Car covered in hair-line scratches

[Segments]

So, my car is BSM , and was covered in swirls when I got it maybe a month or 2 ago. It was recently polished with Zaino. The weather has been poor, but I noticed the other day in good lighting, the whole body is covered in scratches that follow the strokes of the polish. All directions were followed to the "T" when using the Zaino kit. I'm wondering, what might have gone wrong ? And also, do you guys think they can be removed with a good paint correction ? Hopefully I can get you guys some pics, but it is SO hard to capture these scratches on film. Thanks a lot guys.

[tehron]

how did you apply / work the zaino?

my car (jet black) had tons of swirls on the hood you could see in certain lighting. polished the hood and they went away

[DSSG]

The first thing you need to learn is what is Clear Coat. Read this:

http://arrc.ebscohost.com/ebsco_stat...CUSSES_CLE.htm

The swirls and fine lines have nothing to do with your polish or wax. They are the result of not washing the car properly. The swirls are left by using a wash mitt that is too abrasive to the Clear Coat. It can also be due to wiping the water off the surface with an abrasive towel.

Another less obvious reason is the car isn't washed often enough leaving contamination on the Clear Coat surface. Unfortunately, modern car finishes require a lot of attention to keep them looking good. BTW, if you have a garage, keep the car in it.

The four-step method:

1. Wash the car. First hose off the dirt from top to bottom. Use a Car Wash Soap and apply it with a soft non-abrasive wash mitt.

2. Clay the car. This is mandatory whenever you are going to wax the surface.

3. Polish, however, I recommend you skip this step.

4. Wax. You can use a real wax or a synthetic wax like Nu Finish. These are properly called sealants, but they'll bring out a shine in your paint.

If your Clear Coat has a lot of swirls or has been degraded by the environment, you'll have to polish the surface. Polish is very difficult to apply by hand and requires a machine application. If you do, make sure you use a polish with an ultra fine abrasive. 3M makes one that is universally used by detailers. Also make sure you do some practice with a polishers before you tackle your own car. Maybe the neighbor's?

[Segments]

Originally Posted by DSSG

The first thing you need to learn is what is Clear Coat. Read this:

http://arrc.ebscohost.com/ebsco_stat...CUSSES_CLE.htm

The swirls and fine lines have nothing to do with your polish or wax. They are the result of not washing the car properly. The swirls are left by using a wash mitt that is too abrasive to the Clear Coat. It can also be due to wiping the water off the surface with an abrasive towel.

Another less obvious reason is the car isn't washed often enough leaving contamination on the Clear Coat surface. Unfortunately, modern car finishes require a lot of attention to keep them looking good. BTW, if you have a garage, keep the car in it.

The four-step method:

1. Wash the car. First hose off the dirt from top to bottom. Use a Car Wash Soap and apply it with a soft non-abrasive wash mitt.

2. Clay the car. This is mandatory whenever you are going to wax the surface.

3. Polish, however, I recommend you skip this step.

4. Wax. You can use a real wax or a synthetic wax like Nu Finish. These are properly called sealants, but they'll bring out a shine in your paint.

If your Clear Coat has a lot of swirls or has been degraded by the environment, you'll have to polish the surface. Polish is very difficult to apply by hand and requires a machine application. If you do, make sure you use a polish with an ultra fine abrasive. 3M makes one that is universally used by detailers. Also make sure you do some practice with a polishers before you tackle your own car. Maybe the neighbor's?

This is basically the process I followed, only I polished by hand, I think I'll have it professionally corrected soon, or tough out the imperfections until nice weather comes around.

[PyRo]

Ultrafine abrasives are no good on a BMW, the clear coat is very hard and requires a more aggressive pad compound combination to have any affect. I will post the work done on mine from a post on another forum let you have an idea of what may be required.
PyRo

[suspenceful]

I am in the same situation. My BSM 1er wasn't in the greatest shape, so I set a whole day aside to detail it. Wash, clay, cut, polish, wax.

Before/After: (the imperfections you see in the "after" picture are reflections of cords, lights, ladder in the garage, etc).


Afterwards, I noticed in certain light that the whole car had fine swirls following the contour of the pad I used. It comes down to the pad picking up small dust/dirt and then spreading that across the rest of the. The side of the car that I started on looks great, but the side I finished on has the small swirls. I should have cleaned the pad, or just switched it. It still looks good enough (a lot better), but I'll re-do it again in Spring.

[Kgolf31]

Hand polishing cannot create enough heat to effectively remove scratches.

[suspenceful]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Hand polishing cannot create enough heat to effectively remove scratches.

I should clarify, I was using a machine with 10" pad.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Segments

This is basically the process I followed, only I polished by hand, I think I'll have it professionally corrected soon, or tough out the imperfections until nice weather comes around.

Originally Posted by suspenceful

I should clarify, I was using a machine with 10" pad.

I was addressing OP's post. Sorry. Should have quoted.

[Segments]

Yes, that's the conclusion Ive come to. ^^^ Will be getting a nice kit this holiday season, and hopefully will get similar results to Suspenseful

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Segments

Yes, that's the conclusion Ive come to. ^^^ Will be getting a nice kit this holiday season, and hopefully will get similar results to Suspenseful

Very possible. Just gotta get the right products and take your time.

I use a rotary, but I started on a DA

[Segments]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Very possible. Just gotta get the right products and take your time.

I use a rotary, but I started on a DA

Appreciate the help, yeah I definitely have a few I can test my skills on. Now, if I was to wait , will the scratches be harder to remove ? I currently don't have a garage, and don't want to do it in the cold. (Will most likely find a garage to work in, but just wondering)

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Segments

Appreciate the help, yeah I definitely have a few I can test my skills on. Now, if I was to wait , will the scratches be harder to remove ? I currently don't have a garage, and don't want to do it in the cold. (Will most likely find a garage to work in, but just wondering)

If anything the salt will probably create some more damage so it is actually to your disadvantage to do it now to only allow more damage throughout the winter season.

As well, you don't want to do it in the cold as it isn't that effective of a temperature for polish. I'd just wait til spring. You might have more damage to deal with, but it isn't like the existing damage will magically become worse.