One of my previous clients requested to have a scratch repaired on his BMW M4. I scheduled to visit his workplace for this project. I like parking lot details, many bystanders take interest as most have not seen a detailer in a place like this. I enjoy putting on a show for them!
There was no water or electricity available since the project took place in the parking lot. For spot corrections this does not make a big difference. The Rupes Nano iBrid is the key tool here. The Rupes Nano allows me to polish effectively in almost any location since it can run on battery power. Here is some of the gear that I brought:
This is the scratch we are dealing with. Touch-up paint has been used previously, but it is thickly applied and rough.
I first wiped the area with an Optimum Wash & Shine dilution, and then dried the area using a Griot’s PFM Terry Weave towel.
I removed excess touch-up paint by wet-sanding using 2500 grit to level and smooth out the scratch. Optimum Wash & Shine was used as a wet-sanding lubricant. A KXK Dynamics R.I.D. STIX foam sanding block was also used.
Here is the scratch after sanding with 2500 grit.
And here it is after using 3000 Grit to prepare for polishing.
For polishing, I used Griot’s Fast Correcting Correcting Cream on a coarse pad equipped on the Rupes Nano.
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Touch-up paint was re-applied using official BMW paint that the client supplied. I applied it within the scratch as accurately and minimally as possible using a small paintbrush.
After giving the paint a moment to dry I wiped it using Dr. Colorchip’s SealAct Solution to remove any excess paint.
To level the applied paint I used 3000 grit sandpaper again. Once the paint was flat within the scratch I polished once more with Griot’s Fast Correcting Cream, and to correct micro marring I made a pass with Griot’s Perfecting Cream on the Rupes Nano equipped with a finishing pad.
Carpro Eraser was used to remove polish oils and then that section was coated with Meguiar’s Ultimate Paste Wax. I used Griot’s Plush Edgeless towels for wiping and buffing after the correction process.
Here is the result.
I noticed that the official BMW touch-up paint did not contain very many metallic particles, making the paint in the scratch look like a flat black paint. I normally would use Dr. Colorchip instead and I have had good experience with their metallic paints.
I am further expanding my ability to detail without water and electrical accessibility. At which point I could perform complete paint corrections and ceramic coatings in nearly any location!
– Rio Hansen
