In search of brand new aluminum drivers door armrest.

[c watson]

Hey guys, like the title says I’m hoping I could find a brand new aluminum drivers side door armrest trim. This part is NLA and I’m having a hard time finding a used one in near mint shape.

I figured I would try my luck and hope someone is boarding a brand new one.

please PM me if you do. I would like to avoid someone else jumping ahead of me.

Thanks.


Pic for reference

[9kracing]

Try emailing Josh at Bimmerworld, they were able to get me a NLA part when nobody else could.

[simon_c]

Maybe TexaZ3 can help you restore your current one

[maw1124]

+1 on this, and I love new parts more than most. Aluminum polish, a good buffing and new leather is my plan for these. The polish has worked well on other parts. At this point, brand new won’t match the rest of the parts, and some have gotten brand new which definitely didn’t match. If you’re going with new everything, mismatch won’t be an issue.

maw

[oceansize]

The Aluminum is impossible to restore if dented or badly scratched. Mine were in really good shape so I ended up removing them and putting in storage. I bought some used arm rests for front and rear, then refinished them but I painted the top portion tiag to match my exterior. Came out great plus looks good against imola, and I don't have to worry about my Aluminum getting banged up by accident. If I ever sell the car the Alu will be sold separately as it is worth a pretty penny these days if in really good condition. I've received a lot of compliments about the body colored arm rests, obviously this doesn't work as well with certain exterior colors.

[maw1124]

oceansize so what did you do about the dash aluminum? It simply doesn't match the armrests or did you do those too? I've thought of having someone clearcoat all of mine, perhaps with some striping, but I didn't think of body color matching (or dents and scratches for that matter). Light use vehicle.

maw

[TexaZ3]

@oceansize is correct - brushed aluminium that came on these cars is a finely extruded sheet - so it is impossible to remove scuffs and small dents without ruining the texture and top coat - and I was not successful in trying to re-create the texture. I can re-finish the bottom, however.

One way to go about this is to have the armrest top piece wrapped in same-texture vinyl.

[oceansize]

oceansize so what did you do about the dash aluminum? It simply doesn't match the armrests or did you do those too? I've thought of having someone clearcoat all of mine, perhaps with some striping, but I didn't think of body color matching (or dents and scratches for that matter). Light use vehicle.

maw

The same, used pieces stripped (can't remember if bought piano black or titan) and painted tiag with base and clear to match the armrests. I used colorbond black and colorbond adhesion promoter on the black part of the arm rest. I really like color bond but SEM is equally as good, perhaps better for some applications.

[dukeofchen]

+1 on this, and I love new parts more than most. Aluminum polish, a good buffing and new leather is my plan for these. The polish has worked well on other parts. At this point, brand new won’t match the rest of the parts, and some have gotten brand new which definitely didn’t match. If you’re going with new everything, mismatch won’t be an issue.

maw

Polish is a good call, I'll have to give that a shot before resorting to a 3M wrap.

[maw1124]

Yeah tape off the leather bits so the polish doesn't end up in the grain. But I used the same stuff I use for wheels, etc and some elbow grease. But if you're going to remove and disassemble it anyway, use a hand tool.

maw