Porter Cable accident, fukked up paint.

Jaws · 11-12-2007, 02:53 PM

My wife is the primary driver of the E90 and we've lead a happy 1.5 years of door-ding-free BWM ownership, until this past weekend.

I noticed on Saturday that there was a chunk of paint missing from the ridge that runs the runs the length of car about 20 cm below the side windows on the RF door. This was obviously caused by the door of a higher vehicle and it resulted in a 1x1 cm patch where the paint had been shaved off, but there was no dent.

Door dings of any type on my vehicles are dealt with quickly, usually by means of paintless dent repair, but in this case touch-up paint had to be used. I've had good results in the past filling rock chips by using the paint, following it up with clear coat and polishing the chip so that the height of the repair matches the surrounding paint. Everything went well until it came to the polishing part. I was too busy focusing on my repair to notice that I had polished the ridge right down to the primer which was hidden beneath the pad. :sad0147:

.

The result of my stupidity is a 5 cm length (by about 0.5 cm wide) at the top of the ridge which is now black primer. Obviously the PC couldn't sit flat on the door since I was polishing the ridge and all the energy from the buffer was concentrated on a small area. I was only using Poorboys 2.0, and an orange Lake Country pad which is really not very aggressive.

Anyway, will this take a R&R of the door and a complete repaint? Or, will will a blend job suffice? Thanks.

edit: My favorite body shop is closed today, so i haven't been able to seek professional advice yet.

canucklion · 11-12-2007, 04:11 PM

man, sucks to hear bro. So the paint chip was right on the door edge?

Jaws · 11-12-2007, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canucklion

man, sucks to hear bro. So the paint chip was right on the door edge?

darkcloud · 11-12-2007, 06:51 PM

Shitty. Mind posting a pic or two to have a visual of what actually happened? I'm trying to tie everything together but w/o actually looking at my car I'm kinda dumbfounded how that could have happened.

EDIT: DAMN!!! I didn't even think that was possible with a PC. What color pad were you using??? That's crazy and unfortunately seems like will need repainted and prolly the whole door. Since that is central to the door I think a spot fix will stick out horribly.

I always try to keep the PC moving constantly even when I'm fixing a specific spot, even though I still didn't think it was really possible for a PC to burn through the paint like that.

mike fab · 11-12-2007, 07:53 PM

Jaws -- those pictures made me upset to look at. You might want to put a warning on this thread...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaws

we've lead a happy 1.5 years of door-ding-free BWM ownership

Wow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaws

I was only using Poorboys 2.0, and an orange Lake Country pad which is really not very aggressive.

Just curious, how long were you on that spot? A few minutes, or 30+ minutes?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaws

Anyway, will this take a R&R of the door and a complete repaint? Or, will will a blend job suffice?

Personally, I would take this to a professional. Sounds like you can take a shot at it with your blend job -- but this might be a time that it makes sense to bring in a pro. Worst case, give it a try -- if it doesn't work you get the car painted...

Makes me think that edge is a very sensitive spot. I suspect that we'll see more threads like this in the future. Wish I had better advise for you -- good luck.

ejazbmw · 11-12-2007, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkcloud

I always try to keep the PC moving constantly even when I'm fixing a specific spot, even though I still didn't think it was really possible for a PC to burn through the paint like that.

+1
sorry I just don't believe the a PC could such damage even if a newbie was using it he/she couldn't do that. Are you sure it wasn't there before or something? I find it very hard to believe a PC did that to your paint.

!Xoible · 11-12-2007, 08:03 PM

u can probably reconstruct that paint. if anything you can get some paint from dealer and buff it out.

btw, you probably know this, but there's a technique called "edging" which is doing the edges by hand, not by a PC.
sorry about your accident, i hope it gets resolved

Jaws · 11-12-2007, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ejazbmw

+1
sorry I just don't believe the a PC could such damage even if a newbie was using it he/she couldn't do that. Are you sure it wasn't there before or something? I find it very hard to believe a PC did that to your paint.

It happened just as reported. Again, the the only part of the car which was in contact with the pad was the tip of the ridge which is why this has happened. I don't think it would be possible to damage the paint if it was a flat surface. It only took about 2 min to accomplish this masterpiece of automotive detailing.

If you don't think this is possible, please feel free to try it for yourself and let us know.

Jaws · 11-12-2007, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike fab

Personally, I would take this to a professional. Sounds like you can take a shot at it with your blend job -- but this might be a time that it makes sense to bring in a pro. Worst case, give it a try -- if it doesn't work you get the car painted...

I am going to get it painted properly. I would never be able to pull this off to my standards. The question is, will it be a $200 job (a blend) or a $500 job (R&R w/complete spray of the door).

Live and learn.

335i_Danny · 11-12-2007, 08:41 PM

Use the touch up paint to fix that. It will be harder but it is certainly doable.

Also, I'm not sure why you're applying clear coat over touch up paint. It is not necessary. What you should do is apply the touch up paint until it forms a "blob" that is higher than the original paint. Proceed then by wet sanding the area with 2500 grit sand paper (soaked in water for at least a couple hours to soften), then hit it with 3000 grit, then some polish with your PC. The touch up paint will polish to an almost identical shine as the clear coat surrounding it.

