[cmgolfr212]

First post here! Bought my 2018 M550i in Dark Graphite about 2 months ago and had some questions about the finish of the paint. Just to back up, I've had Audi's, a Tesla, couple Camaros, and a F-150 which never had the rough "almost" orange peel feel of this M550i.

When I bought it from Passport BMW in Alexandria, VA, they detailed it and it looked decent on purchase. I decided to spend a day detailing it myself (polish, claybar, and 2 coats of wax). It still looks a little rough in texture. I had the car at BMW of Fairfax earlier today and showed them what I was talking about and they dismissed it to be having the car washed in a brush automated car wash (wasn't the case).

I've attached some pictures (it just rained so the car is a bit dirty but I think you can see the "texture" I'm speaking of. Didn't know if this was normal or not but its been driving me crazy for the past 2 months.

Btw the only issue spots are only the doors and not the trunk.


Is this worth bringing up to the dealer again or is this normal?

[crypto]

I can see from the first pic what you are talking about toward the top part of the image. I'm not sure I have seen that before and looks odd. Is the whole car like that or just some parts? Does it feel uneven when you touch it?

Also random aside but I think Passport BMW is in Maryland.

[cmgolfr212]

Originally Posted by crypto

I can see from the first pic what you are talking about toward the top part of the image. I'm not sure I have seen that before and looks odd. Is the whole car like that or just some parts? Does it feel uneven when you touch it?

Also random aside but I think Passport BMW is in Maryland.

Sorry yeah you are right. I got it from Passport Infiniti which happens to have mostly BMW in their used car inventory. It only has 29k miles and is still under Bumper to Bumper until Dec 2021.

As far as the paint goes, the rough "textured" paint is only on the doors. It feels like orange peel when you touch it. Its just odd to me that my wifes Kia Telluride has a better paint finish to it than a $89k bmw when new. My dark grey Audi s6 also felt like butter when I did the same detailing process to it.

I understand some car manufacturers have some imperfections when mass producing their cars but this seems odd to me. Hoping I could get some input from same year and same color so I can gain some insight.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by cmgolfr212

Sorry yeah you are right. I got it from Passport Infiniti which happens to have mostly BMW in their used car inventory. It only has 29k miles and is still under Bumper to Bumper until Dec 2021.

As far as the paint goes, the rough "textured" paint is only on the doors. It feels like orange peel when you touch it. Its just odd to me that my wifes Kia Telluride has a better paint finish to it than a $89k bmw when new. My dark grey Audi s6 also felt like butter when I did the same detailing process to it.

I understand some car manufacturers have some imperfections when mass producing their cars but this seems odd to me. Hoping I could get some input from same year and same color so I can gain some insight.

Maybe car has had paintwork?

[akuwes710]

I have jet black and looks somewhat like this when its not detailed. Out of curiosity when i saw G30 in parking lots, i noticed same thing.

I think bmw paint job is not the best compared to Merc….

[cmgolfr212]

Originally Posted by claykin

Maybe car has had paintwork?

I don’t think so because the car had a clean car fax record and no service records with BMW for paintwork.


I’m starting to think I need to bring this back to the dealership and have them compare it to another used 5 series for a comparison.

[Tk718]

Originally Posted by cmgolfr212

I don’t think so because the car had a clean car fax record and no service records with BMW for paintwork.


I’m starting to think I need to bring this back to the dealership and have them compare it to another used 5 series for a comparison.

Originally Posted by cmgolfr212

I don't think so because the car had a clean car fax record and no service records with BMW for paintwork.


I'm starting to think I need to bring this back to the dealership and have them compare it to another used 5 series for a comparison.

I would get a paint thickness gauge on Amazon and verify if it was ever repainted

[cmgolfr212]

Sounds good. Any other ideas or someone have a similar experience?

[Nadz]

i had a similar texture on my old G31 that was alpine white. In certain lights it would looks like orange peel but it was never rough to the touch (i used to clay and wax it every few months). I always assumed that the paint was meant to be like that. I now have a bernina gray and it doesnt look like that at all. Could it be that some paints show it more?

[Joe-BMW33]

Without seeing it in person and just going off your description (pics aren't helpful for me), the feel to the touch has me the most concerned. My gut reaction based on this only being on the doors is that maybe this car was keyed? Not everything shows on carfax. The PO could have paid to fix it OOP and worked with the shop to not report it. Both could be indications of probably not a quality job. There are many reasons why people avoid going through insurance. I also would be suspicious as to why this car was on an infiniti lot and not the BMW lot of the same dealership? Was it not certifiable? They have to get approval for any body work noticed (not on record) to meet certification requirements. Painted body panels and doors would rule out any CPO.

The paint on my 2018 is perfect. No dimples.

Stop bringing it to the dealer for their opinion and bring it to a body shop. They will tell you in two seconds what is going on.

[AlteBMW]

Agree with the above poster. I've never seen this on multiple cars I have had, both new and used, and if it is rough to the touch, it just isn't right.

I also suspect it was keyed and the doors were repainted. Not everything goes into CarFax.

[Warp Ten]

I agree with several of the comments. It does seem to be more orange peel than is normal on a factory paint job. Likely repainted but maybe not reported to an insurance company or Carfax. Checking it with a paint gauge would help you know that, but probably is not necessary. As I recall, orange peel is normally in the clear coat (if there is a paint expert out there, correct me if I am wrong). If it bothers you to see it, you might take it to a good detailer who does paint correction work. He probably would have a paint gauge and could tell you if it was repainted. It may need to be wet sanded and then polished or it may just need a good paint correction polishing. A few years ago I had a paint correction done on my '95 Corvette ZR-1 and it improved the 25 year old finish remarkably and got rid of the factory orange peel. It only cost about $500 for the whole car, so cost should not be too bad to fix this. --Bob

[DNYC1919]

I have a 2021 540 in bernina gray. Cannot see it at all on any paint.
But when I wrapped the roof in gloss black vinyl under certain angles of light I see the exact same orange peel. So based on that fact I say could just be light , angle and color.

[Opie55]

What your pictures show is "normal" on virtually every car to some extent. When clear coat is applied, it does not lay down perfectly flat. When you buy a very high end car like a Rolls Royce, the clear coat gets sanded flat then polished. I remember reading a Car & Driver review of a Bentley a few years ago that said "The paint makes a BMW look like its paint was applied with a towel." Having said that, yours looks far more pronounced than normal, and looks to be a repaint. If you can truly feel it, then that is not good. Most body shops these days do a poor job laying down a good clear coat. I have had both my bumpers repainted because of routine scuffs, and I just accepted the fact that I had to wet sand them and polish. They are like glass now and my front bumper looked worse than your door. It can be improved considerably by wetsanding and polishing but I would not complain to BMW until you know for sure it is factory paint.