Bimmerpost
3
/
4 Series
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
2019+ BMW 3 AND 4-SERIES FORUMS (G2x Generation) General G20 Sedan / G22 Coupe / G26 Gran Coupe Discussions Cerium Grey on the mirror caps looks different from other trim pieces?

Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      07-11-2019, 04:54 PM   #23
hockeymen14
Private First Class
120
Rep
129
Posts

Drives: 2020 m340i
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Gulfport, FL

iTrader: (0)

Xpel in mirror caps

Quote:
Originally Posted by cnichols138 View Post
I am not really happy with the Cerium Grey on the Mirror caps or Grill. It has smugges and spots so bad. I hope once I have it ceramic coated in a few weeks that issue goes away. I am going to try and have the mirrors covered in xpel but my guy does not think it will stick. We will find out soon. I will follow up with what he figures out. But love the color but hate hate the spotting.
When i had expel installed they were able to do matte finish on the front cerium parts which looks perfect but the mirrors looked off with matte and they chose to use gloss. It had to be done in 3-4 different pieces. The end result was good but they were unable to wrap the inner 1/8 because of the angles and curvature. I'm happy with the end product but it's not perfect. I'll try to take some pics once I get back in town this weekend. Side note with it wrapped the spots obviously aren't an issue any longer.
Appreciate 0
      07-12-2019, 11:55 AM   #24
cnichols138
X3M Comp is a beast
89
Rep
171
Posts

Drives: 2022 BMW X3M Comp
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Pittsburgh

iTrader: (0)

Thank you for the info. I will see what they end up doing in a few weeks. I am hoping the very least ceramic coating fixes the issue.
Appreciate 0
      07-12-2019, 06:00 PM   #25
tsippr
Tsippr
United_States
2
Rep
20
Posts

Drives: 2015 435i xdrive Gran Coupe
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Newcastle

iTrader: (0)

I am not sure why in the US we cannot order black mirror caps for the M340i though those in Canada can. At least we have the option form black kidney grill in traditional style. While I like the CF caps, that creates just one more styling difference with the remainder of the trim, unless the buyer gets the black kidney grill and jet black wheels. There will still be bits of cerium trim in the front corners. I don't know who at BMW though cerium gray was a good look!
Appreciate 0
      07-22-2019, 03:54 PM   #26
Giggler
Banned
406
Rep
334
Posts

Drives: 20' M340i, 24' X5 40i
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: California

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by nola2atx View Post
The mirror caps having ugly water spots is something I've seen every time I've seen an M340i. Not sure what the deal is.
I had hard water spots on my mirrors and my grill when I took delivery. It looked really bad. A car wash and clay bar did not work. I used P21-S to gently polish away the water spots and then I applied a layer of Sonax polymer sealant to make sure they don't come back.
Appreciate 0
      10-26-2019, 01:48 PM   #27
shawntech
The Wolf
shawntech's Avatar
United_States
247
Rep
987
Posts

Drives: stuff
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Midwest

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
  [0.00]
2019 BMW M850i conv ...  [0.00]
Polished and waxed mine by hand and they're silver now 🤨
Appreciate 0
      11-07-2019, 05:45 AM   #28
Delija
VIP
Delija's Avatar
41
Rep
151
Posts

Drives: G20 M340i xDrive
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: NS

iTrader: (0)

Is cerium grey on 792 M wheels also so sensitive?
__________________
Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away...
Appreciate 0
      11-07-2019, 06:17 AM   #29
Burrcold
Brigadier General
5043
Rep
3,866
Posts

Drives: 2024 BMW M3 Comp xDrive
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Toronto, Canada

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Delija View Post
Is cerium grey on 792 M wheels also so sensitive?
No. It's clear coated.
Appreciate 1
Delija40.50
      11-07-2019, 06:35 AM   #30
Delija
VIP
Delija's Avatar
41
Rep
151
Posts

Drives: G20 M340i xDrive
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: NS

iTrader: (0)

