I have a semi major problem...advice needed.

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Rez90

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So i'm outside cleaning my wife's X5 today and i'm using my pressure washer to get the bugs off of the front bumper. My pressure washer isn't a very powerful unit and i've never seen anything like this before...but from about a foot away...all of a sudden some of the clear coat just blasted off the front end. I'm thinking there was a nick in it to begin with but who knows.

now...the placement of the damage is good because i'm literally a day or two away from installing a front plate bracket that's going to cover most of the area that needs attention.

I don't want to bring it to a body shop or BMW because frankly i don't want to pay for it nor do i want to risk the potential of re painting coming up on the carfax in the event that i sell it in the next couple of years.

So here's my question...to fix this...should i get some touch up paint? or should i get some clear coat from my local auto parts store...spray it into a cup and brush on a few coats...?

Or i'll welcome other suggestions...

The damage spots are from the size of pea to a quarter.

Any help/suggestions are GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks very much.
 
Are you positive that you didn't blast away parts of a clear bra that may have been installed?

The reason I asked is because I worked on 4 BMW's this week and each had a clear bra on the front.

How powerful is your pressure washer? More than 2700psi?

If it is in fact clear that is missing, I would look into Dr. Color Chip to ensure you're getting the right products for your BMW. Plus, you'll get a little container of touch up paint for when a nick or rock chip occurs.
 
SuperiorAutoLLC said:
Are you positive that you didn't blast away parts of a clear bra that may have been installed?

The reason I asked is because I worked on 4 BMW's this week and each had a clear bra on the front.

How powerful is your pressure washer? More than 2700psi?

If it is in fact clear that is missing, I would look into Dr. Color Chip to ensure you're getting the right products for your BMW. Plus, you'll get a little container of touch up paint for when a nick or rock chip occurs.
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The pressure washer is 1400 psi. Kranzle 1120T

I'm 100% certain the car isn't clear bra'd.

Good suggestion on dr color chip. i think i'll look into that.
 
Rez90 said:
The pressure washer is 1400 psi. Kranzle 1120T

I'm 100% certain the car isn't clear bra'd.

Good suggestion on dr color chip. i think i'll look into that.
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Wow, 1400psi? That is pretty low pressure for a pressure washer. I agree that there must have been a chip in the clear coat somewhere.

To me though, 1400psi at about a foot away shouldn't cause ANY damage.

I would be very interested in seeing some photos; can you post some?
 
SuperiorAutoLLC said:
Wow, 1400psi? That is pretty low pressure for a pressure washer. I agree that there must have been a chip in the clear coat somewhere.

To me though, 1400psi at about a foot away shouldn't cause ANY damage.

I would be very interested in seeing some photos; can you post some?
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I will post some tomorrow. at the moment something strange is going on with my imageshack account.

The strange thing is that there are multiple spots...like 3 or 4....i'm just wondering if BMW clear coat is crap at this point...or maybe at least over the plastic sections of the car.
 
I know hindsight is 20/20... But you shouldn't use a pressure washer of any rating at 12" from the surface of your paint. It's just dangerous - as you now know. Use a pre-soak solution to soften the bug splat and follow up with a bug scrubber sponge and a gentle stream of water.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
 
Part of the issue about pressure washers and distance from the paint depends on the width of the spray. A very narrow spray at 1400 psi might peel paint whereas I use 1800 and a wider spray on paint all the time. Also, it's a little like a rotary polisher, can't leave in one spot very long. Pressure Washers Direct says the Generac 3100 psi is safe on paint from 12 inches and with the wide (I think white 40 degree tip.)
 
ObsessiveAutoDetail said:
I know hindsight is 20/20... But you shouldn't use a pressure washer of any rating at 12" from the surface of your paint. It's just dangerous - as you now know. Use a pre-soak solution to soften the bug splat and follow up with a bug scrubber sponge and a gentle stream of water.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2
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I mean this in the most respectful way possible....

No Sh_t.
 
Bumpers get beat up. The damage is small you can get a can of 2k clear prep and blend in some clear. Like you said your plate will cover most of the area.
 
Rez90 said:
I will post some tomorrow. at the moment something strange is going on with my imageshack account.

The strange thing is that there are multiple spots...like 3 or 4....i'm just wondering if BMW clear coat is crap at this point...or maybe at least over the plastic sections of the car.
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Sounds like it was touched up at some point. If it was at a dealership they could have had their touch up/dent wizard guy hit it. All those guys work with a air brush at best. They do it then and there, at the back of their truck (or van) followed by a quick buff. Looks fine (if you don't know what to look for) and may last a month or a year.

I don't see factory paint failing like that, just don't.

On the photo hosting thing. Works better for AG if you store your photos here. That way, down the road should you change accounts etc. the photos will always stay on the AG servers. Max has allowed members to have unlimited storage so far, and you can actually link to your photos from outside the forum. (Although to be polite I'd just use it for forum photo links.) Just thought I'd share that with ya'. :)
 
+1 for previously repaired paint. Unless you had a pencil-jet type of pressure-washer stream...
 
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