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  #1  
Old 11-20-2011, 02:14 PM
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Best strategy for new paint

Any suggestions for restoring paint on an old X5 (5-years old)? Can I buff out cobwebs by hand?

Last edited by chrisutley; 11-20-2011 at 02:29 PM.
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Old 11-20-2011, 04:20 PM
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You cannot do this properly by hand.

It is not THAT hard to do, however, if you invest in the right equipment and materials. There are likely many threads in detailing forums about this, but the highlights are below:

1. Time- you will need a couple of days

2. Space- you need a garage, maybe heated? Light.

3. Clean- Strip off all old wax, dirt. Wash it twice. You want NO dirt whatsoever.

4. Prep- Remove weatherstripping, or mask stuff you do not want to damage (note if you find grit/dirt when doing this, wash again.

5. Paint correction- You will use a random orbital buffer (PC 7424, etc) with decreasing compounds to remove surface imperfections, and then to polish.

6. Wax or Polymer protection. I like Zaino.

Depending on the surface and how much abuse the paint has suffered, you can get a 5 year old car looking pretty nice.... however please don't tell me it's black.



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Old 11-20-2011, 06:18 PM
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ARD hit it on the head. A porter cable orbital buffer from any auto detailing supply shop or Home Depot with the proper technique and pads will do the trick. I use Poor Boys SSR (Super Swirl Remover) (2.5) Green Pad and (1) White Pad followed by a Carnuba (Black Pad) and a hand glaze sealant. If you research Autopia threads you will find a plethora of info on orbitals and Swirl Removers.
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Old 11-20-2011, 09:12 PM
ard ard is offline
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I'll re-emphasize... reading my post you can get lost. Three distinct steps:

Clean
Restore paint/ surface
Protect


Don't get so caught up in the different names of materials and what brands and all that stuff... every major detail will hit those three things.

If you do research and start trying to understand what it is they are trying to accomplish with each product, you can start developing your own understanding of how it fits together.
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Old 11-21-2011, 08:52 AM
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I'm interested to know why the need to restore the paint on a 5 year old X5? Just wondering if I'll experience it on mine when gets about that age.
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Old 11-21-2011, 02:45 PM
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Pay a professional to do it, if it is your first time. OR try it on a lesser car first. The OMG when you burn through the paint on an edge....not priceless.
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Old 11-21-2011, 04:04 PM
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Whats up with black?

I had mine professionally wet-sanded and buffed and it looked amazing.

However, there were other issues that made my decision to accomplish a high end respray. Now it looks as good as any brand new car, but I wouldn't mind taking it back to that slicker appearance that the wet-sanding and buffing offered.
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Last edited by Gixxerboy63; 11-21-2011 at 04:13 PM.
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Old 11-21-2011, 08:26 PM
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"wet sanded and buffed"

Why?

That is something done to correct a defect- NOT a way to get 'slicker' appearance... the only time you need to do this is for orange peel/other surface defects.

(or many shops just feed a line of crap to people who don't really know what goes into the process but want a shiny car)

Black it the hardest color to keep looking good. Fact. 5 years of neglect will be a bear to correct.
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