Thanks.
__________________
Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away...
Appreciate 0
      11-07-2019, 08:09 AM   #31
CrownRoyal79
Lieutenant
CrownRoyal79's Avatar
United_States
283
Rep
402
Posts

Drives: BMW 435i
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: VA

iTrader: (0)

You could purchase a pair of primered mirror caps for about $100 and spend another $100 to have them painted and installed. It's a whole lot cheaper than the CF and IMO it looks better.
Appreciate 0
      11-08-2019, 06:55 PM   #32
SunsetSleeper
Private First Class
59
Rep
124
Posts

Drives: 2020 BMW M340Xi
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: PA

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by cnichols138 View Post
I am not really happy with the Cerium Grey on the Mirror caps or Grill. It has smugges and spots so bad. I hope once I have it ceramic coated in a few weeks that issue goes away. I am going to try and have the mirrors covered in xpel but my guy does not think it will stick. We will find out soon. I will follow up with what he figures out. But love the color but hate hate the spotting.
You can certainly Xpel PPF on the mirrors and you could also wrap with gloss black or 3D or 4D Carbon Printed which looks damn close.

I think Spray Wax is the answer.

Ceramic Coating seems to be a great choice

if none of these are an option wait 3-6 months for some aftermarket mirror caps to come out.

Wrapping them should not cost more than $100-USD
Appreciate 0
      11-08-2019, 07:25 PM   #33
Burrcold
Brigadier General
5043
Rep
3,866
Posts

Drives: 2024 BMW M3 Comp xDrive
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Toronto, Canada

iTrader: (0)

You could get them ceramic coated by any decent detail shop for probably under $50 and never have to think about it again.
Appreciate 0
      12-23-2019, 09:50 AM   #34
docgrubs
New Member
0
Rep
5
Posts

Drives: 2019 X3 M40i
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: USA

iTrader: (0)

What Cerium Grey really is and how to clean it

An old friend of mine runs Professional Detailing Products in Canton OH and did some research on Cerium Grey when I told him my frustrations with it. It turns out Cerium Grey is known internally in BMW as Aluminum Tetragon trim. It is aluminum metal, not plastic of any sort. That's why it turns cleaning cloths black and it responds easily to metal cleaners like a good rubbing with NeverDull. My friend Mike Dickson recommends buffing and ceramic coating, though the coating may darken the metal a bit. Easiest fix generally is to just polish it like metal.
Appreciate 0
      12-23-2019, 12:19 PM   #35
Burrcold
Brigadier General
5043
Rep
3,866
Posts

Drives: 2024 BMW M3 Comp xDrive
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Toronto, Canada

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by docgrubs View Post
An old friend of mine runs Professional Detailing Products in Canton OH and did some research on Cerium Grey when I told him my frustrations with it. It turns out Cerium Grey is known internally in BMW as Aluminum Tetragon trim. It is aluminum metal, not plastic of any sort. That's why it turns cleaning cloths black and it responds easily to metal cleaners like a good rubbing with NeverDull. My friend Mike Dickson recommends buffing and ceramic coating, though the coating may darken the metal a bit. Easiest fix generally is to just polish it like metal.
Isn't Aluminum Tetragon trim the interior pieces?
Appreciate 0
      01-06-2020, 12:08 PM   #36
docgrubs
New Member
0
Rep
5
Posts

Drives: 2019 X3 M40i
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: USA

iTrader: (0)

Apparently the exterior trim in Cerium Gray is also an aluminum trim, not a plastic. Internally at BMW they may be the same material with different names - I will have my friend check it out.
Appreciate 0
      01-06-2020, 01:55 PM   #37
EXE46
Lieutenant Colonel
EXE46's Avatar
United_States
2097
Rep
1,531
Posts

Drives: 2020 M340i RWD Aka New E39 M5
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: State of Dystopia

iTrader: (0)

I am contemplating having mine wrapped in gloss black. Hopefully BMW abandon this cerium trim on the facelift models.
__________________
Prior's: E36, E46 x2
Appreciate 0
      01-06-2020, 02:25 PM   #38
Burrcold
Brigadier General
5043
Rep
3,866
Posts

