Monaco Blue BMW 330i - Extensive Paint Correction!

[Rickrack]

This 06’ Monaco Blue BMW 330i was brought to me for a complete exterior paint correction. Six months after the car was purchased, the dealer had washed the car, causing scratches and swirl marks to most of the vehicle. The owner then brought the car to the dealer to have it detailed, which seemed to remove most of the damage. After only a few weeks, the swirls reappeared, so it was brought back to the dealer an additional two times to be fixed. Because of the process and/or products they used, it actually made the paint worse. After multiple attempts to correct the problem with no success, the owner happened to see the Lemans Blue M5 I posted up http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-de...032-le-mans-blue-bmw-m5-paint-correction.html and called me to see if I would be able to fix the problem.





After meeting with the owner and inspecting the vehicle, we set up an appointment for the following week. The car is a 2006 with only 17K miles, so the owner wanted the car to look as good as possible considering its low mileage.





When the vehicle arrived at the shop, the paint had a very dull and sterile look to it. It lacked any depth and gloss and seemed to have a satin/semi-gloss finish.







Below is what the vehicle looked like upon arrival…

 

[Rickrack]

I began by prepping the vehicle and performing the normal wash, cleaning of wheels & tires and claybar treatment. Because the car had been recently detailed, it was beading water tremendously which told me that it had been recently waxed.





It was necessary remove whatever was on the paint because if it is not fully removed, it can create a barrier and cause the polisher to “hydroplane� above the paint surface, making it very difficult for any defects to be removed. Also, if the existing wax or sealant is not removed from the surface, you risk working that particular product into the paint, which can mask or conceal defects and give a false impression that the surface is perfect, when in reality it isn’t. Having perfectly bare paint makes things much easier and allows you to see exactly what you are working with while polishing.





To strip the paint free of all previous products, I used Spray-Nine degreaser with a damp microfiber towel to scrub each panel. After degreasing the complete exterior, I washed the entire car by hand again to remove any leftover residue that may have been leftover from the degreaser.





After the washing process was complete, I pulled the car into the shop and began prepping it for polishing. I dried the car, wiped all door, hood and trunk jambs clean and wiped down the complete exterior with 91% alcohol to ensure a perfect foundation for polishing. I brought the vehicle back outside one last time to inspect the finish now that the previous wax, polish or silicone had been stripped from the paint, revealing the true condition.







Below is what the car looked like after the wash…

As you can see, the finish looks a bit more dull now that the paint was stripped free of any previous products which were concealing the true condition of the paint.





After inspecting the car in the sunlight, it was clear that whatever products the dealer tried to use did not break down properly and mircomarred the finish, giving the paint a very dull look. My theory is that a random orbital polisher was used with a product that was too aggressive for this particular paint. There were very fine squiggly marks present, which are often caused from a random orbital polisher and some straight line scratches which were most likely from the dealer when washing it.





Below is what the finish looked like under halogen lighting…

Specific areas were masked off with masking tape such as the door handles, side moldings and other critical areas.





I chose a test panel to decide which products/pads worked the best on this particular paint. After some testing, I found that Menzerna Power Cut using a black Tuf-Buf lambs wool pad worked great at removing all of the serious defects.





I buffed the complete exterior with Menzerna Power Cut using a black Tuf-Buf lambs wool pad, polishing each panel 2-3 times until all major defects were removed.







Below is what the finish looked like after Menzerna PC/black lambs wool combo…

To remove the holograms caused from the previous step, I polished the complete exterior with Menzerna Super Intensive Polish using a white Sonus foam polishing pad. This step dramatically improved the finish, leaving the paint swirl-free and ready for the final polishing step.





Below is what the finish looked like after the SIP/white Sonus foam pad combo…

 

[Rickrack]

Before proceeding to the final polishing step, I decided to give the car a much needed wash to remove and previous traces of compound spatter and dust from the paint, including all door, hood and trunk jambs.





Next, the complete exterior was polished using Menzerna 85rd to ensure a perfect high gloss finish. Upon completion, I wiped the entire vehicle down with 91% alcohol and inspected the finish under halogen and xenon light sources to ensure the finish did not need any additional polishing. After passing inspection, I decided to bring the car outside to get a few sun shots before the sun went down.





