dawi

Not sure which section to post this in so I have plumped for this general discussion forum. I hope that someone can advise me on a problem that I discovered today whilst detailing my freshly repaired E60.

A couple of weeks ago I stupidly managed to catch the lower rear door and plastic sill moulding on a low rough concrete post and it left a noticeable scrape. I debated whether to touch it up myself but after a previous experience where I spent ages on a repair using touch up paint and lacquer and it still wasn't perfect I decided to book it into a professional paint repair shop. After all it is a company lease car and so doesn't cost me anything personally to get it done apart from my pride I guess and the fact I had to drive a tank of a Mercedes E-Class estate for nearly a week that I got as a replacement. :thumbsdown:

Anyway got the BMW back on Friday and was glad to get back in and enjoy the drive, something I didn't in the gutless E220 diesel auto where it was a danger to try and over take anything unless you had plenty of road for the inevitably slow winding up of speed on acceleration.

The repair is a fairly good job although the lacquer finish not quite as glossy as the rest when comparing to the front door, for example; but anyway I guess it's never going to be quite as perfect as the original factory job and far superior to any of my attempts.

However, after my initial joy whilst detailing it today I discovered that part of the front bumper paintwork was all rough as if the lacquer had been removed and just left the base colour. Then I noticed the same on the alloy wheels on half the diameter.

My conclusion is that the car was not properly covered in the paint shop and the fine lacquer mist in the air from other car repairs has settled on the bumper and the up facing surfaces of the wheels. Being so fine it has left the affected surfaces with a nasty matt finish. :thumbsdown:

I tried to rub it down with cutting paste to no avail, then tried methylated spirit and white spirit but nothing seems to shift it. Can anyone suggest what I can do next to try and restore the former gloss lacquer finish? Any suggestions would be very much appreciated as I don't want to go back to the paint shop and have them do any further damage.!

nicke60gre

Give it a try with clay-bar. It's unbelievable helpful on a situation like this

dawi

Thanks for that. I've heard a lot of good things about clay bars on this site. I must admit I'd never heard of clay bars before and not sure they are for sale in the UK - are they a relatively new invention?

aybeesea

Coincidentally this week I tried to buy one after reading up about them (again!!).

I tried Halfords hahaha.

Here's are some links - I may be inspired... http://www.raceglaze.co.uk/wash&polish.html
http://www.cleanandshiny.co.uk/ProductDeta...ProductID=10053

http://www.dtconcours.co.uk/super-clay.htm

When I was reading up on this it seems that detailing with clay bars has been around since the 1930s.

Takes us a while to catch up in dear old Blighty.

ABC

PS It IS mildly abrasive and it is a MUST to lubricate appropriately while applying the bar.

dawi

Thanks for the lesson ABC. I take it you had no luck at Halfords then ! I may take a look in my local branch today to see if they've got any - if not may try and order on line from one of your links. I'm hoping it will work as Meguiers Scratch-X was obviously not abrasive enough but maybe more elbow grease and patience may start to touch it. It was going dark last night as I was doing it so had to give up sooner than would have liked.

Hope the rain stays off today so I can get out there today although got the obligatory Mother's Day activities to arrange for my daughter and her mum.

E60M5E60

from your description and the actions you took i think the clay bar will not give you the results you want. However, its cheap enough to try. If this fails then you may want to have a professional detailer buff it with a rotary buffer.

I would have personally gone back to the shop and insist to correct it while I would be watching them but i understand not wanting to go back there.

Good luck

aybeesea

Rarer than hens' teeth in the UK.

We've only just woken up to hand car washes over the last two or three years.

ANC

dawi

My thoughts as well as I really thought the cutting paste would have a greater effect but may be worth getting one of these bars in anyway to complete my detailing shelf in the garage.

Noticed the spray on the windscreen and other glass today as the sun was shining and as I used the wash wipe I could hear the noise of the rough surface from the wipers. The more I look the more I see - the more the pain.

E60M5E60

You can also use the clay bar on the windows too.

dawi

Yes, I've read that - think I will be using it all over the car plus windows plus alloys. Ordered on-line today some Meguiers clay bar plus detail lubricant and some professional level clay which I'm hoping will be more abrasive than the ordinary clay.

Weather and social calendar permitting I'll try and work on the car this weekend assuming that the stuff arrives in the post by then of course. Will let you know how it goes - I've got my fingers crossed.