New Paint Hazy

badger91

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Hey everyone I have a 2011 BMW 328i X-Drive. I recently had someone tap my bumper and cause a little dent meaning I needed to get the bumper repainted. I noticed right away that the paint looks hazy. For some reason it took the body shop 3 weeks to simply paint my bumper so I really don't want to take it back. Do you guys think it matches? If so, what can I do to eliminate the haziness? I'm just sick about having to have it repainted and hope I can get it to match somehow. Thanks in advance.
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I think the color match is well enough, but that haze is seriously questionable. Fresh paint should be given a breather period before you take a buffer to it though, I wanna say somewhere between a month to 3 months? I'm not entirely sure, perhaps somebody else can chime in with more info.
 
Is there a significant orange peel texture? Or is it just hazier?

This is something you could easily fix by yourself. But remember, least aggressive method first. So try a lighter polishing compound/swirl remover, and then try a rubbing compound or more aggressive polish, then if worse comes to worse, wetsanding will easily get it. A buffer is better but you could probably hand buff too. Consult Mike Phillips' DIYs for info on all the above methods.

Then remember to top it with a good protectant such as a wax or a sealant.

Good luck!
 
It looks to me like it just needs to be polished/corrected. It's news to me that fresh paint needs a period of curing before it can be safely buffed. Guys at body shop have been buffing fresh paint since the beginning of time with powerful rotary buffers and aggressive wool pads without "damaging" the paint. Of course we are talking about dry paint here.

If your BMW is Jet Black you may want to obtain the services of an experienced detailer to help you with this matter - as JB has proven tricky for some. Since the area has just been repainted - the paint may be on the softer side - only adding to the difficulty.

The thing is, black (especially JB) needs to be polished to a high degree of clarity to look superb under all lighting conditions. Every defect will show. The other issue is that it's on a plastic bumper, so you will want to go at it gently with a DA polisher to avoid paint twist, but it can be done safely at this point by an experienced detailer.
 
Thanks for the replies! The color is black metallic. I have a griots garage DA so I could possibly do it. They always say "wait 3 months to wax" so I'm not sure what to do. It looks like crap but I don't want them to touch my car again.
 
I think the color match is well enough, but that haze is seriously questionable. Fresh paint should be given a breather period before you take a buffer to it though, I wanna say somewhere between a month to 3 months? I'm not entirely sure, perhaps somebody else can chime in with more info.

You can polish it with a buffer but its not recommended to wax or seal it for 30-90 days.
 
So then does a body shop only use polish on it after they wet sand paint?

I promise you it's safe to buff fresh paint after it's dry a few days. It's likely going to be softer. The "waiting period" is for waxing/sealing so the paint can out gas or completely cure. Of course, go at it with the least aggressive product / method / technique first.

You don't have to wet sand fresh paint to buff it. Just be careful on buffing freshly painted plastics/bumpers to not buff with high heat - as the paint could twist. Of course, this could happen while buffing on any plastic when you let the buffer get too hot.
 
try WGFG on either a white to gray pad. that should take the haze out. i wouldnt put a sealant or wax over top just yet though
 
Thanks for the replies! The color is black metallic. I have a griots garage DA so I could possibly do it. They always say "wait 3 months to wax" so I'm not sure what to do. It looks like crap but I don't want them to touch my car again.

The "wait time" has to do with outgassing of any solvents. The idea being you don't want to "seal" the surface and potentially seal or lock these solvents inside the paint.


This mostly applied to solvent-evaporation paints like single stage lacquers and enamels which are not normally sprayed any longer in a commercial body shop.

Compounds and polishes, at least quality compounds and polishes don't include the protection ingredients like waxes and sealants do and in fact most are water soluble.

So you can safely compound and polish fresh paint, you're just supposed to wait for about 30 days before you "seal" the paint.

I have an article on this in my article list...


:)
 
Body shops are notorious for leaving repainted areas in poor condition.. check out this door for example... I compounded and polished the middle to show the difference.

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I'd imagine you'll be able to DIY if you already have the right tools and products.
 
Thank you everyone for the replies!it has been over a month now so I hope I'm good. I have every color Lake Country flat pad for my GG DA Polisher, so what pad/product combination would you recommend? I typically use Meguiar's products but will order whatever is needed.

WGFG was mentioned but I'm not sure what that is haha.
 
WGFG = Wolfgang Finishing Glaze. Always try your least aggressive products. I would recommend trying it with a white pad

Sent from my SPH-D710 using AG Online
 
I have every color Lake Country flat pad for my GG DA Polisher, so what pad/product combination would you recommend?

I typically use Meguiar's products but will order whatever is needed.

WGFG was mentioned but I'm not sure what that is haha.


If the car were mine I'd probably hit the dull hazy paint with a compound followed by a polish then seal as normal.

The Wolfgang Finishing Glaze is a fine cut polish. In the world you have 4 basic groups and everybody's everything will fit into one of the groups.