Drives: 2024 BMW M3 Comp xDrive
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Toronto, Canada

iTrader: (0)

I had mine ceramic coated and so far it's worked perfectly. Any water spots or smudges wipe clean away (and it repels most water in the first place). The only odd thing was that my installer noted that when he did the mirror caps, a strange chemical smell occurred. He used Ceramic Pro so perhaps there was some strange reaction with the "cerium" metal? I don't know. He only did one coat though so that it didn't do any damage.
__________________
Current: 2024 BMW M3 Competition xDrive | 2022 Audi Q7
Gone: 2022 Audi RS5 | 2020 BMW M340i | 2019 Audi RS5
Appreciate 0
      01-06-2020, 03:22 PM   #39
gofast182
Captain
614
Rep
766
Posts

Drives: 2020 M340i xDrive
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: New Jersey

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by docgrubs View Post
An old friend of mine runs Professional Detailing Products in Canton OH and did some research on Cerium Grey when I told him my frustrations with it. It turns out Cerium Grey is known internally in BMW as Aluminum Tetragon trim. It is aluminum metal, not plastic of any sort. That's why it turns cleaning cloths black and it responds easily to metal cleaners like a good rubbing with NeverDull. My friend Mike Dickson recommends buffing and ceramic coating, though the coating may darken the metal a bit. Easiest fix generally is to just polish it like metal.
Sorry but I think your friend is mistaken.
1. The aluminum tetragon trim that is an option for the interior does not have the bronze hue the cerium gray has outside
2. The cerium gray exterior trim has no tetragon pattern
3. The mirror caps and grille surrounds are plastic base material, not metal (interior trim is metal)
__________________
2020 M340i xDrive, Portimao Blue
2019 X5 xDrive 40i, Mineral White
2006 S2000, Berlina Black (Track car)
Appreciate 1
MBM3401022.50
      01-06-2020, 04:26 PM   #40
swedesc
Private
United_States
25
Rep
74
Posts

Drives: 2018 Volvo S60
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: SC

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Glassy View Post
is the camera on the mirror for the 360 camera.
Appreciate 0
      01-07-2020, 01:36 PM   #41
docgrubs
New Member
0
Rep
5
Posts

Drives: 2019 X3 M40i
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: USA

iTrader: (0)

Thanks for the clarification. It may be that he interpreted my question about Cerium Gray as being related to the interior trim, not the exterior. I personally did find that NeverDull cleaned up the exterior trim very well and did leave a black residue on the wadding just like metal does. So it is still a mystery. But NeverDull works like a charm in removing water spots on Cerium Gray.
Appreciate 0
      02-08-2020, 03:14 PM   #42
J-RO
Lieutenant Colonel
2078
Rep
1,838
Posts

Drives: BMW M240ix
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: A Place I Like To Call “You’ll See”

iTrader: (0)

There is always Plasti Dip.
Appreciate 0
      02-10-2020, 03:05 PM   #43
upsidedownfunnel
Colonel
United_States
1996
Rep
2,499
Posts

Drives: 2014 335i
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: SoCal

iTrader: (4)

Garage List
2014 BMW 335i  [0.00]
Quote:
Originally Posted by J-RO View Post
There is always Plasti Dip.
Plasti-Dip should not be used for anything highly visible. Definitely never for a grille. It will instantly make a car look older and cheaper. I'd much rather get a cheap knock-off eBay grille than put PlastiDip on it. It just looks so ugly and unprofessional and has the durability of tissue paper.
Appreciate 0
      02-10-2020, 04:16 PM   #44
trife.
Second Lieutenant
trife.'s Avatar
195
Rep
217
Posts

Drives: '23 X3MC x Porsche Cayenne
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: Southeast

iTrader: (0)

Enh, I dipped the grille on a prior car and it held up perfectly for the almost 3 years I drove it.

But yes, it absolutely looks cheap. No argument from me there. I certainly wouldn't dip the cerium on the m340i.
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:33 AM.




g20
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST