[chhappy7]

Hi guys.

I just wanted to share my past and current/ongoing experience with Umnitza.

During the last week of May 2018, I decided to put in an order for some body parts for the F30 328i that I acquired in March. And because I've had bad experiences with body shop, but also good ones, I made sure to inquire about the quality of the paint. I was told that they had a guy that "does mineral white really well."

I put in an order for M3 style front bumper, M3 style front fender, M Sport side skirts, and M sport rear bumper, as well as paint service for that.

The orders (not including install) came out to be ~$2500, with paint taking up about half of that.

The orders were sort of pre-order of sorts as some of the parts were still en route, and apparently were popular enough to have a hold on some of them already, which is definitely understandable.

Now, one red flag should have been when they mentioned that the painting was taking longer than they expected because they were waiting on cheaper paint to arrive so that the painter can do it for the price I paid.

Eventually, I hear back that my parts are ready for install and I go in on June 30th. Keep in mind that my car is a mineral white metallic, the pearly white, not the alpine white and that was made clear from the beginning. In about a month of waiting time, part of that was transit and the other part was waiting for the parts to be painted by their body shop/paint person that they use.

So I head over to Concord from San Francisco (roughly 1 hr drive if there's no traffic) to get the parts installed. Matt (unsure if it's one or two t's) starts taking the car apart. After bumpers and fenders were already taken off, he brings out the bumper to be installed to find that the color is awfully mismatched. As if the parts were just painted alpine white.

So he calls the painter guy (Jimmy) over to take a look at how mismatched it is. He apologizes and offers to have Jimmy repaint it and then install it during the week and make it available for pick up. By this point, I have been there about half the day and I was very appreciative that Matt offered to do so without me asking. But that would mean I would have to take the BART back to San Francisco and be without a car for a few days. But I figured with any custom work, there's always a possibility for a SNAFU, so I just went back. Matt even gave me a ride to West Oakland station in his M5 (which is an amazing ride by the way).

Then there's a bit of back and forth while I try to figure out what day I should come on. And I am worried that the car sitting outside while it has its body panels off was going to be bad for the far, especially with there having been a pretty bad fire that spread ashes all over the Bay. I finally head over on July 11th, 2018. Now, I had to take an Uber from my work, which I had to get off pretty much in the afternoon, and then take the BART over, then take another Uber from BART to Umnitza location. I arrive to find that my car is ready and parked right outside. Matt apologizes that he did not get to take it to a car wash, but I'm fine with it.

At that point, I really liked it. I did see that colors were different still, but was assured that as it bakes in the sun a bit, the color should begin to match up better. And the fit of the part was amazing! It was a GoodGo or something I believe, so we know that fits pretty well, but they did a great job at making sure the panels line up as wel las possible. So I believed that and happily drove the car home without giving a much thorough inspection.

Now, the week after (or something like that), as I wash the car and take the wheels off to plasti dip the wheels, I find a few things wrong; side skirts and the front bumper had a few screws missing from underneath. Also, there was a spot where paint was chipped off (from installation of the fender trim), and these cones had formed at various areas, as well as some dust looking to be stuck under the clear coat. Now, at this point, I contact them again and they offer to fix it and we set a date. But due to a sudden work trip, I had to cancel.

I scheduled another one for this Saturday, September 15th, 2018, to get the chips, incomplete paint, cones, and imperfections under clear coat fixed.

And then today, as I was going to an early morning work out, I stared at my car and stared in disbelief as how much the different colors stood out.

I'll put a few photos here of the car and different panels in early morning, morning, and evening.

View post on imgur.com

I had been trying to tell myself that I was going to just live with it and that it's not that bad. Weirdly, the front fenders match a bit closely during the day, but neither front fenders nor front bumper match with the hood. But the real kicker was the rear bumper. Wow. Whatever lighting it was in, it was just... too different.

They do have a disclaimer saying the paint may not exactly match, depending on age of the vehicle and such, but this just seems like it was painted alpine white, not the original mineral white metallic. The thing is, the mirror caps were painted at a body shop near me recently, and that one you cannot tell that it was painted afterwards. So I know it's possible, and that the colors just do not match.