The pictures below were the only sun shots I was able to get before the sun went down below the trees… These were taken before any wax or sealant was applied to the paint, windows cleaned, exhaust tips cleaned & polished, etc…

 

[Rickrack]

A few more as the sun was about to fade away…

 

[Rickrack]

The sun is all gone…

 

[Rickrack]

After taking the previous pictures outside, I pulled the car back into the shop to do the finishing touches. I applied a coat of Bilt-Hamber Auto Balm by hand to the complete exterior and wheels, removed it using a microfiber towel and did a Zaino Z8 wipedown.





All tires and wheel wells were dressed, the chrome exhaust tips were polished with Deep Chrome and all exterior glass was treated with Opti-Seal. For the final step, I applied a thin coat of Collinite No. 915 followed by Z8 for added looks and extended durability.



The car looked absolutely amazing upon completion and had an amazing glow which was hard to capture by camera.





Below are some pictures of the finished product…

 

[Rickrack]

So it went from looking like this... :scared:

To this... :2thumbs:

Thanks for looking...

 

[Eisen Hulk]

Very nice (per usual), Rick! Those last shots look unbelievable!



This is top notch detailing/paint correction.

 

[Rickrack]

Very nice (per usual), Rick! Those last shots look unbelievable!



This is top notch detailing/paint correction.

Thanks!



The Auto-Balm and the 915 really made a huge difference, as you can see in the last bunch of hologen shots.



The color has lots of metallic in it and changes drastically in different lighting.

 

[imported_rydawg1]

Amazing work Rick as always. I know when I seen the car in person it was poor condition and had no gloss at all. It's amazing the gloss and dimension that you have given this paint.



p.s. I feel a Ferrari thread soon..:secret

 

[Rickrack]

Amazing work Rick as always. I know when I seen the car in person it was poor condition and had no gloss at all. It's amazing the gloss and dimension that you have given this paint.



p.s. I feel a Ferrari thread soon..:secret

Thanks Ryan!



I guess 30 hours of paint correction can make quite a big difference!



I need to post up some other past details as well...

 

[imported_rydawg1]

Thanks Ryan!



I guess 30 hours of paint correction can make quite a big difference!



I need to post up some other past details as well...

I just wish that there was a way to do it quicker than 30 hours, but then again 30 hours is not all that bad considering how bad it was and how extremely hard the clear is on these BMW metallic clears.:2thumbs:



I wanna see the thread of the Infinity we did.

 

[Rickrack]

I just wish that there was a way to do it quicker than 30 hours, but then again 30 hours is not all that bad considering how bad it was and how extremely hard the clear is on these BMW metallic clears.:2thumbs:



I wanna see the thread of the Infinity we did.

Ha, ha... This one??

I'll try to sort throught the pictures and get it posted up soon







.

 

[DSVWGLI]

Very nice restore work after a dealer hack job. The owner must be blown away with the results. Wow 30 hours :buffing:. What pad did you use with 85rd?

 

[imported_rydawg1]

ya that was the one. That had the broken wheels right?



Was that the one I had to sand the patches on the hood because they were scared to do it?



WOW we worked hard on that one.

 

[Rickrack]

Very nice restore work after a dealer hack job. The owner must be blown away with the results. Wow 30 hours :buffing:. What pad did you use with 85rd?

Thanks a lot!



I actually had to take a day off from my regular job to get it done on time. I worked 2 days straight with no lunch. I was definitely tired and worn out by the end of the last day. The owner was very happy to have his car back to normal.



I used a blue CCS pad for the 85rd...

 

[Old Pirate]

Truly amazing the correction work on the BMW Rick. Awesome finish and great job!:2thumbs:

 

[Rickrack]

ya that was the one. That had the broken wheels right?



Was that the one I had to sand the patches on the hood because they were scared to do it?



WOW we worked hard on that one.

I guess you could say they were a little broken... :grinno: Yup, that's the one!

 

[Rickrack]

Truly amazing the correction work on the BMW Rick. Awesome finish and great job!:2thumbs:

Thank you ZoomZoom!

 

[Pats300zx]

Amazing job Rick. Truly incredible work...:bow