# Returning User - BMW E46 Black Compact - Car keyed after 36hrs!



## rbj*rbj (Aug 21, 2008)

*Black BMW E46 Compact - Car keyed after 36hrs!*

Hi all. 
Bit about me as this will likely become my progress thread!

I have been a big fan of this forum for a while now and have gained alot of great advice in the past.

I have previously had a 4n Polo and, most recently, a new shape Fiesta: both of which were my pride and joys!

I then sold the fiesta (due to having a work vehicle), but have recently been forced to get my own car once again.

So.... I went for a 316ti E46 3 series compact in Black. Minor bodywork needed due to previous driver scraping the o/s bumper and light cluster.

Couple of pics from when i went to see the car originally:


















Very bad quality pic of the damage, cant really see much:









'Arty-ish shot'









HOWEVER - less than 36 hours later i parked her up to go to see the local council's firework display, returned to the car to find this down the whole passenger side and rear light. 












I have seen some incredible things done with deep scratches on here so (and i know the pics are not the greatest) i was wondering how likely it will be that these 2 deep and wide scratches can be removed without the panels requiring a full respray?

Thanks for reading and any advice would be much appreciated.
Hopefully i will become alot more active on here over the coming months!

:thumb:


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## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

waers

They look mega deep mate, Going on the pictures i doubt they will machine out.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

Rotten scumbags.


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## G105ALY (Dec 6, 2006)

rbj*rbj said:


> Hi all.
> Bit about me as this will likely become my progress thread!
> 
> I have been a big fan of this forum for a while now and have gained alot of great advice in the past.
> ...


No chance of polishing out mate, I am really for you, there are some real scumbags out there. I am afraid that will definately need spraying, possibly even filling as the scratches may have indented the panel :spam:


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## DJ X-Ray (Sep 2, 2012)

I don't know where ******s who do this get off.Spray job unfortunately mate.


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## Mumbles (Nov 7, 2011)

Aw man, such a shame. 

Hate when stuff like this happens. Hope you can get it fixed ok but looks like it'll need a respray.


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## rbj*rbj (Aug 21, 2008)

Respray is definitely needed having looked at it in the light of day!

Got a couple of quotes today at 'mates rates'... looking at between £400 & £550!!

Any advice on making the scratch to the rear cluster less obvious?


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## iansoutham (Aug 4, 2006)

Would need to see it to be honest, but the light "should" polish back with some 1200grit, then 1500 grit and some compound (I normally use 3M FastCut+ followed by Finesse). That is how we used to do most plastic lenses on cars that came into our bodyshop for key scratches.


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## a1diamond (Apr 2, 2012)

iansoutham said:


> Would need to see it to be honest, but the light "should" polish back with some 1200grit, then 1500 grit and some compound (I normally use 3M FastCut+ followed by Finesse). That is how we used to do most plastic lenses on cars that came into our bodyshop for key scratches.


I agree with the above but the panel is 100% paint job, sorry bud


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## vtaylor78 (Feb 21, 2012)

Sorry to hear that mate, i for the life of me can't understand why" people" do this $HIT Cowards thats what they are, if you've got a problem with someone front them up. Good luck with repaint, don't forget to post up some pic's when finished.:thumb:


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## rbj*rbj (Aug 21, 2008)

Right, so i have had a few quotes to have the side sprayed and will hopefully be getting it done in the next 2 weeks!! 
I have been told that it is a £7-900 job normally however through 'mates rates' have been quoted £550 for somewhere close to me and £400 for somewhere a little further away.

I also popped to see Gaz W at Detail My Ride who quoted me for full corrective detail and tidy up of inside....

Will post pics as and when...

Thanks for the help so far


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## rtjc (Apr 19, 2009)

I've just seen this, So sorry see it aswell. I will never understand why people do this. Other than jealously of course but it's the lowest of the low. Scum! Hope you get the car looking like you want it bud.


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## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

One of the most heinous of crimes to mess with another dude or dudettes motor, utter utter pond filth!!  

I have saved pretty nasty key scratches on BM's before but the cost of doing such big ones would be not far off repainting, and from the pics they do look pretty bad. 

The mind just boggles at what goes through these vacant headed c***s tiny little brains.

Arrggghhh starting to rant!! Must.... stop... before... turn... green... :doublesho


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## AdnanKhan (Aug 16, 2012)

This sort of stuff makes me want to break arms. Serious.


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## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

That is gutting  But that was never going to polish out even with wetsanding  Glad you getting it fixed out tho and im sure Gaz will do a fantastic job with it as well


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## Forsaken (Sep 2, 2012)

Hi,that's terrible.feel for the OP, this might sound crazy but what about filler, and touch up paint and then polished to blend in?


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

rbj*rbj said:


> Respray is definitely needed having looked at it in the light of day!
> 
> Got a couple of quotes today at 'mates rates'... looking at between £400 & £550!!
> 
> Any advice on making the scratch to the rear cluster less obvious?