So as of writing of this post, I have sent an email with the exact same pictures that I have in this post to Umnitza, hoping that they will try to remedy this situation. The guys at Umnitza have been amazing. Although they missed a few details here and there, it is nothing compared to the quality (or lack thereof) of work that I am beginning to truly realize that their paint guy has done. Even when people were commenting on my YouTube videos, I told them that it'll be better and that it's not as bad as it may seem, but I guess I was just trying to convince myself more than anything.

I am hoping everything turns out well, even if that means I part with my car for a few days while things get repainted.

TLDR; Got body parts at Umnitza, paint didn't match up perfectly but I bought the whole baking in the sun thing and now I have come to a sudden realization that it's pretty bad. But the guys at Umnitza have been great at their part in all of this.

[MONSTAR]

Quality paint work, especially for something that has a pearl or metallic flake, is very expensive if you want it to match up 100%. In some of the shots, the fenders and side skirts don't look too bad. The rear and front bumpers are totally off, for sure.

Hopefully they'll get it right. It sucks to go out of pocket for the ubers and whatever the BART is (train?) as well as your time, but if the paint comes out matching in the end, I'd say it's probably worth it.

Good luck and keep us updated.

P.S. fitment does look spot on

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by MONSTAR

Quality paint work, especially for something that has a pearl or metallic flake, is very expensive if you want it to match up 100%. In some of the shots, the fenders and side skirts don't look too bad. The rear and front bumpers are totally off, for sure.

Hopefully they'll get it right. It sucks to go out of pocket for the ubers and whatever the BART is (train?) as well as your time, but if the paint comes out matching in the end, I'd say it's probably worth it.

Good luck and keep us updated.

P.S. fitment does look spot on

Yeah most definitely. Pearl or metallic is hard, which is why I'm rather okay with fender and side skirts. They seem to match up rather okay with door panel. But the differences between hood and front, and rear quarter and rear are so distinct.

In their response this morning to my email, I'm told that the metallic flake had probably "settled" after a couple months to show the true color of the paint. But I don't know if that's true like the whole sun baking thing.

But either way paint work was cheaper by a few hundred compared to local shop that would match it perfectly (past experience) so I'm not too anal about getting exact match but at least make them similar. XD

[mlev]

2nd to last pic, it looks like they painted the very far corners of the front bumper grills. Based on other M3 conversion bumpers I've seen, those are not supposed to be painted. I suppose this is an upgrade over the Sportline bumper. Hate to be negative, but the plasti dip on those wheels kills the look of the car. Looks like cheap spray paint you'd see on a Civic.

[EDWYER]

Yeah I can't say enough how important it is to have a really great body/paint shop your trust 100%. I'm lucky to have one.

Hope it gets worked out seems like a nightmare.

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by mlev

2nd to last pic, it looks like they painted the very far corners of the front bumper grills. Based on other M3 conversion bumpers I've seen, those are not supposed to be painted. I suppose this is an upgrade over the Sportline bumper. Hate to be negative, but the plasti dip on those wheels kills the look of the car. Looks like cheap spray paint you'd see on a Civic.

Haha yeah. I have been meaning to peel the plasti dip (because they have chipped at certain parts) and get the wheels powder coated, but have yet to find a good place to get the wheels powder coated. And if I don't get them powder coated, it's just too much of a hassle to keep them clean of brake dust and I'd rather have plasti dip than brake dust covered wheels.

As for the far part, I noticed that too but I kind of liked it, sort of how some people wrap those two bars behind the kidneys.

[IK6SPEED]

I had front bumper, side fenders and rear bumper painted.

It cost me $3500....and that’s without parts.

With all due respect, you should have known you were not going to get a match for that price.

And how does anyone expect to get a match painting parts without a car? One needs it to match and you will never get flakes and orange peel to match without careful examination of the car and multiple test panels.

Even with that, they expected $500 to blend the doors to match the fenders. I refused and said I’d pay for more test panels to get it spot on.

I couldn’t be more thrilled with my $3500 paint job as it’s spot on perfect.

