[Crazy Bimmer]

I love my car, best car i have ever had. My ONE complaint is the paint job on it.

Orange peel, fine... i knew it was going to be bad since i saw others on the lot with it. I also know that environmental standards are always getting stricter. So i can deal with that.

But my problem is the clear coat. Mine for some reason is super soft and almost anything scratches it. (light swirls/marring) I have detailed cars for few years and have never seen such soft paint. I would think it had enough time to cure but maybe not? (Late May 07 build). Also never had paint issues with my old 02 330ci.

Anyways, thats not why i made the thread. Look what i noticed couple weeks ago but just now posting it.


How does this pass quality control at BMW? Sheesh, i mean i can fix this but still. Thats just nuts. This ugly bitch is so lucky i love the way shes in bed, otherwise i would have dumped her.

[Roundelman]

Yeah- the paint is one of the few things I have on the cons list since I'm still on the fence.

Wondering if anyone has bittent he bullet and taken the car to a body shop and had the whole thing 'de-orange peeled', whether through buffing or fine sanding and re-clearing? Wonder what that would run, any bodywork saavy guys reading this?

[Crazy Bimmer]

From what i read the clear coat is pretty thin and theres not enough depth to have it wetsanded.

[TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by Roundelman

Yeah- the paint is one of the few things I have on the cons list since I'm still on the fence.

Wondering if anyone has bittent he bullet and taken the car to a body shop and had the whole thing 'de-orange peeled', whether through buffing or fine sanding and re-clearing? Wonder what that would run, any bodywork saavy guys reading this?

That would be really stupid. Chances are the orange peel would be gone, but you would have a whole lot of other issues, over the entire car.

[cwoodffr]

not sure what I am looking at

[picus]

You're looking at a paint drip, aka a sag - they're often found on poor repaints where too much paint is applied in too short a time (like spraypainting) and the paint begins to drip before it dries. I see this a lot of re-sprays and hand painted cars (like Ferarri's), but have never seen it on a BMW until now.

Jesal; I'd consider having the paint thickness tested to make sure the car wasn't re-sprayed at the port or something (maybe damaged?). I doubt it, but it's worth checking. If not it just goes back to BMW's continued issues with using more environmentally friendly paint; the same reason they have some of the worst orange peel in the industry.

Can they be wetsanded? Sure, but you would have to be very careful not to remove too much clear, the clear on these cars isn't very thick to begin with.

As for the soft clear, if it isn't a respray then it sounds like a lot of the jet black cars; maybe BMW isn't baking them as long or something. I know what you mean though, some guys at Autopia won't accept jobs from jet black e90/e92s, too much of a hassle.

Oh, another thought; that looks like your fender right? I've noticed other paint issues (one guy had fisheyes) on these fenders, I think it might have to do with them being plastic, maybe the paint they use is different on them, or dries differently.

[Crazy Bimmer]

Thanks Picus.

True, maybe they did do a repaint at VPC but my car really didnt stay there too long. Came the same time as most of the others.

Oh well, this is too small of an issue to make a stink about and I will just take care of it myself. Just wanted to know if anyone else had something like this.

I hope the clear gets harder though!

[Cadillac Johnson]

Clear coat takes like 6 months to fully cure, so it will get harder as it cures.

It may also be the flex additive they add to the paint when doing plastics.

Have someone polish/seal/glaze etc. it for you, Autopia is a great place to find knowledgable and qualified people.

Edit* Just saw your from Chicago, I know of someone who does great work in the area. Has done cover cars and whatnot. He's pretty well known in the Evo community as he own's one. PM me if you want contact info.

[Crazy Bimmer]

thanks, but im not having issues removing the defects. Just annoyed that they come on there so easily.

Plus I been on Autopia for years.

[Revlis]

Originally Posted by picus

You're looking at a paint drip, aka a sag - they're often found on poor repaints where too much paint is applied in too short a time (like spraypainting) and the paint begins to drip before it dries. I see this a lot of re-sprays and hand painted cars (like Ferarri's), but have never seen it on a BMW until now.

Jesal; I'd consider having the paint thickness tested to make sure the car wasn't re-sprayed at the port or something (maybe damaged?). I doubt it, but it's worth checking. If not it just goes back to BMW's continued issues with using more environmentally friendly paint; the same reason they have some of the worst orange peel in the industry.

Can they be wetsanded? Sure, but you would have to be very careful not to remove too much clear, the clear on these cars isn't very thick to begin with.

As for the soft clear, if it isn't a respray then it sounds like a lot of the jet black cars; maybe BMW isn't baking them as long or something. I know what you mean though, some guys at Autopia won't accept jobs from jet black e90/e92s, too much of a hassle.

