Car wash scratches. Best way to resolve?

[E92_325]

Hi all,

I visited my usual car wash yesterday and they’ve wrecked my space grey E92 bonnet. I understand there is a risk of scratches when using these £10 car washes but this damage is excessive and I did trust them as I have used them a number of times with good results. Lesson learnt.

I’m not too clued up with paint work so was hoping someone here can advise the best way to get this looking better. Not sure if it’s worth giving it a polish myself (Any compound recommendations?) or if it’s best left to a detailer. Let me know your thoughts.

[mmm-five]

If you're not capable/willing of washing it yourself (me neither), then I'd not risk trying to clean/detail/polish it yourself either as a polisher can damage your paintwork even more if the prep isn't done right.

[E92_325]

mmm-five said:

If you're not capable/willing of washing it yourself (me neither), then I'd not risk trying to clean/detail/polish it yourself either as a polisher can damage your paintwork even more if the prep isn't done right.

You’re right. It’s best left to a pro. So annoying because the car is booked in for a sump gasket replacement next week which isn’t cheap! I guess sorting this isn’t urgent. Just painful to look at, especially with the amount of sun we’re getting which highlights every scratch.

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

You could try a wax with fillers in it, its not a permeant fix but it ought to improve things for now. I'm not an expert but I hear Poorboy's Black Hole is very good.

[Uncle Meat]

Did they use a squeegee to dry the car?! *shudder*

It doesn't look too bad, someone who knows what they're doing could probably sort that by hand although a proper polishing machine would always be better/quicker.

[Wills2]

Really hard to ruin your paint with a DA polisher using a medium cut polish and medium pad, but you might not want to buy it all if it's just a one off but it'll probably be cheaper than getting a good detailer to do it as they understandably will probably want to do the whole car.

[Rob_R]

How deep are the scratches? If you run your fingernail along them does your fingernail get caught in them? If not, you can honestly get quite good results from just going over them with some polishing compound and a microfibre cloth. You don't necessarily need a polishing machine to get them out unless they are quite deep.

[danb79]

You can DIY that easy enough - get a DA off Amazon, some pads, and a decent cut/polish/finish product

Something like:

DA: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ginour-Polisher-Detailing...
Pads: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lake-Country-Mfg-Heavy-Po... (get 2)
Polish: https://www.amazon.co.uk/menzerna-Polishing-Mainte...
Pad prep: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chemical-Guys-BUF_301_16-...
Clay mitt: https://www.amazon.co.uk/G3-Pro-7191-Deep-Clean/dp...

That's a good basic set up - exactly what I used on my cars before I bought a more expensive DA and a mini-DA for smaller areas etc

Wash the car by hand; reapply soapy water to the bonnet, use the clay mitt to rid any sap/tar spots etc, re-wash and then towel dry - and then use the DA to buff the bonnet back to a high standard

Use the pad prep spray to lube the pad; 4 small pea-size blobs of polish and do the bonnet in 4-6 sections, one at a time and see how you get on

That set up you'll not damage your paintwork at all; just keep the pad moving and use the variable speeds of the DA - LOTS of how-to's on Youtube and the likes

As an example; this was a previous E81 130i LE in Carbon Black - to test my skills; I did the spoiler first, 2 passes and this is how it came out:



Once you get going, you soon get into a rhythm and it gets easier

[steveo3002]

as said da polisher and all the bits should sort it

BUT if you continue to use these cheapo washes whats the point , probably happen again in no time

[Chris_i8]

Just pay a detailer local to you for an hour of their time to whizz a machine polisher over it....way cheaper than buying any equipment yourself.

I'd be happy to polish it for you if by chance you are local to Devon?!.

Chris