Something is happening to my paintwork that I can't explain

[mikearwas]

Hi all,

I'd like your thoughts on the below please.

One day about 6 months ago i noticed that my roof was horribly scratched up with some deep scoring as well as what I can only describe as some minor denting in the shape of a scratch, sometimes with small gaps in between the dents but the total indentations seem to go on for inches.

I hadn't remembered driving under a tree but initially although annoyed put it down to that. However, yesterday I noticed similar markings were beginning on the bonnet and I have absolutely no idea what is causing it. I initially thought it could be cats or squirrels but surely they couldn't do so much damage. That wouldn't explain the denting patterns either (to be clear the denting is in the paint not the metal). Also note the paint damage by the aerial which has made me begin to wonder if the paint itself is failing and pulling itself apart but I doubt that could explain the scratches.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? I'm gutted because 8 months ago the car was absolutely mint and now I think I'm in for two panels to be resprayed, the associated worries about paint match and still I'm none the wiser as to what could be causing this. I'd really appreciate any thoughts.

[mikearwas]

EazyDuz said:

If you value your paint, never buy a red (soon to be faded pink) car.
Hard to tell but paint can crack due to rust underneath. How often do you clean and wax it? All paint will deteriorate if never cleaned and sealed

Thanks for the response. The paint itself isn't fading just seemingly denting and cracking. Usually waxed every 3 months.

[mikearwas]

SMB said:

Looks like a failure of the paint surface, some form of paint reaction or shrinkage. has it been previously repaired, ?

I saw just this on one of our cars from the eighties, only solution is a strip and repaint.

Interesting - I wasn't aware of any previous repair although can't be sure. The issue is only on the bonnet and roof though, other panels are perfect.

[mikearwas]

EazyDuz said:

Might just be the pics but it doesnt look very shiny. Looks like the clear coat isn't even there. I'd just get some of that colour matching polish and hide it as best you can, then sell the car if it gets any worse.

Thanks for the response. It's not a metallic colour (Japan red on a 130i) and hasn't been waxed in a while hence the dull finish.

I'm really not sure what to do with it to be honest. If I got the panels resprayed would I get the cost back in a sale?

[mikearwas]

Robbo 27 said:

If there is minor denting with the scratching then I cannot see that it is paint failure, is vandalism a possibility?

I don't believe so - the other panels are immaculate so I wonder why a vandal would target the roof and bonnet?

[mikearwas]

TallPaul said:

Its obviously difficult to tell from photos but that looks like classic overload of material and its broken down. Possibly filler but more likely (espeslcially as they're flat panels) too much primer. Undoubtably a poor previous repair and at best needs stripping back to metal and redoing. May need new panels depending on how bad the underlying metalwork is and that would explain why there's too much material on there in the first place.

Thank you, how much would you think that's likely to cost?

[mikearwas]

Robbo 27 said:

I had a 59 plate 1 series and never saw anything like this. The area around the aerial looks very bad but not an obvious target for vandals, do you know the cars history, was there any paintwork done before you had it?

Not that I'm aware of but given it wasn't CAT recorded you never really know. I saw no signs of any repair when I bought the car in Dec 2012.

[mikearwas]

MrMoonyMan said:

How old is the car? Is there a chance it could still be under the BMW paint warranty?

9, coming up to 10 years old. I'm not sure how I would prove its a paint issue though?

[mikearwas]

I will try and take a picture of what I mean by denting tomorrow. I'm not sure if denting is the right word but it's an impression in the paint that doesn't seem to be a scratch.

It thought paint warrantys only covered rust?

Edited to add that if you look st bottom right quarter of first photo - the marking there is what im describing as denting.

[mikearwas]

996TT02 said:

There is only one solution, you need to remove that paint layer completely and respray.

I would think it unlikely that anyone other than yourself is going to be paying for that, it's definitely a result of a poor (non factory) paint job, generally the paint has been applied too thickly / too rapidly so the top coat skins over sealing in the as yet still not properly dry base layers.

How much is that likely to cost?

[mikearwas]

Robbo 27 said:

I had the bonnet and bumper done on my car one year ago, BMW wanted £3000 for the work. Got a bodyshop to do it for £1000. They cracked the windscreen when they did the work, they said that it often happens and that it was my responsibility. If the screen needs to come out check it with them first.

£3000 for bonnet and bumper seems outrageous for me. Even £1000 sounds expensive.

[mikearwas]

Right, does anyone know of any good body shops in Sussex or Surrey?

[mikearwas]

Thank you guys. I will do some phoning tomorrow.

[mikearwas]

Hol said:

Where do you park it during the day?
Is it next to a high wall with a footpath or shops behind?


The ONLY reason I ask is that may years ago, the wifes car sufferred similar damage when somebody used her car as a shortcut ramp to navigate through a car park.


She was running late and the space concered was suspiciously empty considering the time of day. She later found out that other people knew to avoid it as schoolkids were using it as a rat-run shortcut.

The scrapes were from grit stuck to the bottom of their shoes.



It just 'looks' very similar.

Parked on a drive at night and in a private work car park in the day so this as unlikely to be honest although the thought has crossed my mind.

[mikearwas]

Robbo 27 said:

I would be interested in knowing how this ended up and what happened here, especially the cause of the scratches/marks.

Thanks

I've taken it to one bodyshop. His view was that it was a bad respray and the lacquer had never hardened. Says the only way to fix properly is back to bare metal and respray (but he would say that). He's yet to come back to me with a quote.

[mikearwas]

Quote coming in today. In addition, some better pics at links below taken by a mate.

It's getting worse by the day but at least its confirmed that its an issue with paint rather than persistent vandalism.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.p...

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?p=194...