BMW paint.... hard?

Z

Zero4

Member
Ok, so I'm a new owner of a Z4 ( picked up today ) and looking forward to getting it filthy..... and getting it clean again :D

I've always detailed my cars in the past and generally have had Audi and VW which have hard paint. I take it BMW are the same?


3M clay
menzerna 3 stage cuts / Makita / lake pads
Black hole ( I've read its ok on silver so no need for the white )
R222
Chem guys XXX

Thinking EX-P for winter.

Anyone with silver had good results with anything else?
 
I see to machine polish my E89 with a DA and it took a good few times to get results....so the answer is yes, very hard!!

I'm sure it's easier with a rotary!
 
On the Z BMW used a ceramic paint and laquer combo..
Its hard to get a decent cut, even with hard pads

Microfibre pads are better.

If you have a driven Da like a rupes or rotary then it corrects the paint easier..
 
using a rotary Makita so should be ok with a micro fibre pad. I'll try cutting bad first to see if I get anywhere
 
Um....lot of questionable info here. MF pads were developed for DA use and meant to take advantage of slower speeds and lower temps that DAs cut with. If your going to be using a rotary - you make want to look into wool pads (if necessary) or just cutting foam pads.

Dunno about E89 - but E85/E86 were not ceramic (ceramiclear) paint. They all were painted in Spartanburg SC with standard paint. These cars have medium (not very hard or soft) paint.

I'm not sure what a "driven DA" is. But Rupes' dual action polishers have a similar free floating spindle mechanism to all other DAs (minus the Flex 3401). The Rupes' advantage is the larger throw of the pad.
 
^ what he said.

I have removed DEEP scratches from Z4's in minutes with a rotary. It's not soft but it's easy enough to get the paint moving.
 
Fair enough...

The BMW paint tech at the main dealer told me the paint was ceramic on my Z,as its gone in for paint warranty.He may have just been spinning me a line...?

The paint on my Z is very hard.... The rotary was used on mine when it went in for paint correction and the light RDS on the hatch where very hard to remove..
 
had a quick pass with Orange Lake CCS on the rotary, didn't really have time to do the car but just wanted to see what combo to use and If i needed to buy anything else in
first. The Orange pad with med cut then the Blue with final finish seemed to do the trick. Its not in a state at all to begin with really. Pleased its going to be a relatively simple job before winter sets in. :)
 
Das21E & microfiber pad did job well in my Z4. Unfortunately i cannot remember which meguairs compound it was. Not so hard paint, for example B7 audi was more difficult to work.
 
Have a go with a hard pad and compound on the chips...

They will never disappear but its amazing what can be done..If you take all the edges off the chips they become heck of a lot less noticeable. Finish with a good glaze and sealer..
 
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