scratches in bmw paint??

dtsang

New member
hey all,



i'm currently detailing a used m5 whose previous owner really did not take care of. the paint is "le mans blue metallic" and is chock full of swirls and minor scratches. i'm using dacp and a yellow cutting pad. the problem i am having is that scratches on my black g35 and a black tl come out fine, but on the m5, they don't even blink.:confused: it gets cleaner around the scratches, but the scratches themselves remain. i've also got some 3m fc and mg, but i'm not sure i want to get that agressive.



i may give it a shot w/ a 4" cma orange pad again, but i'm worried it won't do much.



if anyone has any advice i'd appreciate it.
 
I know what you mean, that can be so frustrating, since I have the same products as you. Do you have Menzerna Intensive Polish and Final Polish? Maybe after the DACP, follow up with the IP and the FP? I'm going to be getting the 1z line of polishes in the spring. From what I hear, they may just do the trick.
 
hey a fellow njer,



billd,



i really don't want to go and purchase another system yet. i'm sitll pretty newb w/ the pc (3 months now). if that's really my only option, i may wait until next season to pick up the menzerna twins. it just bothers me knowing that in the back of my head, this scratch should come out.:rolleyes:
 
DACP is more aggressive than IP/FP. Sounds like they may be deeper scratches that could be taken care of with something like medium cut cleaner.
 
There is an interesting article on German finishes on CMA site, here is the link: Are German paints different?



Before you start spending money on new polishes and pads read this sentence a few times: "They also feel we Americans are in too much of a hurry and polish at too high of a speed" and then go back and try to work on these problem areas at much slower pace, this should do the trick.
 
And if F1Crazy's advice doesn't work, it¡Â¦s possible you¡Â¦ll need to experiment with touch-up paint and sanding/Langka if the scratch went past the clear. Can you feel the scratch? Nice Bimmer, by the way... I love M5¡Â¦s, especially with Caramel Extended Leather!
 
Bill D said:
I know what you mean, that can be so frustrating, since I have the same products as you. Do you have Menzerna Intensive Polish and Final Polish? Maybe after the DACP, follow up with the IP and the FP? I'm going to be getting the 1z line of polishes in the spring. From what I hear, they may just do the trick.



I have the Menzerna IP/FP and I am also going to try the 1Z in the spring .. Menzerna as far as I am concerned is great on a black car. "What you see is what you get"
 
thx for all the responses guys,



f1crazy, i also read that article yesterday. i don't know if i want to buy into that german paint argument. i worked on a serious key scratch along the side of a vw passat and got decent results. these scratches on the bmw aren't remotely close to the severity of the vw. they're more like scratches and scrapes you'd get around the door jams/keyholes. but when i get a chance, i will work it a little longer w/ the power pad jr.
 
there's something about moving up to a product called compound that scares me. i really don't want to get that agressive yet, so i'm going to reexamine the scratch again tonite, and give it another shot soon over the weekend.
 
dtsang said:
there's something about moving up to a product called compound that scares me. i really don't want to get that agressive yet, so i'm going to reexamine the scratch again tonite, and give it another shot soon over the weekend.



I have used this with a terry applicator on my hood recently and it worked well. I had a few nasty snow brush scratches, water marks and swirls to remove.



1. 3M fine Cut by Hand with Terry Applicator

2. 3M SMR, PC, yellow pad

3. Megs #9,PC ,white pad

4. Klasse AIO ,PC, white pad

5. Klasse SG by Hand with Foam Applicator

6. Repeat #5 next Day

7. S100 by hand with foam pad.



This was the first time I used the 3M FC and I was concerned as well and the results were stunning. Try a small area as a test of your whole process.
 
wow, talk about new found confidence. thx lostpup.



now i should really ask, how far along should you work the 3mfc? when do you know that you can move on? i once tried 3m smr by hand before i found autopia and didn't work it in long enough. it left a hazing on the paint that stuck in my side for about 6 months.
 
I went very slow initially with the 3M FC with a constant buff to view the results. In all I applied it 3 times to the areas until the haze was kind of uniform and I could not see the worst scratch any longer. The product was not dry when I buffed.



I only decided to try the 3M FC after I used the 3M SMR with the PC and did not remove the defects.



The 3M SMR was worked until it went to the dry just powder stage.



The Meg #9 was left wet/damp when removed.



You can tape off a very small area of the scratch and try the whole process on it.
 
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