ajs916

The hood on my 2008 535i has gradually faded in a specific area. It first started out as a milky patch that I thought would polish out. Didn't. Gradually kept expanding. I am thinking it is related to heat. A recent morning when there was dew on the hood, I had left the car running to warm up while I checked tire pressures. When done, I noticed that in the area that is discolored, the dew had evaporated, and the rest still had dew. Hmm. The insulating cover inside the hood is loose and shrunken, and I am starting to think that is a contributor. I am looking to re-spray the hood, but I don't want this to happen again. Should I get a new insulation mat? Leave it off? Ideas are appreciated!

KyleB

pics?

DanielFD

Almost all of us have the shrunken interior cover. Id think the hood was probably repainted at some point and the clearcoat was probably too thin or of bad quality. The reason the dew wasn't on the patch is because the clearcoat on your "normal looking" paint beads water. The milky patch wont becuase its a rough surface. Much like how the area on your windscreen where your windscreen wipers always wipe always are smooth and rest of the windscreen beads water.

star69me

Hey I have a blk 07 550i I had the same problem on my hood, roof and trunk lid. So instead of re painting I had those areas wrapped in jet black. Looks great and when I wash it i just use spray wax for a phat wet look shine and the rain just beads and runs off. Unless I say it's a wrap ya can't tell

Jacksonville Florida

txag_530i

I have a 2006 Jet Black car and the clear coat is shot. This seems to be a common occurrence on the E60s with this paint color.

BostonJon

looks like the three of you (ajs916, star69me, and txag) reporting this issue all live in warm sunny climates. perhaps the black paint absorbs more heat than lighter colors and over time that damages the finish on the paint.

i'm not implying that this is normal or should be happening, but just a potential cause.

Cricketts

My 05 545 Sport was midnight blue. Same problem. However, I polished the roof and hood with a Maguire's orbital buffer and three levels of product i.e. polish, sealer and wax. you would never know there was a problem.
the rear lid got tagged in traffic and was repainted - no white out.

ajs916

It may be hard to see in pics - here goes. Thanks for all the responses. I am a little bit of a detailing nut, so I tried all the usual methods, including using high quality multi-step polishing/sealing materials with a porter cable orbital polisher. No improvements. I am coming to the conclusion it is a clear coat issue.

JayArras

I moved this thread to the detailing forum in hopes that some of the detailing experts out there might be able to chime in with a solution. Thanks.

mishka69

I do have same problem in my hood. I have 2008 535i sapphire black
Any recommendation