To spray or not to spray

[zedzen]

Not sure what to do here so several responses required, please.

Situation:
My Z is very low miles (7.5k) but came with light scratches on its bonnet from where a cat obviously got tucked up one day. The driver door also acquired some nice claw marks courtesy of my go's 2 dogs within 5 mins of me getting the car home.

Plan
I took it to a BMW dealership to discuss what to do. He was generally against a bonnet and door respray on the basis the laquer then used was oil based whereas it would get replaced with a water based one. For the sake of originality, etc, polishing the scratches out as much as possible was his preferred option and then, if it didn't work, then consider the spray.

Cost
To have BMW do the spray job, we are looking at $1300 (should be in pounds not dollars but bought my mac in SF last summer).
To attempt to polish them out, $40.

Naturally, point 2 is what I would really like to work but, incase it doesn't, can anyone recommend body shop people they trust anywhere around Bishop's Stortford, Harlow, Cambridge or East Suffolk who could do it as good as a BMW garage?

Thank you!

Rob

 

[deano1712]

I had a full bonnet respray done for £250 last year. Nowhere near you though. Sounds to me it should polish out anyway.


Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[GazHyde]

Find yourself a good detailer near you, because it may well machine polish out. Nothing to lose except a few quid if it can't be polished out, and they should be able to give you a realistic idea if it's possible or not.

Had some scratches on my Z3 which I honestly thought would be a respray! The chap I used did a cracking job, and left the paintwork in amazing condition afterwards.

 

[zedzen]

Ok

I'll run with BMW 40 quid offer and judge from there I guess.

Cheers

Rob

 

[r37]

i would stay clear of dealers armed with a rotary polisher, there are pleanty of detailers who would do it for you. Might end up paying a bit more but they'd make a better job than BMW mechanic.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... hp?t=40246

should find someone in that list near to you.

 

[GazHyde]

Oh heck, sorry didn't realise they were going to do it themselves :-o

Would definitely find a professional detailer from r37's link. They will most likely come and have a look and quote you and do it properly!

 

[Aceman]

Reading down the thread to be honest I am of the same opinion that a professional detailer will be your best port of call these guys know their paintwork like NASA knows about rockets. They have all the gear to measure paint thickness down to a few microns and will be able to tell you instantly whether your scratches are recoverable or require paint to correct.

For a car of your calibre with such low mileage I can perfectly understand wanting to keep the original paintwork intact and seriously your best course of action is the above method, this is something that sticking with BMW service for the sake of originality just won't cut and you need the best.

If you really need convincing speak to Matt Wakefield at Offyourmarks he is one of the best in the business and a real BMW nut and does in fact own a Z3M with similar mileage to yours, he is a really nice guy and I am sure he will be more than happy to offer you plenty of advice.

 

[Off Your Marks]

Hi Aceman, thanks for the generous introduction :ymhug:

Rob - wow thats a low miler! Mines on 5.5k so theres now two sub 10k roadsters to my knowledge. What colour is yours?

Re your conundrum then for me painting is always a last resort, especially on such a low mileage car. I would also avoid letting a bodyshop have a go either. With a decent scratch you only get one good chance to do it properly and the wrong approach can always end in tears at bedtime.

The best person to sort this out is firstly a detailer of impeccable reputation and secondly a marksman to nail the cat :-^

People are right a detailer is the best bet however as detailing is now quite popular there are a lot that are basically chancers; having picked up a rotary and grown into a paint correction expert overnight. Just be careful whom you choose. Also if you pick one from the list on detailing world, be sure to do your homework as anyone can pay to become a supporter on there.

I'm based in Warrington, Cheshire so I would guess thats too far for you. If you fancy coming up North then I'll make sure its done properly. If you find someone close by then google their names and try and get feedback from actual customers as its very easy to make things look great with pictures.

So, in summary avoid a dealer and bodyshops. Although a bodyshop may well remove the scratch the key is to remove as little clearcoat as necessary and blend and removal so as not to spoil the factory finish. Bodyshops don't use paint thickness gauges either

Good luck

 

[board]

I have a similar thing on my M where one of the dogs got locked in the garage for half an hour by mistake in which time tried to get into the car to start it or beep the horn

I have friends in Cheshire so think I might be having a trip over to you one day before zedfest

Do you have a pricing structure so I can get an idea or do you just quote when seeing what's needed?

