[Haywire]

Quick question.

The car overall looks decent, far from fantastic but a lot of the paint issues were resolved. What I can't seem to overlook are numerous 1-2cm long, straight vertical cuts/scratches in the clear that I caught under my garage lighting, opposed to in the sun where it looks much better. They aren't normal scratches, if anything...they kinda resemble a gentle scratch that would be made by a straight edge razor.

Number one, do I have legitimate concern? If so, can those be taken out rather easily with another detailer or am I really far behind the 8 ball now.

[Wingman335]

Do your fingernails catch on those scratches? If so, then it may be difficult to fix by simply detailing. However, if they are smooth, a simple polish will take care of it. Use a Porter Cable 7424 and some compound to buff them out.

[Haywire]

no no no, nothing deep... like i said, its very superficial and fine, in fact... a fingernail could probably make the same scratch. the dealership said they wanted to try and fix it in shop, I reluctantly agreed. Now I'll be asking them to cover the cost of a 3rd party shop to correct their mistakes.

thanks for your reply

[Envious Eric]

youre in ontario as in up north, or around the 60 in CA?

[Reflections]

^Eric hes in Canada judging by his flag. Did the dealership detail your vehicle :O How did they come to be?

If you don't feel them, chances are that you'll be in luck as a compound with polish will remove them. You can attempt by hand with a foam applicator and Meguiars Ultimate Compound and see how far you get. It might take several tries with lots of pressure.

[Wingman335]

Originally Posted by Reflections

^Eric hes in Canada judging by his flag. Did the dealership detail your vehicle :O How did they come to be?

If you don't feel them, chances are that you'll be in luck as a compound with polish will remove them. You can attempt by hand with a foam applicator and Meguiars Ultimate Compound and see how far you get. It might take several tries with lots of pressure.

It will be difficult to remove the clear coat scratches using hand. It's easier/safer to simply invest in a orbital buffer and use it to get the scratches/swirls out.

[Reflections]

Originally Posted by Wingman335

It will be difficult to remove the clear coat scratches using hand. It's easier/safer to simply invest in a orbital buffer and use it to get the scratches/swirls out.

Yep indeed your right. I was just looking out to save the OP a buck. He just got a detail so why spend $200+ for a kit right after a detail. It's a great tool, in fact I got 2 , Griots and the PCXP.

Regardless keep us updated.

[Envious Eric]

doh, didnt even see that!

[UncleWede]

ALMOST sounds like somebody taped off sections to show how good a job they do, then didn't remove the tape and polish between the lines

[Haywire]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

ALMOST sounds like somebody taped off sections to show how good a job they do, then didn't remove the tape and polish between the lines

I wish that was the case. The dealership got a crack at my detail because they washed it with a no wash sign on it and scratched it in the first place. I've heard horror stories about detailers from dealerships on this site, but I was told it was a third party guy that they bring in for "special cases" like this. Well, it turns out this "special" guy, is exactly that... just in other areas, outside of detailing.

My paint was still pretty good before, its far worse now after the first rain since I got the car back. The sun came out today and I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I saw my ride.

I'm now asking BMW to cover the full cost of a 3rd party detailer of my choosing. Its probably not going to be in the $200 range, considering he put holograms all over my car.

Fu@k I'm just livid, at myself for letting them try...and them, for trying!

[Envious Eric]

look up "word of mouth detailing" I am not sure where you are located, but they do a very good job at things!

[Bobble]

Not that this matter but anyone wondering how good a dealership detailer is here's a little story from the dealership my son works at as a tech.

They hire this kid who is a friend of someone, has no detailing experience to speak of but worked at a car wash writing up tickets. So they make him a detailer day one no training or anything and he does @8 to 10 cars a day.
Ok does not sound like a detail, can't do that many a day so he basically washes cars, applies spray wax etc but the kicker is once or twice a week he gets to buff/polish a car using an old beat up rotary with a wool pad my son described as a "glorified shop towel".
Now how many people are satisified with that, guess what most are but I saw pictures of a car he did, buffer trials everywhere paint was hammered. They just slathered on a ton of glaze and it looked great until the wax wears off and then the glaze. That's a detail you'll get from a dealership.

I personally wash my car the night before taking it to the dealer and kindly tell them no need to wash as it's clean thank you very much. BTW they have still washed it before even though I tell them that.

[Haywire]

Originally Posted by Bobble

I personally wash my car the night before taking it to the dealer and kindly tell them no need to wash as it's clean thank you very much. BTW they have still washed it before even though I tell them that.

This is what kills me Bobble, I knew I shouldn't let them touch it... I was told it was going to be a 3rd party dude from out of shop so I took them at their word. When the rain came out, then the sun... it was obvious that whoever did my car had no clue what they were doing. Its just so upsetting. I too have a no wash thing on my car, and thats what got me to this point in the first place...they washed it, then scratched it.

I don't know how much "damage" has been done, but its going to take a good hand to correct. There isn't too much hazing, but a lotta superficial scratching that make for some light holograms.

I'm guessing 5-6 hours work, maybe more... I don't give a shi@t because its going to come out of BMW's pocket as far as I'm concerned.