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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Paint Etching Worth Fixing?
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      06-02-2018, 03:16 AM   #1
coderguy
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Paint Etching Worth Fixing?

I recently picked up a Jet Black 2015 535i xDrive w/ 22k miles, 1-owner off lease, and a clean carfax loaded with options including the massaging seats, acc stop & go cruise, 360 cam, and more. It's a beautiful car and I'm really loving driving it. However, the dealer hid some paint problems with dark filler compound and a buff job. It's not MAJOR... but it does bother me to know it's there. I think it's from bird droppings? But could be tree sap? There are 2 different issues, some little circles (smaller than a pencil eraser) where the clear is just simply gone. There are maybe 10-15 of those spots on the roof. Then there is a drip looking thing which has some clear on it still, but is also a little rough and yellow under the paint. That's on the pillar above the driver's door and down the front trim piece that is next to the windshield.

Other than the eye sore (which no one but me has noticed in 6 weeks of owning the vehicle since it's primarily on the drivers side), I'm worried about the integrity of the paint / metal if I don't get it fixed. Insurance is obviously no help (would BMW factory warranty help? I still have a full year of that before CPO kicks in). In any case, I got some quotes from two different shops in town. One I've used before on a 2013 Town & Country van (they did a good job), and the other was recommended to me by my local indy import service center.

To strip, repair, and re-spray the roof, pillar/quarter panel, and trim piece, one shop was ~$1,557 (using the Axalta paint system) and the other was ~$1,927 (using the PPG paint system). For grins I asked what it'd be to also re-spray my hood and front bumper and the first place came in around $2,738 to tack those two items on. I didn't ask at the higher priced shop as I didn't think of it initially and stopped there first.

The reason I'm curious to get some advice is because I also have an appointment scheduled with a detailer in town on the 11th to do a paint correction and ceramic coat. However, now I'm questioning if I should do some re-painting before I get the correction. He didn't ask for a downpayment, but I want to let him know as soon as possible if I'm going to back out, for now. The paint correction is $400 and the ceramic-pro 9H Silver package is $800, so I'm looking at $1200 for that detail work, too, eventually.

Should I leave the etchings, get the paint correction the best he can, and get it coated and be done? Or look at some re-spraying?

Also, if anyone has opinions on Axalta (solvent based) or PPG (water based), I'd love to hear it. I think BMW uses both on different cars at different plants, from the research I did.
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      06-02-2018, 07:01 PM   #2
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Get everything fixed up to your likings no better filling than knowing car is spotless
Good luck
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      06-02-2018, 07:52 PM   #3
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I don't see how they could hide that or you could miss it.
But that's in the past.
I wouldn't be able to live with it.
I would start with a medium range body shop and start getting estimates.
Including a high end shop, also including a worst case, respray.
Then after comparing everything, decide what I could live with.
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      06-02-2018, 11:45 PM   #4
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I couldn't live with it. I would always think about it and it would drive me crazy. I had a similar thing happen on my 2012 535i's right rear door. Once I knew it was there I HAD to get it fixed.
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      06-03-2018, 06:45 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wcr3d View Post
I don't see how they could hide that or you could miss it.
But that's in the past.
I wouldn't be able to live with it.
I would start with a medium range body shop and start getting estimates.
Including a high end shop, also including a worst case, respray.
Then after comparing everything, decide what I could live with.
Thanks for the reply! I did notice it, but didn't notice how bad it was. It was a cloudy day when I went to pick it up for the test drive and take delivery and it's honestly hard to see that yellow unless it's in direct sunlight. Now don't laugh...I'm 34, but this is also my first BMW, and my first solo "expensive" car purchase, so I was a little intimidated and overwhelmed by the whole experience. The test drive was only the 2nd time I'd driven a bimmer and compared to the 2018 Mazda 6 Signature I was also considering, the 535 is just at a whole different level. In the flurry of things, I simply didn't make them make it right. And part of me was probably rushing into things a bit. I was nervous to miss out on the vehicle since it had everything I wanted and had been searching for for weeks (minus this paint situation, obviously). Everything else is pristine, it's CPO with over a year of factory warranty, so I figured I could get anything else that cropped up addressed easily enough in the next 2 years of warranty. Complicating matters is the fact that I'm in the Green Bay area, but drove down to Chicago to trade-in my '08 Honda Accord (about a 4-hour drive), so it's not like I can just pop down there. I've thought about asking if the dealer would do anything to help me out cost wise on getting it fixed up, but I'm nervous that they would insist on using their own shop in CHI, cut corners, and I'd end up in a worse situation in a few years. Though, I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. At the end of the day though, I'd rather get it fixed right, even if it's a little more money now.
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      06-03-2018, 03:14 PM   #6
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I bet you could polish all or most of that out.
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      06-04-2018, 01:39 PM   #7
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You might have your detail guy give it a look prior to doing any work. I'm not as optimistic as others that polishing will save this and you definitely want to determine whether to paint any panels prior to your detail. If it was my car, I don't think I would be spending $1200 on a detail with ceramic coat on a car that had these problems. I would use that money to fix the issue, and perhaps polish and coat the car myself. A dual action polisher isn't that hard to use, and there are all sorts of videos on Youtube and product suppliers websites.
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      06-04-2018, 05:59 PM   #8
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Just for a benchmark, I had my front bumper cover painted for $350 - including all body work in correcting rock chips.

