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Why Two-Tone Paint On New BMW 7 Series Limousine Costs $12,000
Maybach-like paint finish on the new BMW 7 Series now available in several two-tone paint combinations.
Two-tone paint finish is available in Cashmere Silver Metallic/Aventurine Red Metallic and Tanzanite Blue with black.
Each cost as much as $12,000, making it an expensive option for the all-new BMW 7 Series Limousine.
The all-new BMW 7 Series luxury limousine debuted in April with a massive grille, an all-electric i7 variant, a ultra-lux cabin as well as the introduction of an optional two-tone paint finish.
The distinctive paint finish, much like that seen on Maybach models, is now available in several two-tone paint combinations, from a Cashmere Silver Metallic/Aventurine Red Metallic to Tanzanite Blue with black. Each cost as much as $12,000, making it an expensive option for the all-new BMW 7 Series.
To learn more about the new paint technique, BMW Blog sat down with Bernd Gress, Head of Painted Body Technology Dingolfing Plant, who is responsible for the press plant, body shop and paint shop production areas.
Speaking on the two-paint’s intricate and lengthy production techniques, Gress said :
“We have established a special process in the paint shop for two-tone paint application that combines fully automated large-scale standard production processes with our experts’ manual painting skills”
“This naturally makes the process a lot more time-consuming than one-paint application.”
While a regular standard finish are currently under ten hours, it can take almost 12 hours to move a two-tone finished vehicle through the complete paint process.
“Lead times for a regular standard finish are currently under ten hours; for two-tone paintwork, we allow several hours more,” Gress told BMW blog.
“In the case of two-tone paints, the primary color is initially applied in fully automated large-scale standard production processes,”
“The vehicles are then “side-tracked” into a custom process in which the body is masked manually and the contrasting color and coach lines on the side of the body are applied by hand (front and rear flaps are painted separately in the contrasting color in an automated process).
“Once the two-tone custom process has been completed, the whole body is given another clear coat in the standard automated process.”
Speaking on the challenges, Gress says that “one of the biggest challenges was to implement the time-consuming and delicate manual masking process with the necessary repeat accuracy and reproducibility.”
“Another challenge was, and still is – as we saw with the Jeff Koons limited-edition BMW 8 Series – integrating the body sections painted by machine and by hand in Dingolfing with painted mounted parts from our plant in Landshut to create a top-class appearance for the entire vehicle.”