Polishing the affected area down to the level of the original paint is not a good way to do it. You should always wet sand by hand as it allows you more control and is safer (when done with proper technique). Try it on the new damage, and if it doesn't work out, get the door repainted. Good luck.

Jaws · 11-12-2007, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 335i_Danny

I'm not sure why you're applying clear coat over touch up paint.

I comes from BMW with a tube of base and tube of CC. You'll have to ask BMW why they supply it that way.

Thanks for the other tips.

FMINUS · 11-13-2007, 03:13 PM

that doesnt look too bad, if you are in CA, come over and Ill take care of it for you. BRING THE FACTORY PAINT!!!!!!!!!!!!

11-12-2007, 02:53 PM	#1
Jaws Lieutenant Colonel 50 Rep 1,738 Posts Drives: 2006 325i mt Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Edmonton iTrader: (0)	Porter Cable accident, fukked up paint. My wife is the primary driver of the E90 and we've lead a happy 1.5 years of door-ding-free BWM ownership, until this past weekend. I noticed on Saturday that there was a chunk of paint missing from the ridge that runs the runs the length of car about 20 cm below the side windows on the RF door. This was obviously caused by the door of a higher vehicle and it resulted in a 1x1 cm patch where the paint had been shaved off, but there was no dent. Door dings of any type on my vehicles are dealt with quickly, usually by means of paintless dent repair, but in this case touch-up paint had to be used. I've had good results in the past filling rock chips by using the paint, following it up with clear coat and polishing the chip so that the height of the repair matches the surrounding paint. Everything went well until it came to the polishing part. I was too busy focusing on my repair to notice that I had polished the ridge right down to the primer which was hidden beneath the pad. :sad0147:. The result of my stupidity is a 5 cm length (by about 0.5 cm wide) at the top of the ridge which is now black primer. Obviously the PC couldn't sit flat on the door since I was polishing the ridge and all the energy from the buffer was concentrated on a small area. I was only using Poorboys 2.0, and an orange Lake Country pad which is really not very aggressive. Anyway, will this take a R&R of the door and a complete repaint? Or, will will a blend job suffice? Thanks. edit: My favorite body shop is closed today, so i haven't been able to seek professional advice yet. __________________ 2006 325i - Sparkling Graphite 2000 S2000 - New Formula Red 2007 Chev Silverado crew cab Z71
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

11-12-2007, 04:11 PM	#2
canucklion pull my finger to get your kinder® surprise 152 Rep 10,455 Posts Drives: circles around you Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada iTrader: (9)	man, sucks to hear bro. So the paint chip was right on the door edge? __________________
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-12-2007, 06:51 PM	#4
darkcloud Colonel 365 Rep 2,385 Posts Drives: 09 VW JSW Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: cleveland, oh iTrader: (2) Garage List 2006 325i [0.00]	Shitty. Mind posting a pic or two to have a visual of what actually happened? I'm trying to tie everything together but w/o actually looking at my car I'm kinda dumbfounded how that could have happened. EDIT: DAMN!!! I didn't even think that was possible with a PC. What color pad were you using??? That's crazy and unfortunately seems like will need repainted and prolly the whole door. Since that is central to the door I think a spot fix will stick out horribly. I always try to keep the PC moving constantly even when I'm fixing a specific spot, even though I still didn't think it was really possible for a PC to burn through the paint like that. __________________ retired 06 E90 325i New: 09 VW Platinum Grey Jetta Sportwagen 2.0T SEL w/DSG, panoramic sunroof and Ipod adapter
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-12-2007, 08:03 PM	#7
!Xoible Banned 902 Rep 46,010 Posts Drives: .... Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: . iTrader: (4) Garage List 2008 M3 [4.00] 2007 335i [9.00] 2008 528i [8.00] 2006 Infiniti - G35 ... [8.00]	u can probably reconstruct that paint. if anything you can get some paint from dealer and buff it out. btw, you probably know this, but there's a technique called "edging" which is doing the edges by hand, not by a PC. sorry about your accident, i hope it gets resolved
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-12-2007, 08:41 PM	#10
335i_Danny Casual Observer 1 Rep 80 Posts Drives: 2008 335i Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hoboken, NJ iTrader: (0)	Use the touch up paint to fix that. It will be harder but it is certainly doable. Also, I'm not sure why you're applying clear coat over touch up paint. It is not necessary. What you should do is apply the touch up paint until it forms a "blob" that is higher than the original paint. Proceed then by wet sanding the area with 2500 grit sand paper (soaked in water for at least a couple hours to soften), then hit it with 3000 grit, then some polish with your PC. The touch up paint will polish to an almost identical shine as the clear coat surrounding it. Polishing the affected area down to the level of the original paint is not a good way to do it. You should always wet sand by hand as it allows you more control and is safer (when done with proper technique). Try it on the new damage, and if it doesn't work out, get the door repainted. Good luck. __________________ 2008 Sparkling Graphite Metallic 335i Coupe 6MT - Premium/Sport/Cold Weather/Nav On Order - expected delivery 11/14/07
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-13-2007, 03:13 PM	#12
FMINUS Captain 76 Rep 758 Posts Drives: FMINUSDETAIL@gmail.com Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Chino Hills CA iTrader: (2)	that doesnt look too bad, if you are in CA, come over and Ill take care of it for you. BRING THE FACTORY PAINT!!!!!!!!!!!!
	Appreciate 0 Quote