So, I have a 94 525/5 and it's black. When I got it there were lots of swirl marks and light scratches. So, I clay bar'd the car and then used some scratch out stuff. The haze was removed as were lots of of the swirl marks...HOWEVER...it filled in all the chips and lots of the swirls and now they are white. Looks like crap. Most of the chip marks you can't feel when you run your finger over it, though some do.

So, my question is, what should I do? I'm almost tempted to take it to a body shop and have them do their magic...But, I'd much rather not spend that much money on it, etc.

It's funny...WIth my previous car I used Zaino brothers on it and it was awesome, maybe I'll have to go back to their products...

Thanks.

I have the same thing when I put on a coat of wax. I dont think there is really any way to get rid of the wax buildup in those spots short of claying them, and that defeats the purpose of waxing to begin with.

i think that problem is just life with old paint.

There has to be a solution short of taking it to a body shop to have them do some buffing, etc...

Well, I don't really see how there could be another solution. There are small divots in your paint, which will trap wax, when it is spread over it. Unless you fill those divots, they will continure to trap wax. You could take a pin and pick the wax out of each little divot, but you'd probably cause more harm than good. Personally, I'd rather have those things slightly visible and full of wax than invisible and holding road salt (if I drove in salt, that is).

if you decide to get it repainted, you may want to get a clear bra so you dont have to deal with the same problem again.

i recently had my hood & all the rest of the panels on the front of my car repainted because the chips were so bad. The first chip on the freshly painted hood is awful. :(

I have chips all over my hood/ front bumper, the guy that drove it before me must have tailgated the mess out of trucks. About how much does it cost to repaint just the front? Or the entire car?

(I'm 18 I dont know these things...)

I have chips all over my hood/ front bumper, the guy that drove it before me must have tailgated the mess out of trucks. About how much does it cost to repaint just the front? Or the entire car?

(I'm 18 I dont know these things...)
take it to a body a shop. they'll be able to see the damage and decide how to go about fixing it. they tend to be pretty shady, so they might cut you a little deal if you pay in cash or something like that.

if you decide to get it repainted, you may want to get a clear bra so you dont have to deal with the same problem again.

i recently had my hood & all the rest of the panels on the front of my car repainted because the chips were so bad. The first chip on the freshly painted hood is awful. :(

How much did you pay???

How much did you pay???
i got a special deal from my body shop through a friend.

my rear bumper was slightly damaged in a parking lot. estimate was $600, paid by the person that caused the damage. i got my hood, both fenders, front bumper, both side mirror covers, and nose piece repainted for a few hundred out of my pocket. they did a wonderful job and i got a great deal.

IF you sand the most of the clear off and lay the paint on top of the old one, and take off all the trim peices and such- $200-400 cash to lay base coat/clear - you buff the paint yourself. To do it all with the paint comletely removed-close to $700 and up + taxes

My advice. If the damaged is not all the way to the base coat and just the clear-than she can be succefully wet-sanded and re-cleared for like $200 and will look like new.

the cheapest way is to remove all wax and use glaze on the front end, cause its got silicone that wont stay in the s cratches like the wax does.

If it isn't through the base coat you could always dab a little clear on each chip, then let it dry wet sand then buff. It may not be worth your time or money if you take it to a shop depending on how many chips you have. Or you might want to try some black wax, some come with like a fill in crayon or something. If it bothers you that much just repaint and deff clear bra.

I have exactly the same problem on my black z3, even though the all around paint looks still awesome..the hood itself looks like someone has beaten it with little tiny rocks. Now after trying all sorts of waxing (including the black color, came with a funky crayon) it's all just cover-up,temporarily.Spend more than enough money on those "little helpers" by now and finally made an appointment to take it to a paint shop,they estimated around 250$ just to get the hood done with a triple layer of clear coat. Sounded good enough for me :)

If the chip or scratch is not deep enough that you see the primer then you can still buff the paint with a rubbing compound and that will basically remove the top coat which is scratched. If you're thinking of having it repainted then you might as well try and do that first. Buy a turtle wax rubbing compound, apply 3M Glaze after, then top it of with a good wax.

You guys are driving me nuts.

Wax turns molding white and rock chips too.

Use glaze or sealant (Like Klasse Sealant Glaze...)

And to brag....My Minnesota 1994 325 after Porter-Cable-Random-Orbitaling, Klasse All-In-One...and Sealant Glaze... Thats direct sunlight - the sun is setting in front of the car. 110k miles.
http://home.comcast.net/%7Edrenglishe/Exterior/P1010102.JPG

http://home.comcast.net/%7Edrenglishe/Exterior/P1010100.JPG
The PCing with a moderate polish will smooth the rash and make reflections a bit more even. If you have an even glossy finish the chips are easily overlooked.

Next time buy a silver car. :D

So..wait now...I should have told the guy that sold me my little Z..that I wanted it in a different color? :Dafter..I gave him a real big headache anyways by making him pay for an extended warranty ..lol...naaw...thats ruthless!..BUT...I keep stumbling over this name "klasse" (sealant)..never seen it in any store though..is it really sooo much better than a couple of wax coats? ( I know this sounds really stupid, but the Z is the first car in my life that I WANT to keep clean and shiny..all my other cars look much better with their dirt protection layer)

i would say to take a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol to each and every divot in the paint to get rid of the excess wax.

So..wait now...I should have told the guy that sold me my little Z..that I wanted it in a different color? :Dafter..I gave him a real big headache anyways by making him pay for an extended warranty ..lol...naaw...thats ruthless!..BUT...I keep stumbling over this name "klasse" (sealant)..never seen it in any store though..is it really sooo much better than a couple of wax coats? ( I know this sounds really stupid, but the Z is the first car in my life that I WANT to keep clean and shiny..all my other cars look much better with their dirt protection layer)
If you use alcohol on each chip that will take the wax off in 50 different places and you want your hood to be protected.

Wax is considered old fashioned - it evaporates in sunlight and offers little protection while it lasts. Sealant lasts ~6 months and offers better pretection. You can layer wax on top of the sealant if its a high quality wax like P21s (which wouldnt turn your chips white in the first place). It sounds like you used a very cheap wax.

Klasse products arent available in stores its imported from Germany. www.autogeek.net

Wanting to keep a black car perfect and shiny is pretty ambitious. :D

I used Zaino Bros wax on my previous black 2001 Maxima...That stuff was AWESOME. When it rained and I'd get water marks once it dried, I only had to take it out on the Interstate and 95% of it BLEW OFF! It was really really amazing stuff. But, it took me a weekend to put it on and I was hoping to avoid that process on this car...Though, I'm basically at the point of going down that road again. *shrugs*

If you use alcohol on each chip that will take the wax off in 50 different places and you want your hood to be protected.

Wax is considered old fashioned - it evaporates in sunlight and offers little protection while it lasts. Sealant lasts ~6 months and offers better pretection. You can layer wax on top of the sealant if its a high quality wax like P21s (which wouldnt turn your chips white in the first place). It sounds like you used a very cheap wax.

Klasse products arent available in stores its imported from Germany. www.autogeek.net

Wanting to keep a black car perfect and shiny is pretty ambitious. :D