My paint problems - what can I fix myself ?

[ColinM]

My paint problems - what can I fix myself ?

My car is 4 years old, 50000miles with all original metallic blue paint. I have owned it for about 1 year and have used the usual Autoglym / Turtle Wax Halfords stuff, with poor application methods and tools (I never knew how bad till I read this board). I drive about 5000m per year, the car is on the driveway or an outside car park all year. There is little or no wax / polish on the car after the winter. It feels rough pretty much all over with tar spots etc.
I could not capture on camera some failed attempts at scratch removal with a typical UK abrasive type compound which left intense micro marring.

Swirl marks on the bonnet (hood)


More on the boot (trunk), basically the car is covered all over with swirls


Minor scratch and more swirls

[ColinM]

Bigger scratch, about 4-6 inches long, I cannot feel this with my fingernail


Huge scratch about 12-18 inches long, parts of this I can feel with my fingernail


Scuffing at the bottom edge of the bumper

[ColinM]

Lots of small stone chips in the clear coat (the white spots)


Strange etching marks, perhaps from an angry bug ?


Overall level of shine / gloss / reflectivness pictures -


At this point I can either buy a Meguiars Cordless Orbital Buffer and several Meguiars products to restore most of the car myself, or I can pay someone else to machine buff it and then maintain it myself with hand applied Meguiars products. I am not considering a Porter Cable because they have to be imported to the UK at high cost. I would not feel comfortable using a rotary on my car.
I guess the bumper is beyond repair and will require a respray. However I am worried that it will look too good compared to the rest of the car or a different colour.

Here are my thoughts on a possible restoration project using the Orbital Buffer.
1) Clean the wheels with Hot Rims
2) Rinse car
3) Fairy Liquid wash with Lambswool mitt and two bucket method followed by thorough rinse
4) Dry car with Microfibre Drying Towel
5) Quik Clay and Quik detailer for lube over entire car, inch by inch.
6) Body Scrub, applied with OB and removed with terry towels
7) Scratch X, applied by hand with sponge applicator pad, removed with terry towels
8) Deep Crystal 1cleaner, applied with OB and removed with terry towels
9) Gold Class Clear Coat Wax (perhaps 2 coats) applied with OB and removed with Ultimate Wipe
10) Gold Class Trim Detailer on black plastic with a toothbrush
11) Glass cleaner

Will this sequence remove all swirls and the light scratches or is a Pro detailer required ?
How useful would adding Deep Crystal 2 polish between steps 8 and 9 be for durability ? I am not too bothered about ultimate shine because my car will never be concourse spec, I just want it to look good.
Can a Pro detailer do anything about the small stone chips without repsraying ?
Should I consider #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 or #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish for use with the OB instead of Deep Crystal 1cleaner ?
Do Meguiars have any waxes specifically for alloy wheels ? Would Gold Class Clear Coat Wax be suitable or should I get a dedicated high temp wheel wax ?

After the full restoration procedure above (or a pro machine job) I plan on doing the following every 3 or 4 months -
1) Clean the wheels with Hot Rims
2) Rinse car
3) Gold Class wash with Lambswool mitt and two bucket method followed by thorough rinse
4) Dry car with Microfibre Drying Towel
5) Quik Clay and Quik detailer for lube, only where required
6) Deep Crystal 1cleaner, applied with OB and removed with terry towels
7) Gold Class Clear Coat Wax applied with OB and removed with Ultimate Wipe
8) Gold Class Trim Detailer on black plastic with a toothbrush
9) Glass cleaner

For normal washing every 1 or 2 weeks -
1) Clean the wheels with Hot Rims
2) Rinse car
3) Gold Class wash with Lambswool mitt and two bucket method followed by thorough rinse
4) Dry car with Microfibre Drying Towel
5) Quik detailer where required, probably extra on bumper
6) Glass cleaner

I would definitely prefer to stick to the consumer range of products if possible as these are much easier to obtain in the UK. Any comments will be appreciated.

Colin

P.S. I posted a similar post on the UK Meguiars board and used the same pics, I hope that is ok.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Colin,

Wow! what a very detailed post!

I have to go to a meeting right now, but I'll do my best to answer your questions when it's over.

Mike

[ColinM]

Any thoughts...... anyone ?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Collin,

I started writing a response and was distracted.

The cordless polisher will not be strong enough to remove the defects you show in the pictures. It just doesn’t have enough power. It is mostly for applying a polish or wax After the hard work has been done by either a rotary buffer or plug-in porter cable dual-action polisher.

