I had looked for and purchased a spoiler from forum member OKUSA. E90 spoilers are hard to find BTW. The price was right and the spoiler had been taped on prior which was a plus. I couldn't imagine trying to take off Betalink from a small piece of carbon fiber. So upon its delivery I started resourcing all of the required cleaning items.
1. Goo Gone
2. Mineral Spirits
3. 3M rubber wheel (a must have to take the 3m tape off of the trunk from the small factory spoiler)
4. 3M painters tape.
After finding all of the items I started into peeling off the 3M adhesive tape from the Perf. CF Spoiler. This turned out to be a little easier than I thought. The trick is to let the Goo Gone soak for at least 5 min. After letting the tape soak I started rubbing it with a terry cloth and warm soap and water. Dawn dish soap was the soap I used. There will be a lot of 'rubber' that comes off in little pieces, so make sure you're in a place that can be cleaned up easily.
After the spoiler was cleaned off with no residue, I started on the trunk that had the smaller factory spoiler. This piece was also held on with 3M tape and it was easy to work too. For the spoiler removal I taped around the factory spoiler and slid the tape under the edges as much as I could. I was able to get under it all the way around. Next I used a plastic bondo/putty knife to separate the spoiler from the trunk. The effort needed to slide the knife wasn't that much. The thing to consider was making sure you weren't peeling the tape off as you slid the knife.
This left the trunk with a good amount of adhesive still attached and I went to work on it the same way as I did the spoiler. The only difference was letting the Goo Gone sit for 10 min so that I took as much adhesive off as I could. The idea was to use the 3M rubber wheel to get the really stuck on adhesive.
The 3M Rubber Wheel is an awesome tool to get off residue. The thing with the wheel however is that it builds heat. So as your using your high speed drill a moderate amount of force is required to basically 'erase' the residue remaining. If you stay in one place too long as your 'erasing' the residue the paint will start to burn. I had removed emblems from past cars (Evo's,Civic's) when I was younger and the rubber wheel is a time saver.
Next I started in with getting the required items for attaching the CF Spoiler.
1. Betalink K1 w/ cleaner
2. Duct tape
3. More Painters tape.
4. Exacto Knife.
5. Dry Erase Marker
So for the Betalink I went to my dealership here. One of the techs there did me a solid and supplied me with a tube. BTW if you're ever in the Colorado Springs area and you're having issues with your M go see Brian and Winslow BMW.
I washed the car throughly after the 3M rubber wheel and then took a rag with mineral spirits to the spoiler and the trunk to remove any remaining contaminants. I feel like prepping these two pieces is very important so that you can avoid the possibility of the spoiler coming off. After both were dried off I started to dry fit the spoiler and marked with the dry erase marker the most identifiable spots to set the spoiler back on the car with Betalink applied to the spoiler.
Call me a bit of a detail nut, but to make sure I didn't have any extra Betalink spewing from between the spoiler and trunk I starting taping around the spoiler where the Betalink would be. Keeping about a 1/4 inch from the edge. This is also done to keep your edges clean and free from any Betalink getting where you don't want it to.
I then cut one end of the tube of Betalink off with a NEW Exacto blade. A swift slice keeps the Betalink from oozing out and also allows for the applicator tip to be put on. I secured the applicator tip with duct tape so that when you're squeezing the tube, the tip isn't coming off while you're applying the Betalink to your spoiler. When the time comes to apply the Betalink I made sure to wear latex gloves. The gloves are almost a must with the application and spreading of the Betalink. It sure as hell makes for easier clean-up.
When applying the Betalink, I made sure to cover the entire leading and trailing edges. As far as thickness of the Betalink I would compare it to Zinger frosting, for lack of a better example. Maybe a little less. I knew that with the pressure applied to the spoiler to get it to set that the Betalink would compress and move to the areas that needed adhesion.
After the Betalink was all applied. I went to start to peel off the painters tape. It's important to be aware of where your tape is when peeling it off. Be sure to peel toward the center of the spoiler so that any Betalink goes back to where you want it. The last thing you want is Betalink showing on the outside of your CF Spoiler.
So as far as applying the spoiler to the car. This was a little nerve racking at first. You need to almost memorize where you had set the spoiler with addition to the marks you made earlier. Once the spoiler is put on with the Betalink you will have very little room/time to set it exactly where you want it. YOU ONLY WANT TO DO IT ONCE.
When the spoiler is set on and where you want it, proceed with the tape. I started with the ends first, alternating from side to side. Then I started working my way to the center of the spoiler. Looking at my tape job is a bit comical but I only wanted to to this once. I let it sit for about 10 hours before I removed the tape. The end result turned out better than I thought it would.
The most important piece of advice I can give is to take your time and think each step out before you execute. A job like this shouldn't be rushed when you're doing it by yourself.
