BMW black...very "workable" paint

R

RAG

New member
I've done 3 buff jobs on black BMWs this month, and something has come to my realization - it is the most "correctable" and "workable" paint I know of. Using the rotary and my "magic" combo of the Green American Buffing (P2) pad and PO106FF, I don't even have to "nurse" the buffer to get it to finish down halogram-free (1500 RPMs and plently of pressure - no problem)...this cannot be said for any other pure/jet black paint I know of. Most blacks, and even metallic blacks require quite a bit of finesse with the rotary...not sure what it is exactly, but something in the makeup of the paint lends itself toward correction (and it certainly isn't because it's rock hard or anything, cause it's not).



Anybody else share these findings or have an explination why it is more "correctable" than other paints?
 
I have two that were so scratch-sensitive that even the softest MF would mar the paint upon removal of any product.



It was rather workable though. :D
 
In the UK, BMW paint has a well deserved reputation for being rock hard when it comes to defect correction - infact, most German cars have hard paint in the UK. As far as finishing polishes go though, I too find that BMW paint is nice and easy to finish down on, as is the paint on Porsche... 1500rpm with Menzerna PO85RD and the finishes come up crystal clear, though this in part has a lot to do with the excellent quality polishes that Menzerna produce. And also plenty of practice on the rotary. :)



By contrast, Peugeot metallic black is one paint that I do find requires just that little bit extra when it comes to finishing down just to ensure that you do get hologram free and for me, the best crystal clarity that you can achieve to allow the metallic flake to shine through at its best.. I also know that from the defect removal point of view that Peugeout paint is softer than that of BMW so I'm thinking to myself that the softer paints require just that bit more care and attention when it comes to finishing down by rotary.



Though, when all is said and done I find that taking plenty of time and finishing with slow speed passes on the rotary (working at 1200-1500rpm, then finishing at 900rpm) yields a hologram free, crystal clear finish - that on metallics allows the flake to shine through at its best, and on solid colours gets the sharpest reflections possible. :xyxthumbs
 
Actually, this leads me to pose what may seem like a very silly question, but given that you are finding BMW paint pretty easy going in America and all UK detailers I have spoken to, including myself, find ourselves needing more aggressive combos to remove swirls from seemingly much harder paint, its there big differences in the paint used on UK and USA cars? Or maybe its just UK cars are less well cared for and the marring is much worse...
 
I don't own a BMW, and thus I don't take complete and total care of a BMW, so it's hard for me to rank the hardness of the paint. It's funny, black is black (super revealing)...so most owners of black vehciles think their paint is scary soft...even though this isn't always the case.
 
Oh yeah, the biggest drawback to BMW paint as I see it is really bad orange peel. I hate orange peel :(
 
Dave KG said:
Actually, this leads me to pose what may seem like a very silly question, but given that you are finding BMW paint pretty easy going in America and all UK detailers I have spoken to, including myself, find ourselves needing more aggressive combos to remove swirls from seemingly much harder paint, its there big differences in the paint used on UK and USA cars? Or maybe its just UK cars are less well cared for and the marring is much worse...
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I don't know...complete removal of all marring on any black paint is always difficult. Not many have passed through my camp that didn't require a 3-step buff job (starting with a strong compound) to fully restore.
 
RAG said:
Oh yeah, the biggest drawback to BMW paint as I see it is really bad orange peel. I hate orange peel :(
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Um, explain to me, what car doesn't come with orange peel that is scheduled for mass production?
 
BMW335i said:
Um, explain to me, what car doesn't come with orange peel that is scheduled for mass production?
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BMWs are on the bottom of the list as far as OP goes...GM/Chrysler is pretty bad too. By comparison, Mercedes, Audi, and Ford typically have far less OP.



Don't get me wrong, I like the BMWs very much, and would be at the top of my list for a new vehicle purchase. But it is a little shocking that they can't do a little better job with the OP on their higher end models like the 745/750. By contract, I just did a black Shelby GT for a "part time" member here that had almost no OP.
 
well, seems like this conversation went a bit off topic . . . ill refrains form involving myself in the orange peel discussion . . but RAG . . . i would halft to agree with you on the BMW paint . . . the first black BMW i ever tackled with the PC just didnt go well . . . but come Hitcahi time . . oh man. . . . optimum hyper compound on a yellow pad followed by optimum on a white pad was just beauty to my eyes.



i literally touched the orange pad and megs fine cut on my buddys 05 mustang gt (jet black) and it marred the paint. I think that their incredibly hard clear makes correction a bit more tricky, but allows you to somehow finish a bit eaiser, with less chance of machine or user induced defects . . .



i have yet to try the 1066ff . . . . kinda pricy and i dont do enough german vehicles yet . . .but ill try it out . . . iv heard nothing but good things . . .



and heres that bmw i hit with the rotary . . .



before

CIMG0529.jpg


after

CIMG0537.jpg




just my .02, not trying to disagree with any one here . . ; )
 
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