You will probably be more effective at removing/improving the finish by using a paint cleaner like ScratchX, or Deep Crystal Step 1 paint cleaner by hand.

After that, because your paint is a medium blue color, (with a clear coat over it), I would go a head and polish with the Deep Crystal Step 2 Polish and then apply a couple of coats of the Gold Class wax.

If you really want the defects removed to the extent they can be removed, then you should probably consider taking your car to a professional detailer familiar with foam pads and rotary buffers and hopefully Meguiar's products like the #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish which should remove a majority of the defects and restore a clear, high gloss finish ready for application of a pure polish and a clear, reflective wax like Gold Class.

You want to be careful that you find someone who really knows what they're doing so you don't end up with a swirled-out mess.

The rest of your product selections and procedures look good. I'm glad to see your going to clay the car first as this is probably one of the most important steps to insuring a clean, high gloss finish.

Mike

[Glyn RS2]

Colin,

If you really want to have a good go yourself at removing some of the marks on your paintwork I would recommend getting a Porter Cable 7424 Dual Action Polisher. Unfortunately this is a 110V only machine, but generally available for $119 - $129 in the US from various outlets, with the exchange rate being what it is that is about £70 GBP at the moment. You would then need to allow about $40-50 for shipping and about £25 for customs. Then all you need is a 110V transformer - I got one from Screwfix for £50. In all I think mine worked out at about £170 GBP up & running - so not cheap, but I would still recommend getting one - it is an good bit of kit & very easy to use to good effect.
The range of Meguiars products available in the UK is a little limited, but increasing all the time.
What I am using at present is as follows:
1.Gold Class Wash
2.Quick Clay Kit
3.# 9 Swirl Remover 2.0 applied with the PC & W8006 pad
4.# 81 Hand Polish applied with the PC & W8006 pad
5.Then finished with NXT Tech Wax applied with PC & W9006 pad.

I haven't been able to source #83 DACP in the UK, but have used Scratch X to good effect on individual deeper scratches. Ideally it would be good to be able to use DACP between the clay treatment & the #9 if you have a lot of swirls or micro-marring. Some people prefer to use #82 Swirl Free Polish to #9, but once again I have not found this in the UK.

I think if you started as I do & then see how the finish looks. If you then still have some deeper blemishes after the #9 you can then go back with a local application of Scratch X, before using the #9 again. The #81 step is optional, but I think it adds a lot of depth to the finish & does increase the gloss. However, you could go straight from #9 to the NXT Tech Wax. The NXT Tech Wax is simply awesome, I managed to get some about 10 days ago from here as they seem to be the first suppliers to get it in the UK. (The other Meguiars supplier I have used is this ). I think you will be very pleased with what you can achieve. An alternative would be to use the 3 Step Deep Crystal System, but I have no personal experience of this.
As far as the multitude of fine speckle stone chips on the bumper, I think the only way around that is to get it resprayed. I think I paid about £150 to get the front bumper of my RS2 done, but it now looks like new again.

Obviously there are lots of guys with much more experience and technical know how on this board who may be able to help you further. But as someone else who is keen to get the best possible finish on my car with what is available on this side of the pond, I hope this is helpful.

Nice car by the way.

Glyn

[ColinM]

Originally posted by Glyn RS2
I haven't been able to source #83 DACP in the UK.
Some people prefer to use #82 Swirl Free Polish to #9, but once again I have not found this in the UK.

After extensive research the only two places I could find for most/all of the Pro range is Meguiars UK by calling them (not website) or at Serious Performance who list -
#83 DACP for 18.09gpb for 0.473 litre and #82 Swirl Free Polish for 13.84gpb for 0.473 litre. Check here for more prices.

@Mike
Thanks for the info, I am now sure that the cordless oribtal will not be up to the job. I definately think that some of my scratches are too deep for even a PC and will need some wet sanding and/or rotary work. In which case I think I will try to get a pro to do the whole job then maintain it myself by hand.

@Glyn RS2
The Porter Cable is very tempting but the price would propably be better spent on a Pro, if I can find a good one.

[Slats]

All I can say is what a beautiful car! I love BMW's and the M5 is my favorite. Take care of that gorgeous machine! I'm drooling now....

M5

Slats

[Glyn RS2]

Coiln,

If Mike's PC kit idea comes off at a reasonable price, see this thread , all you will have to sort out is shipping, customs & a transformer. As everything else may well be included.
I know the PC sounds quite expensive, but you will have it for life, whereas if you pay a pro it would be a one off.
Thanks for the link to get #82 & #83 in the UK - now I have all that I need.

Cheers

Glyn