Trouble areas of my car - need help!

[alw6589]

Hey guys,



So I've recently made a pretty decent investment into detailing - Flex DA, Meguiar's line of polishes/waxes/cleaners, necessary buckets/wash mits/towels etc, but the more I read here the more I realize really how over my head much of this is. I'm happy to introduce myself into the community, and excited to receive help for the first time (besides reviewing a hundred threads before making my investment)



With that said, I'm hoping for your kind support with trouble areas of my car. I drive a 2008 BMW 335i (E90 sedan), and it's had its fair share of bad body work/neglect. Hoping this isn't too much to ask from 1 thread, so feel free to answer 1 at a time based on your experience/expertise. Pardon the dirty car and crappy pictures



Trouble area 1 - paint bulging where 335i emblems used to be

See the first picture. I recently debadged my car, and from a distance it looks MUCH better, the only problem is that up close you notice this paint bulge. I assume the last body shop to repair/repaint the trunk did not wait long enough to let the paint cure before putting the emblems on.

What's your recommendation? It looks beyond repair with wetsanding, so IMO I can A) repaint, B) sand down and wrap the trunk, or C) wetsand and rebadge without fixing the bulge. Thoughts? Should this area not be wetsanded?

Trouble area 2 - cracking of plastic near passenger rear view

See the second picture. The trim/plastic all over the car is bad but this is the worst. Do you think it's safe to wetsand this area, then maybe apply a product like C4?

Again what's your recommendation? Anyone done similar work on E90/E92 BMW trim, what worked best for you?

Trouble area 3 - generally, ****** repaint work. No picture but can upload later if needed. There is orange peel everywhere, worse in some areas, and the car has had body work at different times by different shops so the paint/clearcoat thickness must be different.

Can I wetsand without a paint thickness reading tool? Haven't seen a good one for less than $600, and that's way out of my budget. If I start cautiously, is this still too dangerous for a novice?







Trouble area 4 - chrome trim scratches

This is REALLY noticeable. Scratches cannot be felt, so I'm hoping they are not through the clearcoat, but I've done some light wetsanding before and it did not solve the problem.

Should I step up the sandpaper grit? Should this trim be removed for this work or can I just tape off the surroundings?

Trouble area 5 - trim is fading/cracking everywhere, mostly around sunroof and windshield & rear window

This seems a common area on this generation of 3 series. Unfortunately I didn't have the foresight to do this 2 years ago when I bought the car, and it's only got worse.

Recommendations? Products? Anyone fix this with success?

Thank you all so much for your help and expertise. This forum is one of the most amazing that I've ever browsed, and I'm excited to move from lurker to member. Hopefully I can be in your shoes after some more practice and experience ^_^

 

[Accumulator]

Hey guys,..With that said, I'm hoping for your kind support with trouble areas of my car...

Welcome to Autopia!



I don't know from e90s (my Bimmer days ended after the e36) but I'll take a stab at your Qs. You'd benefit a lot more from the input from somebody who really *knows* these cars, but maybe this will at least give you some food for thought.

Trouble area 1 - paint bulging where 335i emblems used to be

See the first picture. I recently debadged my car, and from a distance it looks MUCH better, the only problem is that up close you notice this paint bulge. I assume the last body shop to repair/repaint the trunk did not wait long enough to let the paint cure before putting the emblems on.

What's your recommendation? It looks beyond repair with wetsanding, so IMO I can A) repaint, B) sand down and wrap the trunk, or C) wetsand and rebadge without fixing the bulge. Thoughts? Should this area not be wetsanded?

See that area on the right-hand side of the pic, where things are really deep? IMO that's enough to justify a repaint. Between that and the general issues, I'd have the trunk lid repainted.

Trouble area 2 - cracking of plastic near passenger rear view

See the second picture. The trim/plastic all over the car is bad but this is the worst. Do you think it's safe to wetsand this area, then maybe apply a product like C4?

Again what's your recommendation?

If that somehow happened on one of my "good" cars, I'd spend a fortune having the plastic replaced. But for anybody remotely normal I'd recommend merely living with it. I would *not* wetsand as IME plastics don't respond well to that. I'd merely apply the product. I don't know from C4 (at least not first-hand); I myself would probably use heavily layered KSG.



I don't *think* this would be an application for ValuGard's ETRIII kit, but maybe Ron Ketcham could say for sure.

Trouble area 3 - generally, ****** repaint work. No picture but can upload later if needed. There is orange peel everywhere, worse in some areas, and the car has had body work at different times by different shops so the paint/clearcoat thickness must be different.

Can I wetsand without a paint thickness reading tool? Haven't seen a good one for less than $600, and that's way out of my budget. If I start cautiously, is this still too dangerous for a novice?

When it comes to wetsanding, let alone on a "mystery history" vehicle, my honest opinion is "if you have to ask, don't even think about it". That is *NOT* intended as a slam, it's just that doing that is perhaps the easiest way to trash things. People are always coming on here and saying "I was wetsanding..." and then they describe the horrific damage they instilled and they ask us how to fix it, and the answer is "have a shop repaint what you destroyed".



Heh heh, did I scare you off that idea? Hope so



I've had vehicles like that, and I simply gritted my teeth and convinced myself to live with the [crappy] paint, at least for a while. It's funny how something unbearable can quit bugging you over time, so I'd really try to approach it that way.



Or else save up thousands (and I don't mean just three or four) and have the car repainted, but be aware that the painter might uncover something you'd rather not know about.

Trouble area 4 - chrome trim scratches

This is REALLY noticeable. Scratches cannot be felt, so I'm hoping they are not through the clearcoat, but I've done some light wetsanding before and it did not solve the problem.

Should I step up the sandpaper grit? Should this trim be removed for this work or can I just tape off the surroundings?

Sorry to hear you wetsanded. DO NOT do any more of that :nono:



First- is it really chrome or is it clear anodized/power coated aluminum?



In any case, don't wetsand such surfaces.



I'd try polishing it up as best you can (maybe with felt buffs on a dremel, but be careful) and then I'd coat it (the C4 or OptiCoat or somesuch). Another case of learning to live with it IMO.

Trouble area 5 - trim is fading/cracking everywhere, mostly around sunroof and windshield & rear window..

You could try scrubbing it (gently, I hate saying "scrubbing" as people get too aggressive) with IPA to remove the "dead" material, and then see how it looks. This might well be a good application for ValuGard'd ETRIII kit (link: http://d41922.u33.snhosting.net/wp-content/uploads/Exterior-Trim-Repair-Kit-III-ETR-III.pdf )



On my vehicles, I just cleaned with IPA, abraded gently with Hi-Temp Heavy Cut/"357" (an oddly plastic/rubber-friendly compound), cleaned again with Klasse All In One ("KAIO"), cleaned *that* off with Griot's Rubber Prep, and then coated with Ultima's UTTGP (I think the name is something like "Tire and Trim Guard Plus). Then maintained with ValuGard's Fast Finish. This worked incredibly well for me on vehicles whose trim was simply *awful* when I got them (looked a lot worse than yours). It did take me a long, long time though and refinishing with the ETRII kit would've gone a lot faster (I've used it on other things and it really is a great system).



Summary- Don't take my "learn to live with it" the wrong way; if you clean things up really well and merely *arrest the degradation* so it doesn't get worse, you'll be miles ahead. Trying to "fix the unfixable", or DIY something that requires expert attention, will merely lead to frustration and can easily make things worse.