Lol that's a bit much. Someone keyed my car and it cost me £450 for basically a rear wing, passenger rear door, passenger front door, front passenger wing, bonnet and drivers side wing
Was a good job too.

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=283346


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## xScotty (Apr 21, 2012)

Forsaken said:


> Hi,that's terrible.feel for the OP, this might sound crazy but what about filler, and touch up paint and then polished to blend in?


That's what I would attempt, would make it much less visible


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## rbj*rbj (Aug 21, 2008)

Right; heres my attempt at the start of my 'progress thread'.
Please bear with me as I'm an amateur at the methods of posting on Forums!

So since the 'incident' I have done a couple of bits to the car and also has the repair and repaint done. Little 'orange-peely' but a good job overall!

Pics nearer the bottom after I bore you with what's been done to her so far.

So... I sourced a replacement indicator from a BMW breakers however the clip was a little broken. I though i may have needed a washer to ensure a good fit but this wasnt required.

This is what the bit SHOULD look like:









And this is the bit I have:









And fitted fine:


















HUGE IMPROVEMENT:









The model indication badges to the rear were removed using a hairdryer and debit card for leverage. Extra glue removed with AG tar removed and AG SRP.
Here's my 'glamorous assistant':










When I got the car it had already had all interior bulbs swapped for LED (dont know why either of the '2 lady owners' would have been bothered to get this done :-S)
Anyway, I decided i would change the rear number plate bulbs for LEDs as well as change all the headlight cluster bulbs to whiter and brighter bulbs!

LED number plate lights (unfortunately do not have pics of other side):


















Instagram edit of both rear and front bulbs repaced:









Fitted smoked repeaters 

















M-sport dust caps









ClimAir wind deflectors (exterior pics to come):









Also managed to do a 'swapsie' on my phone cover to match my car interior!!!:lol:









When ordering a few bits, following reading the reviews on here, I got myself and some friends some Gtechnic I1:









And of course proceeded to waterproof a tissue:










The results are, almost, completely unbelievable!

The bits that you will be interested in now then! :thumb:

This is my car being prepped at the bodyshop:










The damage to the front bumper had been previously repaired with excessive amounts of filler so this was taken out and rectified (sorry no pics)

So it went in here:









No pic of mine inside but here's a comparable; my mates silver 318ti Sport lol :









And came out great! Unfortunately I managed to wipe my iPhone pics with 3 days worth not saved so i have lost the pics from when I collected the car! :wall:

Once i had left it for 5 days or so I set about giving it a clean and protect.

Engine bay cleaned with lots of APC and agitated with brush. Then treated with various AG trim products. It was FILTHY beforehand. Will get some proper pics of how it looks treated soon:









Interior lightly cleaned with variety of products and brushes to give this result:









I had used the 2BM in the past on my previous car, a brand new Ford Fiesta Zetec:




































However I took it upon myself to order a gritguard for my rinse bucket as i have obviously always read of the benefits!

GritGuard:



















I previously used DJ BTBM shampoo but decided to get myself some of their Sour Power this time round. Great suds and smell once again!










Wheels cleaned with Wonder Wheels (£1.73 tesco special) and agitated with wheel brush. 









Car washed using 2bm and microfibre mitt.
:detailer:

Car then dried with water blade and deep pile MF drying towel:









Rain-Ex'ed 









Few scratches and marks were polished out using standard T-Cut, AG SRP and an own-brand cutting product.









Whole car then polished with SRP and given 1 coat of DJ Blue Velvet Pro.

Got dark very quickly:









Car washed a few days later and given another coat of wax:










Few finished, beading and other shots:

Reflection of old dear's Cmax in my driver's quarter:


















Me in the bonnet:









Overnight rain:









This is how I left it before writing this:









I really do LOVE driving it!!! :car:










The car had never seen a microfibre in it's life, let alone a machine polish! 8 years of automatic car washes has really taken its toll on the bodywork! 
I will be getting booked in with Gaz at Detail My Ride in the new year for full correction and then staying on top of it myself.

Lots more planned......

And I shall leave you with this pic I was sent this morning from my friend in London:









:doublesho

Thanks for looking! Comments and suggestions welcome! Im new to this!


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## Aps-direct (Nov 19, 2012)

looking good


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## rbj*rbj (Aug 21, 2008)

Right, so...

Been really really busy with a new job (which i'm hating btw) so not had time to post anything up on here recently.

Also, plans have changed as I am not keeping the car (been good fun but very expensive to run) and will be putting it up for sale soon.

I put myself and a friend down to attend the DodoJuice and Detail My Ride Machine Polishing Introduction day last week to find out a bit about using the machine polishers before giving it a go on my 8 year old Black BMW 'swirl-central' paint!

The day was excellent - MANY THANKS TO GAZ AND DOM AND ALL THOSE INVOLVED ONCE AGAIN! :thumb:

Some pics from the day:



Demo-ing the machine polishers







Then time for us to have a go



And a few 50/50s on a 'do-er up-er' that gaz bought. 












