[bimmertt]

Is it possible to correct these? I have some on my hood and I think they are mostly from clay misuse (not done by me...long story)

[Envious Eric]

thats not a swirl, thats a scratch!!!! - and lots of them! you need a machine to polish these out. Find a pro, or hit up detailed image for a kit to do it yourself!

its totally possible that someone claying the car would have used too aggressive a claybar and inflicted MORE damage into the paint that wasnt removed with the polishing process. I ONLY use megs blue or clay magic blue or DI light clay on BMWs...clay magid red, and megs red tear the paint up WAY too much!

[bimmertt]

Originally Posted by Envious Eric

thats not a swirl, thats a scratch!!!! - and lots of them! you need a machine to polish these out. Find a pro, or hit up detailed image for a kit to do it yourself!

its totally possible that someone claying the car would have used too aggressive a claybar and inflicted MORE damage into the paint that wasnt removed with the polishing process. I ONLY use megs blue or clay magic blue or DI light clay on BMWs...clay magid red, and megs red tear the paint up WAY too much!

Yeah...I just did some research and I think it is RIDS. They are relatively deep scratches in the clear. Is this typical wear on the cars paint such as swirl marks? I don't think I ever had this problem with my other cars.

Kinda pissed off right now because I paid someone to do this

[jopa489]

RIDS can happen to any car that isn't washed or polished properly, but Eric is right on - if the imperfections are catching your nail, it's more than your standard swirls. Did you just pay someone to detail the car and they caused the damage?

[bimmertt]

Originally Posted by jopa489

RIDS can happen to any car that isn't washed or polished properly, but Eric is right on - if the imperfections are catching your nail, it's more than your standard swirls. Did you just pay someone to detail the car and they caused the damage?

Yup...when I went in, I had very light swirling all over the car. My car is BSM so it was bound to happen. Guy was supposed to do paint correction before applying my clear bra. After receiving the car, I can tell that all he did was clay the car which left pretty severe swirling all over with deep scratches in various places. No way he did any paint correction. Pretty pissed about this. Guy could talk the talk but could not walk the walk. Had all the right equipment, products, etc...just didn't know how to use any of it I guess.

I am in the process of correcting it myself. I have been trying Optimum Compound on an orange pad but that is not removing all of the swirling/scratches. I've been thinking about stepping up to a yellow pad, but have heard that it is better to use a more abrasive product than to jump to a yellow pad.

[MFKN3]

Why don't you pursue the detailer instead of trying to fix his f*ck up?

Sounds like it will end up being be a job for the bodyshop as you can't simply buff out scratches if your nail is catching on them.

[TOGWT]

Deep Scratches

A surface scratch that will `catch' your fingernail is approximately 0.04 Mil (1.0 µ) deep will usually require wet sanding and the clear coat refinishing Removing a scratch requires removing the layer of paint that contains the defect; you need to level the paint to the lowest point of the scratch. Removing more that 0.5 mil (12µ) of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure as UV protection percolates to the top of the clear coat. Check paint film thickness with a Paint Thickness Meter (PTG) before you attempt to remove

As you go over a deep scratch, the abrasives round off the edges of the high spots of the scratch. The result is a shallower scratch (when no full correction can be made) rounded edges don’t reflect light the same way a sharp edge will and is therefore less noticeable.

It may be necessary to carry out some localized wet sanding to facilitate full removal of any deep scratches, once again, paint thickness must be checked, and if the paint is too thin wet sanding should not be considered

[Envious Eric]

wait, you are saying the scratches are under the bra? you will never polish those out with the bra on it. if its the surrounding area, un-bra'd paint, then take it take, point it out, see what he says...if nothing, then find another detailer to do it! whatever you do, dont waste your time doing it by hand!

[bimmertt]

Originally Posted by Envious Eric

wait, you are saying the scratches are under the bra? you will never polish those out with the bra on it. if its the surrounding area, un-bra'd paint, then take it take, point it out, see what he says...if nothing, then find another detailer to do it! whatever you do, dont waste your time doing it by hand!

The extra swirls are all over the car. There are a few areas with deeper scratches here and there. I am 100% positive they were not done by me because I take very good care of the car and I know proper washing/drying technique. I haven't really noticed any scratches or swirling under the bra...YET

I am very hesitant to take it back to him because this experience just confirmed that he has no clue how to properly detail a car. I do have a UDM, some pads, and compound/polish so I am not doing it by hand. I am a noob myself though which is why I deferred to him to do the detail to begin with. If I cannot knock it out myself, I will def. be taking it to a professional.