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

I had front bumper, side fenders and rear bumper painted.

It cost me $3500....and that’s without parts.

With all due respect, you should have known you were not going to get a match for that price.

And how does anyone expect to get a match painting parts without a car? One needs it to match and you will never get flakes and orange peel to match without careful examination of the car and multiple test panels.

Even with that, they expected $500 to blend the doors to match the fenders. I refused and said I’d pay for more test panels to get it spot on.

I couldn’t be more thrilled with my $3500 paint job as it’s spot on perfect.

I mean, I kind of knew it wouldn't be spot on.
The body shop near me was gonna charge me only a few hundred more, so I figured it would be fine, since the body shop is one that I've been to before and was able to match mineral grey metallic on my previous car perfectly.
And Umnitza being in East Bay vs the body shop I've worked with being in San Francisco, I thought that price difference was not too surprising AND not having to worry about how I'm going to ferry the parts over from painter to an installer willing to do it was definitely good too.

But I think that $3500 is kind of a lot even for a perfect match, but as long as you're happy with it.

But wait, don't you have an M3? What body parts did you get for the M3 that you needed to get painted? 0.0

[IK6SPEED]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

I mean, I kind of knew it wouldn't be spot on.
The body shop near me was gonna charge me only a few hundred more, so I figured it would be fine, since the body shop is one that I've been to before and was able to match mineral grey metallic on my previous car perfectly.
And Umnitza being in East Bay vs the body shop I've worked with being in San Francisco, I thought that price difference was not too surprising AND not having to worry about how I'm going to ferry the parts over from painter to an installer willing to do it was definitely good too.

But I think that $3500 is kind of a lot even for a perfect match, but as long as you're happy with it.

But wait, don't you have an M3? What body parts did you get for the M3 that you needed to get painted? 0.0

I have multiple cars

Again, front bumper, rear bumper and side fenders. Also Kidney Grills, Mirror Caps and Rear Difuser.

All BSM.

Again, I have no issue with the $3500 as it’s perfect, including flake amount and flake direction, as well as orange peel.

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by IK6SPEED

I have multiple cars

Again, front bumper, rear bumper and side fenders. Also Kidney Grills, Mirror Caps and Rear Difuser.

All BSM.

Again, I have no issue with the $3500 as it’s perfect, including flake amount and flake direction, as well as orange peel.

For $3500, I would hope so XD

[mlev]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

Haha yeah. I have been meaning to peel the plasti dip (because they have chipped at certain parts) and get the wheels powder coated, but have yet to find a good place to get the wheels powder coated. And if I don't get them powder coated, it's just too much of a hassle to keep them clean of brake dust and I'd rather have plasti dip than brake dust covered wheels.

As for the far part, I noticed that too but I kind of liked it, sort of how some people wrap those two bars behind the kidneys.

I had my old OEM wheels professionally plasti dipped and even then I highly regretted it when it came time to remove the dip. It's a huge mess and takes forever if it doesn't peel off evenly. Plasti dipped wheels also look horribly dirty all the time because brake dust and dirt sticks to it like there's no tomorrow. Lesson learned, never ever plasti dip a premium car. Powder coat or buy new wheels. Also highly recommend lowering your car or it will look off with an aggressive body and huge wheel gaps.

[awmenard]

Plasti dip is not the greatest unfortunately, I painted my rims black with Duplicolor rim Paint and it came out pretty good, total cost $40.

I figured that if it looked like shit I would just get them powder coated during the winter.

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by awmenard

Plasti dip is not the greatest unfortunately, I painted my rims black with Duplicolor rim Paint and it came out pretty good, total cost $40.

I figured that if it looked like shit I would just get them powder coated during the winter.

How many coats did you end up doing and how long did the prep take?

[awmenard]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

How many coats did you end up doing and how long did the prep take?

I did 3 coats, and prep was pretty fast, all I did was clean the wheels, and use a scuff pad.

Rinced one more time and painted.

As you can see the cards prevent paint from getting on the tires.

The whole thing can be done in a couple of hours, it's 10 min drying time between coats.

Here is another car I also did.

