Is BMW black considered hard or soft?

Hammondc

Hammondc

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I am helping a friend do his wife's Jet Black (non-metallic) Z4. It is a 2010. not a horrible condition but has its share of dealer installed scratches. I'd say the paint is a 6/10.

I will either do Megs 105/205 or the Blackfire twins via PC. Not sure which one yet. Still reading up on that.
 
Hammondc said:
I am helping a friend do his wife's Jet Black (non-metallic) Z4. It is a 2010. not a horrible condition but has its share of dealer installed scratches. I'd say the paint is a 6/10.

I will either do Megs 105/205 or the Blackfire twins via PC. Not sure which one yet. Still reading up on that.
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BMW paint systems for the most part are considered relatively hard. With that being said, YOU need to determine if the car your working on infront of you has hard/soft paint.

A perfect example is when I was working on a customers 2003 Nissan Frontier, soft paint right? Wrong, it was ROCK HARD. The owner never knew the truck had been re-painted before.

This is why its recommended you do a Test-Spot. This allows you to find out for yourself about what type of paint you have, and what products will dial in your desired results. 105/205 might not work for you, you have to do a test spot first before you begin to descide what products your going to use for the rest of the paint.
 
BMW black paint is different from models and years. Both of my 3 series are the same color and code 668 jet black. My 07 is a lot softer than my 11. It will really come done to what your test spot reveals.
 
smack said:
My 07 is a lot softer than my 11.
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...and this is why you'll often hear me say: have a good selection of products on hand. :dblthumb2:

If you plan on polishing more than one vehicle and you can't decide between two different approaches (ala: M105/M205 or Blackfire Duo) get both.

I feel confident saying that anyone equipped with M105/M205 and Blackfire SRC Compound and SRC Finishing Polish will be well equipped to tackle just about any paint system - hard or soft. :xyxthumbs:
 
I use Wolfgang Twins on my 08 Black Sapphire Metallic M Roadster with great success. I also have found following up Menzerna SF 4500 really makes the paint pop.

Of course my BMW was painted in Spartanburg SC USA and that BMW was painted in Germany - but it's still a great combo.
 
Just do a test spot with least aggressive pad first and go from there.
 
Good info here. I wish I could get both pairs of product. Unfortunately, I just do not detail as much as I used to and do not need all of that. I really do not think I'll have many opportunities for the M105. It just seems to be hella aggressive.
 
Hammondc said:
Good info here. I wish I could get both pairs of product. Unfortunately, I just do not detail as much as I used to and do not need all of that. I really do not think I'll have many opportunities for the M105. It just seems to be hella aggressive.
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It is very aggresive, however it does finish down really nice. You can modify its aggresive level by using different types of pads. Do a test spot first, that way you can see what product(starting from least aggresive) will give you the results your looking for.
 
I did a 2000 Z3 that was pretty soft.

I polished the majority of the car with M205 and Black LC pad. I used M105 with a white pad on some of the more severe areas though.

Here is the write up if you are interested.

And here is a 50/50 of the M205 on Black LC Pad:

blog_155068_1776982.jpg
 
I'd call the black paint on my '11 335i on the hard side. I had some extra steps due to some chip repairs. I used M105, M205, and then the Pinnacle Twins (ASR, AFP) before a coat of WGDGPS 3.0, finishing with a coat of Liquid Souveran.

Like others recommended, start light and work up if needed. M205 may work on fine swirls. If you have heavier swirls or scratches, M105 might be needed. It also may vary from panel to panel on the same car as well.

Here's my thread on that project.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/57606-finally-done-black-2011-bmw-335i.html
 
Unfortunately, I speak from experience here :(

If you think that a 2 year old jet black paint only has "dealer installed" scratches wait till you put proper lighting on the paint. :)

Your friend has installed his share of imperfections.

if you are trying to get perfection, go for a 3 step process, unless you use products that conceal. In that case 2 step will do it until of course your friend starts noticing stuff coming back.

Equally important and nearly impossible is to maintain the finish. Have your friend be aware how soon the paint will go south if not 100% careful. Best option is to use opti Coat.

105: you want it. It is not too aggressive, plus like all other polish out there, it is pad depended.

Lastly, do not be discouraged if the correction takes longer. That paint is the hardest to correct. It is in another league.

Good luck and post pictures of the process.


Hammondc said:
I am helping a friend do his wife's Jet Black (non-metallic) Z4. It is a 2010. not a horrible condition but has its share of dealer installed scratches. I'd say the paint is a 6/10.

I will either do Megs 105/205 or the Blackfire twins via PC. Not sure which one yet. Still reading up on that.
Click to expand...
 
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