Oh, another thought; that looks like your fender right? I've noticed other paint issues (one guy had fisheyes) on these fenders, I think it might have to do with them being plastic, maybe the paint they use is different on them, or dries differently.

Umm Ferrari's haven't been hand painted in decades. Their current system is an automated electrostatic process and the paint is perfect. Even thickness, no sags, Peal, etc. Carefully hand inspected, QC'd.

Where have you been seeing " A lot" of Sags in Ferrari Paint?

Makes you wonder why BMW has such shitty paint jobs. Surely they COULD get a decent paint job on a car right?

[Cabby]

Originally Posted by Cadillac Johnson

Clear coat takes like 6 months to fully cure, so it will get harder as it cures.

So you shouldnt wax a new car for 6 months after you get it?

[picus]

Originally Posted by Revlis

Umm Ferrari's haven't been hand painted in decades. Their current system is an automated electrostatic process and the paint is perfect. Even thickness, no sags, Peal, etc. Carefully hand inspected, QC'd.

Where have you been seeing " A lot" of Sags in Ferrari Paint?

Makes you wonder why BMW has such shitty paint jobs. Surely they COULD get a decent paint job on a car right?

It hasn't been decades, and some models are still hand sprayed (and sanded). On hand sprayed cars the variation can range from 150 mil to over 600 mil, including sags, overspray, and the occasional fisheye. Heck, I was working on a 550M a few weeks ago that had a drip from the driver side rear light all the way down the back bumper. But yes, most new models, especially the ones produced in large numbers (430, 599, 612) are machine sprayed.

Cadillac/Cabby:

All automotive paint is *supposed* to be backed in the factory, including BMWs. It's been a long time since I ran into a car that wasn't.

[Cadillac Johnson]

Originally Posted by Cabby

So you shouldnt wax a new car for 6 months after you get it?

No, you can wax it.

Think of it like concrete, it's hard enough after a certain amount of time, but continues to harden forever.

Clearcoat is hard enough when it leaves the factory, but will continue to harden for 6 months or so.

[Crazy Bimmer]

Think if i left the car outside more in the sun that it would cure faster?

[Cadillac Johnson]

Originally Posted by picus

Cadillac/Cabby:

All automotive paint is *supposed* to be backed in the factory, including BMWs. It's been a long time since I ran into a car that wasn't.

It's not something that you'll notice, but it does take 6 months or so to be completely cured. It's obviously hard enough to handle weather when it leaves the factory, but still isn't as hard as it will get.

Isocyanates are the hardening solvent in clearcoat, and some base coats. It is extremely hazardous by the way, this is what takes 6 months to fully cure. However it is hard enough that it is not releasing toxins in the air after it's been baked. If it were that soft, it would be a health issue to even be around the car. It's not a huge difference in hardness, but it is there.

I dont know if you've ever felt or worked on a finish within a day of it being cleared, but it does feel different than one that's been sitting around for a while.

[Crazy Bimmer]

^ with that said im wondering if machine polishing it in the first 6 months would be a bad idea?

[fragadellic]

Originally Posted by Cadillac Johnson

It may also be the flex additive they add to the paint when doing plastics.

What type of paint does BMW use? Urethane enamels most people use today don't require a flex additive like the old acrylic enamels used to...

[Cadillac Johnson]

Originally Posted by Crazy Bimmer

^ with that said im wondering if machine polishing it in the first 6 months would be a bad idea?

It's fine, anytime a bodyshop refinishes a panel, after it's cleared and cured they will polish it to remove dust/dirt that gets in the clear. This is done within hours of it taken out of the booth.

[STE92VE]

Are you sure that's a paint drip and not cosmoline that wasn't entirely removed?

[picus]

Originally Posted by Cadillac Johnson

It's not something that you'll notice, but it does take 6 months or so to be completely cured. It's obviously hard enough to handle weather when it leaves the factory, but still isn't as hard as it will get.

Isocyanates are the hardening solvent in clearcoat, and some base coats. It is extremely hazardous by the way, this is what takes 6 months to fully cure. However it is hard enough that it is not releasing toxins in the air after it's been baked. If it were that soft, it would be a health issue to even be around the car. It's not a huge difference in hardness, but it is there.

I dont know if you've ever felt or worked on a finish within a day of it being cleared, but it does feel different than one that's been sitting around for a while.

The place I learned to compound was a high volume wetsand shop, we'd take cars from the booth and sand then compound them. I know exactly what you mean. Generally I don't see it much on new mass produced cars; they tend to be "as hard" from the day they are delivered to the day they die, but it seems like more and more are "hardening up" after delivery. Either way, I appreciate the explaination.