In my introductory thread, I improperly included a DIY question regarding leather dye color for my 2005 325i. My auto-dimming rear-view mirror leaked a very caustic fluid (a liquified gel, I now understand) on my shifter console/bezel, and on the passenger side inner knee panel. My leather color was described confusingly and differently in quite a few reference sources. Officially, it is "hellbeige 2" (light beige 2), but was listed on the sticker as "sand", and translated/cross-referenced several different ways. Now that I have done the repair, I hope it will be helpful to some other folks that the exact match for "hellbeige 2" aka "sand" can be found with Color Number 0521 - Light Sand, at Leather World Tech. DISCLAIMER: I am not employed by, affiliated with, or compensated by Leather World Tech in any way. The stuff just matches. End of story - that's what color "hellbeige 2" turns out to be. I got lucky on my first try, after roughly comparing their color chart online with a photo I uploaded and placed side-by-side. I know - monitor colors are never true, but color comparisons on the same monitor are better than nothing at all. Also, for those interested, I saved the $100+ on a new shifter bezel/surround by stripping the old one and re-painting with a few careful coats of Plasti Coat (same DISCLAIMER) in a rattle can. I will post before and after pics. I hope this helps someone else who becomes (rightfully) confused.
Very glad it worked out, nice job w/ the d-i-y, & thanks for sharing what you found out. I always regret nuisance problems like this on any era of our cars because it seems like something that just shouldn't happen, but it does, and peeps are forced to deal w/ it. Kudos for your efforts!
Thanks! I guess the moral of the story is that if one owns an auto-dimming mirror from 2005 or earlier, replace it now even if it is not yet leaking, because eventually it most certainly will leak. I replaced mine with a manual-dimming model that still allows for rain sensing and alarm (although I admit I painted the "clown nose" with the matching black Plasti coat). It cost about $150 vs. the $400-$500 for putting a replacement "ticking time bomb" auto-dimmer back in your beautiful Bimmer! The dye, by the way, is very easy to work with, and I actually used the blotting technique described on the Leatherique website. As usual with this kind of work, it is all in the prep.
Yes. Sorry for the late reply. Part # 51-16-9-218-046. It came with a smoke grey "clown nose" so I didn't even have to use the one I painted, since I liked the grey one better. I know that seems like a lot of - in the part #, but that is copied directly from my invoice, and it is a genuine BMW part.