The store was fully stocked and ended up with a shopping list from a friend of mine who had managed to spend plenty with [email protected] only the week before at Early Edition





Ended up biting the bullet and buying the DAS-6 with DJ SN microfibre pad and red and orange waffle pads



During the week i ordered 205, 105, 3m tape and some 2500 and 3000 grit to give a couple of the stonechips on my car a go! Brave/stupid but figure I couldnt really make them any worse!
Service from i4detailing was excellent!



Also picked up a new 'top-of-the-range microfibre polishing pad cleaning brush' :lol:


Anyway, eventually got round to cleaning the car on the weekend. Started alot later than planned due to having to take my car for 4 new tyres and then to garage to look into an oil leak which has appeared recently! 





As such, only got chance to polish the bonnet of my car!!! :wall:
:buffer: Looking forward to doing the rest! :buffer:
Used 105 on SN microfibre pad and followed with 205 on Red DJ finishing pad
Then LSP was DJ SN hybrid to the left side and DJ bananarama on the right!
No good pics of finish however I am very impressed for my first go and spent the afternoon showing everyone who would give me 2 minutes of their time my new swirl-free bonnet and the difference in beading between SN and Bananarama! :lol::thumb:

Couple of before an afters












Apologies for all the crap pics. Will invest in a camera one day!

Thanks for looking.

All comments, advice or criticism welcome!

Last but not least a token pic of a random car that i have been sent today!
A5TRA


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Your car is stunning, excellent work from yourself and a very decent thread to read, I enjoyed this thread alot, thank you :thumb:
One thing I did not like and did turn my stomach over like was the car getting keyed, I don't know what kick people get from keying cars and damaged them, where I from originally cars do not keyed by people and damaged.


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## rbj*rbj (Aug 21, 2008)

Trip tdi said:


> I don't know what kick people get from keying cars and damaged them, where I from originally cars do not keyed by people and damaged.


Thanks for your support :thumb:

Where are you from originally?


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## 3dom (Oct 30, 2012)

The car is looking nice now, and fair play to you for getting stuck in with the training day! Maybe the whole keying thing stemmed from the previous owner? As you had only just bought it, maybe the previous owner had upset someone and the scrote who scratched the car did so thinking that it still belonged to the other guy? (Not condoning it in anyway, but it could offer an explanation)

Did the Dodo/Detail my ride training day go into using paint thickness gauges?


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## rbj*rbj (Aug 21, 2008)

3dom said:


> Maybe the whole keying thing stemmed from the previous owner?
> ...
> Did the Dodo/Detail my ride training day go into using paint thickness gauges?


Previous owner was from NW Bham and a middle aged lady... i dont think she had any 'beef' with anyone from Pype Hayes. It could explain other acts of malicious damage on people's car though. It has been heard of.

I think the evening i went to the fireworks i parked near to a council housing estate near to another public park. Just some young  with nothing better to do unfortunately!

And the training day was more of an introduction than an intensive course. I think DMR pulled out the paint gauge at some point but this was not a subject we covered.
We covered:

WASHING and WHEELS 
- Correct washing technique: inc pre-wash, wash mitts vs sponges, 'contactless' wash procedures, two bucket method etc
- Rinseless and waterless washing
- Drying techniques
- Wheel cleaning
- Safe tar and bug removal 
- Bird 'bomb' removal

CLAYING AND DECONTAMINATION
- Fallout removers
- Clay types and lube

POLISHING AND MACHINE POLISHER INTRO
- What's a polish?
- Polish vs Cleaner Wax/AIO vs Glaze
- Hand vs machine polishing
- Different types of machine, DA/orbital vs Rotary 
- Intro to pads and compounds
- Free practice on panels

PROTECTING THE FINISH - WAXES AND LSPs
- Waxes vs sealants, myths and realities
- What are nano products?
- Correct application, buffing, layering

MAINTENANCE
- Maintenance of the finish
- Correct shampoos and quick detailers; when and if to relayer/top up

AND FINALLY...
- Q and A session with Gaz from DMR and Dom from DJ!


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## 3dom (Oct 30, 2012)

Sounds like a very thorough and enjoyable day, and probably interesting regardless of experience levels. Thanks for sharing :thumb:


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## Dodo Factory (Apr 11, 2007)

PTGs are briefly covered but they lead to a false sense of security and are for rough guidance only. People lean on them a bit too heavily TBH - a bit of a bad habit IMO. They are good, but only when you know what to do with them and then interpret the results correctly. Certainly not 'essential' for the home based amateur taking 1-2 microns off their clearcoat when the history of the car is known in terms of SMART repairs etc. You are more likely to strike through with poor technique on an edge etc. than by not 'knowing' the paint thickness to the nearest micron, when you may be removing as little as a thirtieth of it anyway.


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