Aggressive Compounds
Medium Cut Polishes
Fine Cut Polishes
Ultra Fine Cut Polishes

Rupes does a great job of labeling their products so the average guy can figure out what the products are so the average guy would know which one to use and when to use it. Genius.

Here's something I wrote on the Wolfgang products....




The Wolfgang Four


Here are four products that will take care of about 99.9% of any exterior paint correction product you'll ever have in your garage.


The Wolfgang Four
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Forum member RFulmer coined this term, (due credit where credit is due), and since there's been a lot of questions about what each product is, what they do, the order of aggressiveness and when you use one over the other, here's some info...



Uber Compound
  • Aggressive Compound - More aggressive than Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze.
  • For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
  • Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
  • Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
  • Cafe for all clear coat paints.
  • Safe for all single stage paints.
  • For some people on some cars it can be used as a compound/polish after which the paint can be sealed with a wax or synthetic paint sealant.


Total Swirl Remover
  • Medium Cut Polish - Less aggressive than Uber Compound and more aggressive than Wolfgang Finishing Glaze.
  • For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
  • Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
  • Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
  • Cafe for all clear coat paints.
  • Safe for all single stage paints.
  • Should be tested before using Uber Compound to see if it will remove defects to our satisfaction in keeping with the practice of using the least aggressive product to get the job done.


Finishing Glaze
  • Fine Cut Polish - Much less aggressive than Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and of course dramatically less aggressive than Wolfgang Uber Compound.
  • For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
  • Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
  • Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
  • Cafe for all clear coat paints.
  • Safe for all single stage paints.
  • Should be tested before using Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover to see if it will remove defects to our satisfaction in keeping with the practice of using the least aggressive product to get the job done.
  • Great "Maintenance Polish" for use removing shallow swirls that show up over time from normal wear-n-tear on daily drivers and after a person has already performed a multi-step procedure to remove serious paint defects.


Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0
  • German engineered synthetic paint sealant.
  • Non-cleaning, pure synthetic - Paint must be in excellent condition as in brand new or previously polished to like new condition before use.
  • Can be applied by hand or any type of dual action polisher wit foam pads.
  • This product "seals" the paint in the say way a car wax or paint coating will seal the paint. It is water insoluble and as such like all synthetic paint sealants, car waxes and paint coatings is not body shop safe.
  • Requires 30 to 45 minutes of drying time before removal.
  • Oxygen activated. After buffing off the excess sealant the remaining protection ingredients should be allowed to cure and fully set-up for an approximate 12 hour window of time before the vehicle is put back into service where it will be exposed to water.


Synergistic Chemical Compatibility
Each product is chemically compatible and chemically beneficial when used as a system approach to take a diamond in the rough and turn it into a glistening gemstone. Using the entire line in the correct order or just a few of the product in the correct order is an example of working forward in the paint polishing process.


All Inclusive System-Approach
This group of four products with just about any tool, any pad and even by hand will produce not only show car results but do it consistently across a VERY wide spectrum of paint systems including,
  • Hard paints, soft paints and everything in-between.
  • Factory OEM paints and aftermarket repaints at your local body shop or custom paint shop.
  • Single stage and basecoat clearcoat.
Which products do you need?
Which product you'll need depend upon the condition of the paint on the car. Click to my list of paint condition categories and read through the descriptions for the different categories. Then after washing and drying your car, inspect the paint both with your sense of touch, (The Baggie Test), and visually with your eyes in bright light for swirls and scratches.

Then determine which category your car's paint fall into. Here are some general guidelines but the best way to determine which exact product you'll need to remove the defects and restore the finish on your car to your expectations can only be determined by doing a Test Spot


How To Do a Test Spot


Test Spot results showing the before and after difference...

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On Autogeek.net

Wolfgang Uber Compound 3.0

Total Swirl Remover

Finishing Glaze


Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0



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Thank you everyone for the info! Could you recommend any Meguiar's products to do the job or is Wolfgang worth the extra expense?
 
I cant answer that as I have never used WG products. Megs however has never let me down.
 
Looks to me like the body shop didn't sand down the orange peel or didn't do a good job and that's why it looks hazy to you.

Compound and polishing will bring out more gloss but on certain parts it looks a good sanding will bring out even more gloss than compound and polish, because to me if I saw that I would automatically think to myself "looks like it's been repainted" because of the Orange peel textures being pretty off from area to area.

I don't recommend you try this yourself. Since bumpers take more skill to sand and buff out then the rest of the car. Metal vs plastic.and sanding and buffing takes a lot of skill as well, plus Rotary and wool pad...

Body shops a lot of times won't sand bumpers and buff them out. Since it is more complicated to do.

While a lot of the shops CAN do it. They won't unless the customer points it out to them, (time is money). So not sure if you could take it back to the body shop and have them fix it?

The body shop has to return you car exactly to its original state.

Also:
Lets say if you did in fact wax the repainted area. Nothing will happen, a lot of people say DONT WAX IT! like it'll ruin the paint. In fact it won't do anything but take longer to cure.
 
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