(I bought my M with just under 5k on it - don't think I could have gone 12 years without putting more than 500 miles on it though )

 

[Off Your Marks]

Hi James

Yeah you are welcome to come over

Pricing is always done on an inspection basis when we are adding paint defects into the mix really but if you drop me a line with some pics to info@offyourmarks.com I'll certainly give you a fair estimate

 

[zedzen]

Hi Aceman, thanks for the generous introduction :ymhug:

Rob - wow thats a low miler! Mines on 5.5k so theres now two sub 10k roadsters to my knowledge. What colour is yours?

Re your conundrum then for me painting is always a last resort, especially on such a low mileage car. I would also avoid letting a bodyshop have a go either. With a decent scratch you only get one good chance to do it properly and the wrong approach can always end in tears at bedtime.

The best person to sort this out is firstly a detailer of impeccable reputation and secondly a marksman to nail the cat :-^

People are right a detailer is the best bet however as detailing is now quite popular there are a lot that are basically chancers; having picked up a rotary and grown into a paint correction expert overnight. Just be careful whom you choose. Also if you pick one from the list on detailing world, be sure to do your homework as anyone can pay to become a supporter on there.

I'm based in Warrington, Cheshire so I would guess thats too far for you. If you fancy coming up North then I'll make sure its done properly. If you find someone close by then google their names and try and get feedback from actual customers as its very easy to make things look great with pictures.

So, in summary avoid a dealer and bodyshops. Although a bodyshop may well remove the scratch the key is to remove as little clearcoat as necessary and blend and removal so as not to spoil the factory finish. Bodyshops don't use paint thickness gauges either

Good luck

Hi

Curious to know more about your operation. Some one above kindly sent me the detailing website link and have found someone in Bury St Edmunds who I might ring.

This car ownership thing is stressful! Getting it wrong will annoy me every time the sun catches it!!

Rob

 

[board]

I'm the same Rob and have some swirls in the Black paint on mine which i'd like to get rid of as well.

I think this summer is going to be an expensive one!

Any chance of a pic or two of your 5.5K mile M Off Your Marks?

 

[zedzen]

Ive just been on his website. Yes, I am v impressed. Downside? Its in Cheshire and I'm in Suffolk! God forbid I get the car wet having spent all those dollars making her gorg again!!! Maybe I could FedEx??

Rob

 

[Snoops]

Ive just been on his website. Yes, I am v impressed. Downside? Its in Cheshire and I'm in Suffolk! God forbid I get the car wet having spent all those dollars making her gorg again!!! Maybe I could FedEx??

Rob

Easy fix Rob - put the cover on, cut a little hole so you can see out and drive it up

Has the cover arrived by the way ??

 

[zedzen]

Hi Snoops

Hoping next week? Hole cut good idea. Not too big tho...dont want the windscreen too mucky!

Rob

 

[Off Your Marks]

How long have you owned yours Rob?

Did you buy it recently?

 

[zedzen]

I bought it end of Feb. one lady owner. Just had a BMW indie give it its first service who confirmed it a bit of a time warp!

Problem with nice things comes responsibility so now I'm boring everyone senseless on this site looking for answers to minor ailments!

I had to laugh at myself today, i was at Duxford Aerodrome with my son today chatting to a B17 owner who remarked they had a spare aircraft for parts. Suddenly getting a spare Z3 3 litre seemed the obvious and sane thing to do as well!!!

Rob

 

[board]

I bought it end of Feb. one lady owner. Just had a BMW indie give it its first service who confirmed it a bit of a time warp!

Problem with nice things comes responsibility so now I'm boring everyone senseless on this site looking for answers to minor ailments!

I had to laugh at myself today, i was at Duxford Aerodrome with my son today chatting to a B17 owner who remarked they had a spare aircraft for parts. Suddenly getting a spare Z3 3 litre seemed the obvious and sane thing to do as well!!!

Rob

Never boring us here Rob

The guys on the S10 forum i'm do exactly that, buy up old pickups for spare parts although maybe you have to get the spare 3 litre to put the miles on that instead?

 

[Off Your Marks]

I bought it end of Feb. one lady owner. Just had a BMW indie give it its first service who confirmed it a bit of a time warp!

Problem with nice things comes responsibility so now I'm boring everyone senseless on this site looking for answers to minor ailments!

I had to laugh at myself today, i was at Duxford Aerodrome with my son today chatting to a B17 owner who remarked they had a spare aircraft for parts. Suddenly getting a spare Z3 3 litre seemed the obvious and sane thing to do as well!!!

Rob

Sounds like a nice car indeed rob