Razor1973

Got it. Would you recommend this random orbital buffer, this rubbing compound (or did you mean polishing compound?) and any of these waxes (there's so many types!)? I have a store 2 blocks from me that has all of these.

Thank you.

Gatriel

I *cannot* believe you are advising a repaint in this situation. The bumper if repainted and blended and even aged WILL be a different color (slightly) than the rest of the car. Buff it out and keep it like it is. Anything else will look "off" and unless the person you go to sell the car to is a complete moron - they *will* notice the paint color difference.

Buff and pray. Thats your best shot.

Gatriel

You need to pay a professional to wet sand the car. Its about $400+ but will make it appear new.

tonyb635

I can't believe you are telling the OP to go waste his money on a buffer and materials. C'mon, sure you can improve the look a "little" but it clearly needs to be painted. One would cut completely through the clear and probably through the base coat. Then what do you think you will have? By the time the OP spends the money on a buffer, buffing pad, compound, swirl remover and polish, then realizes that it only looks better, he could have used that money and had it painted. The paint will match if it's done correctly and at a place where the person knows what they are doing. There is a small shop near me that specializes in PDR and jobs like this. They do a lot of the the work for Century BMW and if you didn't see do this, you would never know the bumper etc was painted. Also, just in case you weren't aware, the bumpers and hang on parts are not even painted by BMW. The body is painted by the factory and the hang ons are painted at various suppliers. Also, not even with the same type of paint. Body has waterbourne and the bumpers are with urethane. Of course they do not match, but they are close enough that the majority of people will never notice and has to meet the required specs and fall within the allowable visual spectro range. You can notice it on various colors such as white, silver and there are a few others.

So, OP you have to do what you have to do. If you are tight on funds, then maybe a rattle can is for you, if you have the funds to pay someone to repair it, then maybe work the cost in to the whole car for a good buffing as in your other post about the overall finish. I don't remember if that was black or carbon black. Regular black is black, when the carbon is introduce it's not black, it's blue, so blue that it looks black. These colors require a little of knowledge and are not for the average Joe. You can cause more damage to your paint if you do not know what you are doing... If you near SC I'd re-spray it for you at no cost.

jeremyp

Razor,
First things first...if you want it done right, the bumper needs a repaint and the rest of the car needs some paint restoration to bring it back. The scratches in your bumper go all the way through the paint and no amount of compounding, wetsanding, polishing etc is going to fix that. Minimize it? Yes, but not fix it.

If I were you I would definitely perform a good detail on the whole car or have it done by a quality detailer in your area who is good at restoring finishes. The paint used by BMW is a high quality paint and WILL come back nicely if done right. You can do it yourself as well but you're going to need the right tools and product. A random orbital is NOT going to work for correcting that finish. You need a rotary polisher or a dual action polisher.

I do not recommend you use a rotary because of your inexperience as you can burn through the paint in the blink of an eye with a rotary polisher. A rotary can cause more harm than good in the hands of an inexperienced user. A dual action polisher is a much safer tool and will work wonders on your aged paint. A dual action polisher is a combination of a rotary polisher and a random orbital polisher in one. The best one to use is the Porter Cable 7424 like this Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher or you can save some money by going with this one from Harbor Freight 6" Variable Speed Dual Action Polisher.

You will need a backing plate and some quality pads to polish the paint. The Harbor Freight polisher comes with a decent velcro backing pad, but the Porter Cable does not. Get something like this for the PC Dual Action Flexible 5 inch Backing Plate. For pads you will need a few different ones since each type of pad is for a different purpose. You will need an aggressive one for the heavy oxidation, a medium one for polishing and a fine one for finishing / waxing. You could also apply wax by hand but the machine is MUCH faster. Get two of each pad you need so you can be using one while the other is being cleaned. These are perfect Lake Country 5 1/2 inch Flat Foam Pads. Get (2) yellow pads, (2) orange pads and (2) white pads. You can get a six pack and save money Lake Country 5 1/2 Inch Flat Pads 6 Pack - You Pick!.

Now for product you will start with a clay bar like this Meguiars Smooth Surface Clay Kit to get the contaminants out of your paint before using the polisher. Start with a compound polish like this one from Meguiars Meguiars Ultimate Compound then to a finer polish like this Meguiars Mirror Glaze #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 to remove any remaining swirls. Then apply a wax or sealant of your choice. Sticking with Meguiars I would use something like this Meguiars #21 Synthetic Sealant 2.0 or their NXT Tech Wax which you can get just about anywhere.

It'll take you a good solid day to do it but your car's paint will look darn near new when you're done. You'll spend some money to purchase all of this stuff but you'll have it to do again next year too. All of the products I linked to are safe and easy to use for the beginner or novice detailer, particularly the Meguiars Ultimate Compound. It leaves a finish so smooth and clean that you may even be able to go directly to the wax or sealant afterwards.

Once you get your car's paint restored you can make the decision to get the bumper repainted. A repainted bumper will blend very nicely with the restored finish.

I hope this helps.

JP

jeremyp

And for some good reading on detailing, check out autopia dot org. That's where I learned how to detail my cars. That site turned me into a product whore for a year or two.

JP

tonyb635

+1 JP, Here is a link for basic car polishing. I tell ya, you just can go wrong with the 3m products, but there are PLENTY of other products available but be careful, they will add up fast and you will need to secure a loan!
Car Care Detailing Guide and Tips - Compounding Your Car with Compounds
Here is another idea for you if you decide to tackle it yourself. The DIY it put up a while back for chip repair could be used as well. But most important you need to get the correct paint from a automotive paint store mixed to you car code.
https://5series.net/forums/diy-do-yo...repair-133345/

KyleB

They already are different colors, on every car, made by every manufacturer.

Bumper and trim components are nearly always finished in a different factory, using a different batch of finish materials. Go to any car dealer and have a look for yourself. If anything, having the bumper only repainted in a more controlled evironment with the rest of the car present would likely yield BETTER color match, provided you use a skilled painter using quality materials.

I work in this industry. I kinda know what I'm talking about.

cheers.

KyleB

More than likely, yes. Wax your car at least one per month, and garage/cover it whenever you can. Florida sun will oxidize paint very quickly. You could always try having someone wet sand and buff the entire car. If you catch oxidation like that in time, you can sometimes eliminate the need for a repaint. just be sure you pick out a good, competent shop or detailer to do it; if you remove too many mils from the paint then you'll do more damage than good.

good luck with your car

paran

I don;t know.

My BMW has original paint and I cannot tell any difference between the plastic bumper and metal body panels.

Run it through a repaint an you're guaranteed to see a difference.

Just ask any of the millions of CarMax buyers.