[Kailec]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

Yeah most definitely. Pearl or metallic is hard, which is why I'm rather okay with fender and side skirts. They seem to match up rather okay with door panel. But the differences between hood and front, and rear quarter and rear are so distinct.

In their response this morning to my email, I'm told that the metallic flake had probably "settled" after a couple months to show the true color of the paint. But I don't know if that's true like the whole sun baking thing.

But either way paint work was cheaper by a few hundred compared to local shop that would match it perfectly (past experience) so I'm not too anal about getting exact match but at least make them similar. XD

There is nothing to 'settle', especially after a few months. Neither should any baking be taking place either. A proper paint job should have everything done correctly. Considering I have a Mineral White car and also have the M3 front bumper and the paint jobs were always done right. I'm just wondering what the price different is between this other place and the one you went to, and what it works out to once you factor in the Uber and all the back and forth you've done? There is no possible way they would be able to match your Mineral White without having your car with them, especially the fenders. I get wanting to save money, but I think you would've been better off getting it done right the first time. :/

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by Kailec

There is nothing to 'settle', especially after a few months. Neither should any baking be taking place either. A proper paint job should have everything done correctly. Considering I have a Mineral White car and also have the M3 front bumper and the paint jobs were always done right. I'm just wondering what the price different is between this other place and the one you went to, and what it works out to once you factor in the Uber and all the back and forth you've done? There is no possible way they would be able to match your Mineral White without having your car with them, especially the fenders. I get wanting to save money, but I think you would've been better off getting it done right the first time. :/

Oh no I agree. But I had no means of ferrying the parts from my house to the paint place, the from paint place to the install place as the body shop doesn't do custom part installs so it was more out of convenience than a few hundred.

And when they say their guy does great mineral white, as someone who recently got into modding and not very experienced in body shop stuff in detail, I just kind of trusted them. My good experience with the body shop has clouded my view of what terrible body shops could be I guess...

[Kailec]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

Oh no I agree. But I had no means of ferrying the parts from my house to the paint place, the from paint place to the install place as the body shop doesn't do custom part installs so it was more out of convenience than a few hundred.

And when they say their guy does great mineral white, as someone who recently got into modding and not very experienced in body shop stuff in detail, I just kind of trusted them. My good experience with the body shop has clouded my view of what terrible body shops could be I guess...

Thats bizarre to me. Why couldn't the paint place install? You're not asking to hand build the engine from scratch, it's literally line up, screw and adjust. Getting the parts around... They should've fit in your car. I did front and back bumper and sides all at once, and they fit in my 328i with a bit of creative positioning. Oh well, it is what it is. But any time they offer to paint a metallic type colour like Mineral White without your car being there I'd be weary. You have to match a lot of things or it looks off. A good shop should match up everything correctly, or just give me my money back. Sorry, not to rag on you, I just feel bad for you because they're either naively or purposely playing you with those lame excuses.

[Kailec]

For point of reference, here's my mineral white car:

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by Kailec

For point of reference, here's my mineral white car:

[IMG]

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[IMG]

View post on imgur.com

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Wow that's quite a build!
Looks like front matches up perfectly and the rear almost perfectly.

I think given it's aftermarket, I think the body shop didn't want to be responsible for figment issues and trying to make it work.

[Kailec]

Originally Posted by chhappy7

Wow that's quite a build!
Looks like front matches up perfectly and the rear almost perfectly.

I think given it's aftermarket, I think the body shop didn't want to be responsible for figment issues and trying to make it work.

It all matches perfectly. I've worked with two different shops and both times they had to keep the car to match the paint, and both times they installed as well as paint.

[chhappy7]

Originally Posted by Kailec

It all matches perfectly. I've worked with two different shops and both times they had to keep the car to match the paint, and both times they installed as well as paint.

Wait are my eyes weird or does that rear bumper seem off in that picture?

[chhappy7]

We had set an appointment for 9:30am. I arrived around 9:27 and now it is 9:43 and there is no sign of anyone at the place. They were around 15-20 minutes late the first time I was here as well so while this isn't surprising, it's pretty crappy.

EDIT: it's 2 minutes to 10:00AM and they are still not here.