago i hit a deer with my 2006 BMW 325Xi. there was no damage to the engine but there was extensive damage to the front end. I did not have insurance at the time to get it fixed so i have slowly bought the parts i need or think i need to get it back in shape. The damage was all cosmetic, bumper cover, fog lights, hood, radiator, radiator housing, electric fan, headlights and headlight brackets. I have searched the intenet feverishly for videos or diagrams to no avail. i dont have the money to take it a shop and i am pretty mechanically sound. Can someone please point me in the right direction so i can get my baby back on the road, thanks!

 

[ctuna]

There are a lot of diagrams on realoem

There are a lot of diagrams on realoem
exploded views

Don't know if the Bentley repair manual would be of
any help for body work.

 

[donvargas76]

Thanks for the info tuna

 

[acoste]

as for body work I learned a lot from this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/user/diyautoschool
he has his style but lot's of info there

Although I ended up buying a cheap spray gun and compressor, I found spray cans also work but need a lot more work>

What I do with spray cans is:
- spray primer // nothing special
- spray base color // sometimes this works well, sometimes not. if it becomes like orange peely after 3 layers, I wait for it being completely dry, then I sand it with 600 - 1000 grit sand paper until it's perfectly flat and spray one light layer of base color again so the metallic shine will be perfect.
- clear coat // rarely looks good after spraying with a can, so I spray 4-5 layers to make it thick and then I sand it with 1000 - 1500 - 2000 grit sand paper and then polishing.