I wouldn't think painting your roof and a slim portion of your door will run more than $1000... if not $800. It's definitive panels that have easy masking points. Rear quarter is a different story altogether. I would wager a mid level shop would be ok.... your hood on the other hand, has to be mirror perfect... roof, no one would ever see it at the angle to see even swirling in my opinion.
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      06-04-2018, 09:57 PM   #9
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I don't think it'll polish out. On a lot of those spots there's nothing to polish. They're depressions in the clear down to the base. You can't polish the absence of clear, unfortunately. The yellow could maybe polish out...but I'm skeptical.

Here's the quote from the shop that I asked for the hood and front bumper to be included. I'm not exactly sure how that math they're doing is totaling up. Doesn't seem to work out to me...but maybe I'm missing something. Either way, looks like the paint is relatively expensive (do shops typically calculate paint cost like an hourly rate? Seems odd...), and the labor for that side quarter is almost 9 hours alone.

The part cost of $42.82 is the cost of a new sunroof gasket/seal since the one I have is white and damaged from over polishing.

I'd love any insight as to whether this is a reasonable price for the time and materials or not. I know it's region dependent, but is this in the ballpark?

Thanks!
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      06-04-2018, 10:00 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wcr3d View Post
...including a worst case, respray.
wcr3d - could you elaborate on the difference here? Is "respray" different than the normal work to get things patched up properly?

Thanks!
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      06-04-2018, 10:53 PM   #11
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A respray is what you think it is, when they have to repaint it.
Which by the looks of that estimate is what they think also.
The estimate looks to be divided into 2 columns,
The first is for things like prep, which would be masking off area, removal off trims and whatnot, also when they are done you have to take that masking off, put from back on and such.
The other column is for the actual sanding, spraying cleaning, etc..
Anyway that is the way I read it.
It seems to be ballpark to me.
I would also want to know about guarantee, if they have any.
I also would not stop at just this one estimate.
Get another and maybe one from a higher end shop to give you perspective.
If you are really picky you may consider having the whole car redone.
Some people wind up unhappy after having sections done because you are looking at old paint vs new.
Keep us updated, and like they say, pics or it didn't happen. :-)
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      06-05-2018, 12:36 AM   #12
coderguy
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Thanks for that wcr3d! I didn't know if a re-spray was of lower quality (some industry jargon name for a shortcut or something) than sanding and re-finishing properly or something, so just wanted to make sure I had my terminology right.

I'm still planning on getting the whole car corrected and ceramic coated (after however long they say I have to wait for everything to cure), so I'm hoping that the old versus new will be minimal.

I have 5 shops on my list to call tomorrow to see how things shake out. Not sure if they'll want me to come in to see it to get a quote or if I can do them all on the phone.

Also, anyone have any reservations about going to a reputable shop but one that doesn't do many BMW's? I don't think I'm worried as much about the painting process (or system) itself as I am about them not being as experienced in disassembly and reassembly of the parts necessary to remove when masking off to paint. I'm not even talking about the paint prep work (that seems pretty universal), but the "how the hell does this bumper come off" work and potentially damaging electrical, etc. I have the front bumper cameras and the radar cruise all wired up in there.
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      06-05-2018, 04:00 AM   #13
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Ya that is one of the chances you take and part of the guarantee you ask about.
That is Also why you go to a higher end shop.
Most are going to want to see it unless you just flat out want the respray/repaint.
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      06-06-2018, 10:39 AM   #14
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I called over to the dealer who has their own body shop (they're the only certified BMW collision repair center within 150 miles of my house) and they said that a lot of times when the bumper is taken off, the car needs to be re-programmed. I asked him if this was just a matter of clearing a code, or if it actually required re-programming. He said sometimes they do need to be re-programmed, especially if the radar cruise control control was disconnected. Has anyone else experienced that? Seems like a bummer, if true, since I'd need to take it over there if I had another body shop do the work anyway.
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      06-07-2018, 02:50 AM   #15
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Sorry i don't have that. He is probably meaning recalibrate.
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