Hi all: Just picked up my fabulous new car at the end of Feb. Took the car home, popped it in the garage, and the next day, we're hit with 8 in. of snow - can't drive an M3 even in ONE inch of snow, so I had a couple of days off from both drooling and driving... I take the car out of the garage and park it on the driveway on the next sunny day after everything melted (no, not to admire it necessarily - but to put all my stuff back into the glove box and trunk from my previous vehicle)... Lo and behold I notice a 7-8" curvy scratch on the hood. Deep enough to feel with a fingernail. Oh boy... Take it back to the dealer who agrees to try wet sanding it. Only moderately successful and only on the not-so-deep part of the scratch. So they have me pick up the car, suggesting that they'll arrange for the hood to be painted at their usual detailer/body work shop. The car is Titanium Silver metallic, which apparently is a huge pain in the butt to repaint correctly and I found several horror stories online about the way the "metal flake" lays in the paint on the hood (new) vs. the rest of the front part of the car, matching problems, etc. My questions are... What are the pros and cons of repainting the whole hood attempting a touch-up paint matching issues am I asking for a world of trouble by repainting the entire hood vis a vis durability, flaking, excessive chipping over the (harder?) factory paint, etc.? Your advice, input, and recommendations are greatly appreciated!! -- David
I'm no expert but I've had my share of scratches, chips, touch-ups & repaints. My first suggestion would be to try and touch it up because you basically have nothing to lose. It's a very small financial investment (versus the full repaint) plus you retain the factory paint on the rest of the hood. If you don't like the way it looks, you always have the repaint as a last option. Is the scratch just in the clear coat or all the way through the paint? The BMW factory touch-up paint kit includes a bottle of clear coat. I had a couple of stone chips on my hood that were really just through the clear coat so I used the small bottle from BMW, then I used my Langka (I LOVE this stuff!) to flatten the 'blob' and it turned out great. Like I said, I would try it since you don't really have anything to lose. As for getting the hood repainted, if it's a really high quality body shop, they should be able to match it almost perfectly. I just had the hood and nose on my Cosmos Black M3 repainted because of serious road rash. The shop I use did an amazing job and they also blended the paint into the surrounding body panels so even if there was a slight difference, you could never tell. Even in bright sunlight, at every angle, I can't see any difference...it turned out perfect. The key is the body shop. If they are really good, you won't have any problems. The only caution with a full repaint is that the paint definitly will not be as hard and durable as the factory paint. My paint & body guy told me to invest in a clear bra once the paint cured because it will chip easier than the original factory paint. Just my $.02 worth...
Dan - thanks so much. And makes perfect sense: can't lose with the touch-up attempt as a first step. And you confirmed my fear about the aftermarket paint being more fragile... sheesh... why don't they just seal these cars in kryptonite at the factory? Would make life easier, no? <grin>. -- D.
Maybe Matchbox should build real cars. I remember as a kid I used to be able to beat the snot out of those things and they never scratched or dented and they kept on rolling along. Granted, they would probably weigh 15,000 lbs...and the doors, hood & trunk wouldn't open...and you would have to push them since they wouldn't have a motor... But just go ahead and try to give it a door ding!!
You might check with a detailer who does airbrush paint correction if you're not happy with the touch-up attempt.
Matchbox or Hotwheels. Gee the head on collisions those cars survived with never a single scratch. I used to see how high I could drop them from and have them still land on all 4 wheels. Maybe it would work if we all lived on top of a hill and took a loop de loop to work.
How did you end up DavidNewman? Did you try to touch it up yourself? I would recommend DrColorchip for a really good match and it lays flat and shines. Hope it worked out. Getting a whole hood repaint wouldnt be hard for an experienced painter with the correct factory-pack paint. You just have to know how to paint it so the metalflake lays down like the original did. If you do get it repainted, you have to be careful and not rub on it for a while so it can dry. The more time it gets outside in the sun the better. I agree a Clearbra would also be a good investment no matter what you do, but if its installe don a repaint, dont plan on taking it off ever, as it might pull some of the paint off.. Can you post a picture of the scratch? Good luck with this. DanF
I'd repaint it using BMW OEM materials. You drive an M car and I'll bet you wouldn't be happy with a touch-up.
