i got the whole passenger side of my 00 328ci keyed from the tail light to the middle of the fenders. i could feel its deep with my fingernails. these arent minor scratches, just picture ur ex-gf keying ur car with all of her might leaving 3 deep white lines across the side of ur silver bimmer, thats pretty much what happened. since im a noob here are my questions.

i searched and i know i have to use a 3m 2000 grit wet-sand technique after i apply touch up paint (car is silver- i heard this is the worst color for this) and then buff with a polish. im going to cut a toothpick to a nice point to apply the paint so it doesnt blob up a lot. the edges of the scratches are deep so it flakes a little even after washing, i still apply paint first since im going to sand afterwards right?

ok i see threads about compounding. all i know is that its supposed to level the scratch by rubbing some of the clearcoat off the surrounding scratch. so if im wetsanding, i dont need to use a compound? i just want to get my steps right.

plus i dont have one of those rotary tools so could i polish after wetsanding with a microfiber cloth? i have time, i just dont have $.

i wanna try this first because i dont wanna pay my 300 deductible because im a broke college student. a 50% improvement would make my day. and if this fails, i'll go the insurance route. i searched langka and i think i'd rather wetsand. so thanks for helping and reading this long post.

i got the whole passenger side of my 00 328ci keyed from the tail light to the middle of the fenders. i could feel its deep with my fingernails. these arent minor scratches, just picture ur ex-gf keying ur car with all of her might leaving 3 deep white lines across the side of ur silver bimmer, thats pretty much what happened. since im a noob here are my questions.

i searched and i know i have to use a 3m 2000 grit wet-sand technique after i apply touch up paint (car is silver- i heard this is the worst color for this) and then buff with a polish. im going to cut a toothpick to a nice point to apply the paint so it doesnt blob up a lot. the edges of the scratches are deep so it flakes a little even after washing, i still apply paint first since im going to sand afterwards right?

ok i see threads about compounding. all i know is that its supposed to level the scratch by rubbing some of the clearcoat off the surrounding scratch. so if im wetsanding, i dont need to use a compound? i just want to get my steps right.

plus i dont have one of those rotary tools so could i polish after wetsanding with a microfiber cloth? i have time, i just dont have $.

i wanna try this first because i dont wanna pay my 300 deductible because im a broke college student. a 50% improvement would make my day. and if this fails, i'll go the insurance route. i searched langka and i think i'd rather wetsand. so thanks for helping and reading this long post.

How do you guys get mixed up with women like this?

Your repair will cost you at least $100 for materials.
I repainted my wing and I spent over $50 just on that.
You will have a stripe down the side of the car, but it's better than a triple scratch.
Hand sanding will take a long time.
Pay the deductible before you waste the mney.
Better yet, get the b*tch to pay it.

guess you're not much of a romeo, eh? :) just kidding! haha

you're better off paying the deductible and getting it done right, you'll never be happy with any job you do because it'll never be the same as it was. It sucks, but you might as well instead having it drive you nuts

&& i agree, find the $!%#@ and make her pay for it.

thanks for the replies. i got the supplies, worked on my gas tank just to see if i know what im doing, and today im refunding everything i bought. i swear the videos i saw on the net about wetsanding and all the tutorials people post made it seem so easy.

thanks for the replies. i got the supplies, worked on my gas tank just to see if i know what im doing, and today im refunding everything i bought. i swear the videos i saw on the net about wetsanding and all the tutorials people post made it seem so easy.

First time, it took me 12 coats and almost 3 weeks to get it done.
Temp range is critical so when you wash the surface down after sanding to see your progress, make sure you let it dry before applying any more and
that there is very little humidity in the air.
Looks like you're going the pro route, though.

FYI, body shops will send the gas door to paint mixer to match.
Don't know if they all do this, but it makes sense if you don't mix paint in house.
Save some of the paint you bought to match since you've already screwed up the gas filler door.