Pitted BMW Paint

[Ahintzm]

Hello everyone.

I have been working on my 2014 BMW 3 series, and I have a perplexing issue. There seems to be millions of these micro defects. The car has 40k miles, and all horizontal surfaces look like this.

My question is, what on earth caused this, and naturally, what can be done about this? I have worked these surfaces with Griots fast correcting cream and white cutting pad with no luck. These defects don’t seem to get better no matter how many passes I make.

Thanks for any advice with this!

[rlmccarty2000]

Looks like it has been repainted. How long have these defects been noticeable?

[Ahintzm]

Ever since I have own it (second owner). I have been suspicious that some panels have been repainted, but I have never seen a repaint look like this. What happened?

[rlmccarty2000]

Bad repaint. Solvent pop is what I believe it is called. Maybe one of the painters on board can explain it better.

[Vanquish Auto]

I had a vehicle like this not too long ago. The clear was resprayed on it. The body shop I consulted said their best guess was either it was cleaned properly before using clear coat causing it not to adhere properly. Or that it was sprayed in poor conditions (being too cold while it was sprayed).
I would be interested in hearing what other possibilities it could be from others on here.

[JKDesign]

The pictures are not clear enough to determine if it has been repainted. Solvent pop looks like hundreds of tiny little bubbles in the clear coat, dirt nibs or dirt in paint looks like little chunks protruding out from the paint, and stone rash (which is what i am guessing based on your photos) tends to be the cause of pitting (i.e. like some thing has hit and put hundreds of miniscule little sharp dents in the top layer of paint. With the BMW's I have worked on (both as a painter and as a detailer) pitting or stone rash was pretty common to see on the front end.

[JKDesign]

Although now that I have re-read your post you have stated that the issue is on all of the top horizontal surfaces- so that brings back my statement that the pictures are not clear or detailed enough for at least me to give an educated answer without seeing it in person. I do see what are reflecting light as little dots- they definitely appear very difficult to catch a clear picture of- try using the tip of a pen, pencil, sewing needle, or even placing a small paper clip next to an area of the issue- this should allow your camera to focus in much tighter and get a more clear picture.

[FRANK21]

I have these same "micro defects" on my 2013 BMW. I did the entire car with Griots correcting cream and white pad, twice, and they are still there. I never noticed before I think because the paint was bad; lots of scratches and swirls. Once I got rid of most of those I noticed these tiny little dots of something. Hundreds, if not thousands on the hood. Sides are OK. Don't really notice them until you look at the car at the correct angle. My car has never been repainted. Frank