All those little chips and scratches

[jay stride]

Having enjoyed a succession of silver cars I've now got a Toledo Blue Z4 and I'm suddenly noticing all the small scratches and stone chips that the dealer must have somehow hidden when he delivered the car! So I'm avidly reading this bit of the Forum as in the past all my cars had were a quick wash down and a rare polish. Seems I'm entering another world here!

What intrigues me is how on earth do you cope with dealing with all those inevitable scuffs, scratches and stone chips when you have put so much effort in time and money into detailing your cars?

 

[mmm-five]

You just have to make a conscious decision to either let the car go to pot and get it professionally repaired/detail once a year/decade, or keep on top of it by washing (not just washing of course) it by hand regularly and using the process to help you find/fix any new damage.

I've got some paint protection film on mine which helps with some of the stone chips, but you'll still see tiny dents in the plastic bumper where the stones have impacted - the film just stops the stone from taking any paint away.

I've also noticed the Z4 pics up stone chips in really strange places, but that may just be due to how low it is - i.e. I've got stonechips (not big ones, they look more like pin-pricks, but are easy to see on a black car - I knew I should have gotten a white one ) along the sill in front of the rear wheels, on the haunches over the rear wheels, on the roof, on the upper part of the bonnet, on the wings, etc.

I do a quick wash when the car is dirty (usually if it's been for a good run in the rain, or has been sitting in the rain/sun/rain/sun weather for a week) and I'll give it a thorough (for me) going over once a month. Anything else is done by a professional, as I know I'll do more damage if I try.

 

[klarky]

yeah every time i wash/polish/wax mine i find more scratches & chips. im waiting till its worse and will have the front bumper and bonnet re sprayed. im currently using autoglym super resin polish which hides minor scuffs & scratches, and wax over the top. when i start to see a couple of scratches in certain areas i know its time to re polish/wax, one is on the front by the badge, the other is a cat claw scratch near my spolier.

 

[sammyz]

After 18,000 miles the front bumper has a few stone chips on it. Eventually it will need a respray. Bottom of sills in front of rear wheels has a couple of chips, but if your gonna enjoy the car it's got to collect it's fair share of chips and scratches. I use super resin polish and a good wax. I will get it professionally detailed next winter.

 

[IK.]

mmm-five - I can explain the ones on the rear arches in front of the rear wheels. It's stone chips from when your front wheels are turned, and because the rear arches stick out, they hit there. No stone chips on my roof though, yet.

 

[cj10jeeper]

mmm - you should have the roof down to reduce those chips

Pushing towards the lifetime 1mm miles has taught me that you get most stone chips by driving close to the car in front. In my old motorway warrior days I could sandblast the front off my car in a year sat in the fast lane 15' behind the next in line.

I'm sure the Zed just makes it worse by being low and still in the firing line of piched gravel and stones. 90k on the X5 and there's hardly a mark on it, but given the front height and armour surrounding everything, flared arches and running boards, it's no surprise.

Chips are something we have to live with on that exposed low car or spend our time hanging back or on the other side of the road overtaking

Swirls - well that's our own fault, but generally I've changed my habits to parking near nobody, avoiding places where people brush by, hang back on gritty roads, etc.

 

[sammyz]

My better half asked me why I was driving a way behind a car on a little B road in the Lakes. pointed out that the road was full of gravel and that it could chip the paint.
'Wouldn't happen in my car ' she said, she drives an X5

 

[Spooky]

.

 

[dan_i]

35 quid ain't cheap, ask a refurb can be done for around that. But I know BMW repaired some scuffs on my wheels before I picked up my car, but they weren't refurbed, so they probably used a similar guy, and the job is spot on.