1976 BMW 2002 paint corection - Pinnacle Auto Detail - CT

[PinnacleAutoCT]

Hey everyone, the summer was really busy this year, so I've been slacking with my write-ups. Hopefully this is of interest. This beautiful 1976 BMW 2002 was in need of some attention. Much of the car had been repainted over twenty years ago (base/clear), leaving plenty of time for unsightly marring and light scratches to make their way into the finish, dulling its luster and making a real mess of its appearance when viewed under sunlight. Other areas had been recently repainted due to rust issues, and unfortunately the fresh paint had been sanded and improperly polished, leaving plenty of rotary swirls and sand scratches in need of correction. Given the age of the paint and the bubbles forming on the hood, we decided it was best to stick to a one-step correction, remove about 80% of the swirling and marring, and in the process greatly improve the paint's shine and depth while leaving enough paint for good durability in the years to come. In the pictures taken before work began, you can see that the car had some shine, but a certain haziness could be seen in the reflection of the dim overhead lights, while LED lighting revealed a surface which was heavily marred.
Before:

DSC06098 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06085 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr


Rotary swirls were visible even under the dim overhead lighting:

DSC06096 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

LED lighting showed the true extent of the marring:

DSC06100 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06104 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06107 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06110 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06115 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06128 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06131 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06137 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06145 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr


After careful evaluation of the paint's response to various pad and polish combinations starting with the least aggressive first, it was determined that Rupes fine grade pads could be used with a mixture of Meguiar's D300 and HD Polish to achieve the desired correction rate (~80%+). A very small amount of micro-marring was present after this process, so the same polish mixture was used this time with Lake Country black foam finishing pads to fully refine the paint, improving shine and bringing out a deeper shade of red. All correction work was performed with the Rupes 21 MKII and 75E polishers.

After:


Pitting from sand and stone impacts would remain, along with the bubbling and some deeper scratches, but the finish was in a vastly improved state after correction:


DSC06194 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06159 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06191 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06198 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06203 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06209 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06210 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06216 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06220 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06224 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

The roof now looked great under the overhead lights; no haziness:

DSC06260 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06263 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06268 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06186 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06166 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06175 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

DSC06162 by Mike Donoghue, on Flickr

As always, thanks for looking, comments and questions are welcome!

[Arclitgold]

Wow nice work! I’ve always loved these cars


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[Desertnate]

Great work! It's amazing what even a little TLC can do for a neglected car.

I love 2002's and they are very rare in my area. A true automotive gem.

[TheCougarGuy]

Great job! These are the kind of projects I like doing. It's fun to bring the paint on older cars back to life.

[Paul A.]

Beautiful!!!

[Klasse Act]

Car looks GREAT, maybe you can polish away those bumpers too!

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[Sizzle Chest]

Well done. It's a totally different shade of red now, great work and looks so much better!