[Karl V]

Not a huge issue, but I'm curious...

I bought my car from a stealer around 200 miles from where I live. Found a good deal on a car that had the options most important to me and I went for it.

Pick up day went as planned, but when I got home and put the car in the garage (under fluorescent lights), I noticed deepish swirl marks in the paint finish:





Contacted stealer; very apologetic; made arrangements at my local BMW stealer for a body job FOC - no complaints there.

But the finish is still not 100%. It's gone from 70% to 95% (made up numbers), but it's not 100% by anyone's standards:





I'm not interested in pursuing it further. I received good after-sales service and it seems what I now have is as good as the local BMW franchise can offer. You have to catch it in the right (wrong) light to see the imperfections, but... you know... it's there. At the back of your mind. At 3am. Calling to you...

Any tips or advice out there for dealing with slight paint job imperfections? And please don't make me buy a clay bar. I'm too old for that :-(

[Burrcold]

That looks terrible. Bring it to a detailer and have it paint corrected/polished and then sealed. It will look brand new.

[tnsatbhs]

Those type of imperfections aren't going away without some polishing. You could buy some glaze to temporarily fill in the scratches, but you would have to reapply the glaze every so often since you're just masking the imperfections, not fixing them.

[MUFCbmwbear]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

That looks terrible. Bring it to a detailer and have it paint corrected/polished and then sealed. It will look brand new.

This!

[tnsatbhs]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

That looks terrible. Bring it to a detailer and have it paint corrected/polished and then sealed. It will look brand new.

Agreed, looks awful. Would like to say I can't believe a dealer would let a car leave like that, but...

[themnmd]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

That looks terrible. Bring it to a detailer and have it paint corrected/polished and then sealed. It will look brand new.

+1

[mofomat]

"They're all like that, sir".


Seriously, a good machine polish followed by ceramic coating would sort that. I know a guy in the North West who does all my cars (I won't let anybody else touch them). A bit far from Reigate but here's his website anyway.

https://www.remyrocdetailing.co.uk

[Sussex_G20]

Touch of Gloss in East Sussex

Does good work I am told by my son.

http://www.touchofglossdetailing.co.uk

[Karl V]

Thanks all.

I was hoping that a bit of spit and polish could help solve the issue.

I'll look up some detailing companies once we get back to 'normal'.

[Seaford]

Originally Posted by Karl V

Thanks all.

I was hoping that a bit of spit and polish could help solve the issue.

I'll look up some detailing companies once we get back to 'normal'.

I admire your patience with the dealer - I would have been all over them to sort it out!!

[wassap]

What a mess, they have basically used body compund on that with a hard pad. It needs going over with a soft pad and a less hard polish to get rid of the marring.

If you can afford it, get it detailed and ceramic coated, and then hand wash yourself on a regular basis, if you use the handwash places, it will be like the original pics in next to no time.

[Karl V]

Originally Posted by wassap

What a mess, they have basically used body compund on that with a hard pad. It needs going over with a soft pad and a less hard polish to get rid of the marring.

If you can afford it, get it detailed and ceramic coated, and then hand wash yourself on a regular basis, if you use the handwash places, it will be like the original pics in next to no time.

Ta.

I never let anyone wash the cars other than me. A rod for my own back...

[danorman777]

https://www.idealvaleting.co.uk/

Dave, above in West Sussex, does mine. My black M340i will go there from the dealer. BMW paint is not famous for arriving at the dealer in good nick. My guy showed me some in the showroom that were not great. Modern paints are very eco but not tough!!

2 bucket washing and never letting the dealer touch it are important.

[ukbeemerboy]

Originally Posted by danorman777

https://www.idealvaleting.co.uk/

Dave, above in West Sussex, does mine. My black M340i will go there from the dealer. BMW paint is not famous for arriving at the dealer in good nick. My guy showed me some in the showroom that were not great. Modern paints are very eco but not tough!!

2 bucket washing and never letting the dealer touch it are important.

They arrive at the dealer fine as they are wrapped, it’s the dealer valeter’s that do the damage to the cars when they prep for the showroom or customer.

[Bumble]

I very much had the same with my previous F30. It came new with the problem. When the sun touched it you got a myriad swirl marks. I was not sure if was the Carex paint protection they applied or the swirls were on the paint and the protection had sealed the marks under. No amountof washing would make the car clean , it always looked as if it had been wiped with a greasy cloth.
I complained and the Dealer agreed it was not right and took it in for rectification, after which it was better but not perfect..
Finally after a lot of time and frustration I found that going over the car occasionally with proprietary "dry wash and wax " gave me a decent shine. Not what a detailing fan would want but it seemed to work.

[wassap]

If you are looking at polishing by hand then Autofinesse Tripple is very good at hiding swirls and marring, as is Autoglym SRP.

Personally, i use a cheap DA on slow speed with a softpad along with some Menz power finish (bought it years ago) to bring up the gloss on mildy bad paint. If its really bad, then i use 3M fast cut. I spent alot of my life in old cars so i got good at rejuvenating junk paint lol. I also owned a black audi A4 from new, the paint on that would swirl and scratch up with a hard stare

[Sooty]

Originally Posted by mofomat

"They're all like that, sir".


Seriously, a good machine polish followed by ceramic coating would sort that. I know a guy in the North West who does all my cars (I won't let anybody else touch them). A bit far from Reigate but here's his website anyway.

https://www.remyrocdetailing.co.uk

Not far from me. Got any pics of his work?

[adambmw]

Was it brand new or approved used?

[Karl V]

Originally Posted by adambmw

Was it brand new or approved used?

It was the Sales Director's car. About 6 months old with 5,000 on the clock.

[mofomat]

Originally Posted by Sooty

Not far from me. Got any pics of his work?

If you click on the link for his website he has a huge gallery with a portfolio of his work. Below are pics of my cars he's worked on over the last few years...

Audi R8 V10



BMW M4 Coupe (F82)



BMW M2 Coupe (F87)







BMW X5 (G05)




And nine months later, this is how clean and shiny it looks after I've washed it, thanks to the Gteqniq ceramic coating.

[tnsatbhs]

Originally Posted by mofomat

If you click on the link for his website he has a huge gallery with a portfolio of his work. Below are pics of my cars he's worked on over the last few years...

Audi R8 V10



BMW M4 Coupe (F82)



BMW M2 Coupe (F87)







BMW X5 (G05)




And nine months later, this is how clean and shiny it looks after I've washed it, thanks to the Gteqniq ceramic coating.

Looks great! Really nice results!

[Sooty]

Originally Posted by mofomat

If you click on the link for his website he has a huge gallery with a portfolio of his work. Below are pics of my cars he's worked on over the last few years...

Audi R8 V10



BMW M4 Coupe (F82)



BMW M2 Coupe (F87)







BMW X5 (G05)




And nine months later, this is how clean and shiny it looks after I've washed it, thanks to the Gteqniq ceramic coating.

Looks good. Thanks. Ceramic coating is tempting!

Will give him a shout when this all calms down!