[robbyb83]

Hello,

I recently (4 weeks ago) took delivery of a new M550i x-drive in Bernina Gray. I washed it 2 days ago for the first time and noted a small blemish in the clear coat, low on the rear passenger door. I took some pics, but it is hard to capture. It is basically an area where the gloss clear coat seems to be matte. I don't remember seeing this on delivery, but I don't recall any specific time there could have been a scuff to this door, and washing it recently was the first time since delivery that I paid close attention to the whole surface area.

Does this look like something that I can just polish out with some wax? Admittedly, I have not owned a new car with nice finish/paint for over 15yrs, so I have not really been up to date on detailing.

Thanks!

[SonD]

More likely an area totally missed by the 'clear coat' so the paint beneath appears matt.
Do not try and polish it out (it most likely will not)
IMO - that is a trip to the dealer and have it fully checked out.
Had this on a car once (not BMW) where an entire bonnet was without clear coat (un beknown to me) It simply never polished correctly, - ended up with a bonnet respray, and a struggle as the dealers were trying to say I had messed it up by polishing.
A letter from a professional re-sprayer did the trick in the end, along with the threat of action with lawyers etc.

[robbyb83]

Originally Posted by SonD

More likely an area totally missed by the 'clear coat' so the paint beneath appears matt.
Do not try and polish it out (it most likely will not)
IMO - that is a trip to the dealer and have it fully checked out.
Had this on a car once (not BMW) where an entire bonnet was without clear coat (un beknown to me) It simply never polished correctly, - ended up with a bonnet respray, and a struggle as the dealers were trying to say I had messed it up by polishing.
A letter from a professional re-sprayer did the trick in the end, along with the threat of action with lawyers etc.

Thanks for the response and advice. I'm a little hesitant to take it back to the dealership for what sounds like maybe a big project (respray). I would be excessively worried that they would end up messing it up more, or making a repair more noticeable than the current blemish. I'll have to think about this some more and maybe send my SA at the dealership an email with some pics.

Robby

[claykin]

Very hard to tell from the photos. Take it to dealer body shop and give them a chance. May be something that got on the car and needs a chemical to strip off. The cosmoline undercoat can sometimes appear as a dulled clear coat when it gets on the finish.

The way bmw sprays cars, and quality checks them, I'd be surprised if this is an overlooked factory defect.

[LuvMyE92]

First of all, shame on you for going so long before washing your car!!!

Second, I agree with claykin that it's unlikely that it was a factory paint error and not caught in QA. More likely some careless tourist rubbed against your car while you were parked in the historic district.

Third, wax isn't abrasive enough to remove any defects. All it does is make it look shiny. You'll need some actual polish, and when I do that I always start with mild abrasives and work my way up until I fix it. Natch this is after years and years of collecting polishes, pads, polish machines and a lot of experience granted from years of mistakes. Fortunately, that's probably a good spot on the car to learn on.

Fourth, fix your profile and replace the 3 series with the mighty 5, will ya?

Fifth, before you do anything, I suggest that you take it by the dealer and see what they say. They can likely polish it out themselves and not have to paint anything and they shouldn't charge you for it.

If it does require some repainting, you want to start there anyway so that they won't accuse you of buggering it up yourself, as happened to SonD.

[robbyb83]

So, a little update. I feel slightly foolish. Earlier today, a friend took one look at the spot, told me that I must have bumped something, to which I protested, so he said someone must have brushed/bumped me. He got a microfiber towel and a drop of some polish and the spot completely disappeared in 2 minutes. I can't even tell where it was. He said something just brushed against the finish and it was no big deal.

So I guess I'm a little hyper-sensitive about spots on my new car.

Thanks for all the advice. This makes me realize that I need to learn much more about cleaning, polishing, waxing, etc.

Overall, I'm gonna go ahead and blame it on a tourist admiring the car from too close...

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by robbyb83

So, a little update. I feel slightly foolish. Earlier today, a friend took one look at the spot, told me that I must have bumped something, to which I protested, so he said someone must have brushed/bumped me. He got a microfiber towel and a drop of some polish and the spot completely disappeared in 2 minutes. I can't even tell where it was. He said something just brushed against the finish and it was no big deal.

So I guess I'm a little hyper-sensitive about spots on my new car.

Thanks for all the advice. This makes me realize that I need to learn much more about cleaning, polishing, waxing, etc.

Overall, I'm gonna go ahead and blame it on a tourist admiring the car from too close...

I've found out over the years that most smudges, and some scratches, will buff right out. The very first thing I try is buffing-out the offending spot/mark.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by robbyb83

So, a little update. I feel slightly foolish. Earlier today, a friend took one look at the spot, told me that I must have bumped something, to which I protested, so he said someone must have brushed/bumped me. He got a microfiber towel and a drop of some polish and the spot completely disappeared in 2 minutes. I can't even tell where it was. He said something just brushed against the finish and it was no big deal.

So I guess I'm a little hyper-sensitive about spots on my new car.

Thanks for all the advice. This makes me realize that I need to learn much more about cleaning, polishing, waxing, etc.

Overall, I'm gonna go ahead and blame it on a tourist admiring the car from too close...

Here's the deal, pretty much all of on the forums here would rather you obsessed over this than ignore it. People that ignore issues with their cars are the bane of our existence. Keep being concerned about how your car looks and runs. It's not a bad thing.

As a reference, my wife and I cleaned the race car between sessions, getting every tire booger mark and bug splatter off the car. That's not being obsessive, it's being detail oriented.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by robbyb83

So, a little update. I feel slightly foolish. Earlier today, a friend took one look at the spot, told me that I must have bumped something, to which I protested, so he said someone must have brushed/bumped me. He got a microfiber towel and a drop of some polish and the spot completely disappeared in 2 minutes. I can't even tell where it was. He said something just brushed against the finish and it was no big deal.

So I guess I'm a little hyper-sensitive about spots on my new car.

Thanks for all the advice. This makes me realize that I need to learn much more about cleaning, polishing, waxing, etc.

Overall, I'm gonna go ahead and blame it on a tourist admiring the car from too close...

Glad it all worked out. It is impossible to tell from the pictures what was going on here and equally a stretch to determine it is a factory clear coat issue. Just doesn't happen. To me, it looked like a scuff. I would have done the same thing your friend did with a light dummy proof polish with mild abrasives. I would have done this out of lack of patience to bring it to the dealer. You had nothing to lose using a light polish and if it needed a respray, again, no harm in buffing the area yourself to see.

Finally, if this required a respray, you DEFINTELY should not be leery and live with it. The technology, skills and tools that have today can result in a 100% unnoticeable repair. Just ask the shop or dealer doing the work to keep it off CarFax.

Glad it all worked out. I know the feeling of having it and then solving it. Big win.

[Mandingo9]

Originally Posted by robbyb83

So I guess I'm a little hyper-sensitive about spots on my new car.
Thanks for all the advice. This makes me realize that I need to learn much more about cleaning, polishing, waxing, etc.

Well, you're in the right spot then!