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BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

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tomotomotomo
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BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by tomotomotomo » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:01 pm

Well today I took my car to the local handwash to get rid of the salty road grime. Afterwards I was admiring my nice clean bonnet and noticed the paint on the wings, where they fold down into the engine bay, has started to wear away.

Has anybody else had this? The car is sterling grey so it doesn't exactly go unnoticed.

I found a thread here discussing it.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1065766

Pretty appalled to be honest. On the plus side I did get a nice pic for the newbies forum 8)
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ranski
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by ranski » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:36 pm

Quite common, also on mine

But it's nearly 10 years old so not too miffed, besides the rest of the paint work is top notch for its age
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by Bing » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:39 pm

On mine too. Check the boot round the inside as well.
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by tomotomotomo » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:49 pm

Yep around the boot too. Must be to save weight :lol:
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by edzed » Tue Jan 22, 2013 7:53 pm

I wasn't aware of this - will have to check mine out. :(
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by -Tom- » Tue Jan 22, 2013 8:04 pm

Same on most modern BMWs , leaving out the shuts which aren't often seen.

I'm pretty sure too that on many of their models they have a decent finish on the roof and bonnet due to bring at eye level but you pay extra for the rest of the paint to match in finish ... Hence look at most decent 3 series and their orange peel on side panels is shocking. Correct me if the reasoning is wrong!

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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by yg54sg » Thu Jan 24, 2013 4:50 am

1995 E36 you could eat your steak of it without scratching it! 2004 Z4 i try not to push the sponge too hard when cleaning it. There is certainly a difference in paint quality. the E36 appears to be a lot tougher, i would say its the clearcoat being thicker?
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by aquazi » Thu Jan 24, 2013 8:56 am

Is this also because they now use non lead water based paints?


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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by sars » Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:49 am

aquazi wrote:Is this also because they now use non lead water based paints?

Indeed it is and the high temperature curing makes it very brittle, not sure what causes the orange peel effect, but at a recent motor show every car had some allegedly.


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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by -Tom- » Thu Jan 24, 2013 10:10 pm

yg54sg wrote:1995 E36 you could eat your steak of it without scratching it! 2004 Z4 i try not to push the sponge too hard when cleaning it. There is certainly a difference in paint quality. the E36 appears to be a lot tougher, i would say its the clearcoat being thicker?
Yep agreed - most times I wash her I notice new scratches and chips, especially light scratches limited to the lacquer. So frustrating, already starting to give up cringing over loose surfaces.

With regards to the peel, changing the thinners to water as said increased the peal. Loads of cars have the orange peal thought so not just BMW - however it is definitely worse than many other cars out there. I used to notice it on my mate's 3 series coupe, once you noticed it it really flawed the car's looks which they exaggerate even more by buffing the bonnet to high heaven for first impressions ...
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by jttaylor » Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:49 pm

I have this paint issue on my 03 black Z4. Just on the inside of the front wings visbile from looking in between the bonnet edges. I thought I purchase a bad en until
i found posts on piston heads and another forum!

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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by mad4slalom » Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:26 pm

my m is the same, the paint on the inner wings and under the bonnet and tailgate is semi matt and very thin, yes water based paint is used for the colour couts but still a 2 pack lacquer, which by the way is so hard to polish scratches out of but it still marks really easily, ..frustrating. the orange peel maybe from high air pressure whilst spraying, and as it a gun finish and not flatted and polished as in the old cellulose days it stays there, i dont think they polish the bonnet and roof as another post said , i think they probably just paint the flat panels a bit wetter , ie a double header coat and it flows a bit more before it flashes off prior to baking. the side vertical panels, doors wings etc need to be painted a bit dryer to avoid runs, this can be achieved by upping the pressure, speeding up the pass of the gun or moving the gun slightly further away from the panel.just an old paint sprayer's take on it . :thumbsup:

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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by PaulG » Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:28 am

I was once told by a detailer that another possible cause for the poor finish especially on the sides is down to gravity - after the clearcoat is sprayed, on vertical panels, it 'sags' due to its own weight before it is baked. On horizontal surfaces, it can settle flat (or flatter at any rate)
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by craig3.2 » Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:11 am

Yes,like alot of "premium" manufacturers these days,paint finish leaves alot to be desired. I was shocked at this when i 1st got my 05 z4 yrs ago,as it had been the replacement for a 2003 Seat Leon Cupra,which then cost 16k(pre-regstd) and had excellent paint finish all round in its silvery-grey(mercury) colour,compared to the poor finish on the boot and engine bay,wings etc on my 20month old 2005 z4 3.0i which had cost the 1st owner 36k!!

Funnily enough,my current 2008 M is better finished than my 05 one was.
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Re: BMW cost cutting on the paint job?

Post by Machine monkey » Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:28 am

My paint is exactly the same. I just thought someone had been a bit keen with a machine polisher??
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