# BMW bonnet is hugely scratched - anyway back short of a respray?



## kiruji (Sep 17, 2007)

This is the bonnet on an old 528i I own. It was like this when I bought it (cheaply!) but I've never seen anything like it before... It almost looks like someone has resprayed it but applied the lacquer far too thickly and then gone mental with a Stanley knife on it! It covers pretty much the entire bonnet.

Is it even lacquered though? Where it's cracked and opened up, it looks like a different colour underneath. The car is Glacier Green, but don't know if it's two layered colours or what, it looks silver in some lights and green in others.

The problem has been compounded by the winter we've just had, the freezing seems to have cracked and flaked the lacquer in places.

I'm fully expecting everyone to say the only fix is to have the bonnet resprayed, but before I go to that expense, I was wondering how much I could improve it with wetsanding - something I've never tried before, but I can hardly make this worse and wetsanding is something I fancy having a go at. If the results were acceptable I might well be tempted to leave it, seeing as it's a cheap car anyway.

What do you experts think? Am I wasting my time completely? Any advice?














































It's supposed to look like this:


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## adf27 (Mar 14, 2012)

What the hell happened there? Looks like the clear coat is coming off so a respray is probably the only option


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## kiruji (Sep 17, 2007)

I have no idea what happened to it - it's a mystery to me!

The rest of the car is more or less OK, lots of scratches, but nothing that can't be fixed. Certainly nothing like this anywhere else on the car!


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## adf27 (Mar 14, 2012)

Just a bonnet respray should do it :thumb:


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## kiruji (Sep 17, 2007)

That's what I thought. Shame, I'm not sure the car is worth spending the money on!


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## adf27 (Mar 14, 2012)

Or look on ebay for a replacement. Might be quite rare now though, especially in good nick and the right colour


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## jim55 (Nov 12, 2008)

iv seen similiar before working as a spray painter ,its nitro mors time im afraid ,back to the metal and start again


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## kiruji (Sep 17, 2007)

Really? Bare metal is the only way forward? 

Do you know what it's caused by?

Oddly enough, there is a Glacier Green bonnet on eBay at the moment, so I'll probably just buy that and hope it's not too scratched.


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## jim55 (Nov 12, 2008)

im pretty sure its caused by a reaction type of thing ,some solvent or other is not compatible with something on top of it ,could be peroxide in the filler or anything ,even if u get it not bad looking by sanding/polishing(highly unlikely though) its just gona come back through pretty quickly 
i remember a peugeot door that we painted and when it left it looked fine ,the customer came back about a month later and showed us similiar to what uve got ,its as if the topcoat shrinks and cracks or as u say a stanley knife has been set on it ,whenever we had any doubt we just stripped it all off and started again ,yours looks like a prev paint job thats went wrong (obv)so its a start again job or just but the one on ebay,sorry but thats the truth ,dont spend any time or money on it (unless ur getting it repainted and u insist its right stripped back to metal ,my advice,,,,,,buy the ebay one:thumb:


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## kiruji (Sep 17, 2007)

Thanks dudes :thumb:

BTW, any of you got a rough idea of how much it'd cost to have resprayed?


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## toni (Oct 30, 2005)

Those aren't scratches, but cracks in the paint.

CRACKING
(Checking, Crazing, Spitting, Alligatoring, Crowsfeet)
Cracks or lines of various lengths and widths in the topcoat finish often resembling the cracking of
dried mud.
____________________________________________________________________________
CAUSE_____________________________________________________
(A) Excessive film thickness of the undercoat and/or topcoat.
(B) Refinishing over a previously crazed/cracked surface.
(C) Insufficient flash time between coats and/or force drying undercoats using air from the
spray gun.
(D) Mixing incorrectly or using too much hardener.
(E) Paint ingredients not thoroughly stirred or agitated.
(F) Breakdown of finish due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, moisture, and extreme
temperature changes.
(G) Using generic reducers and/or hardeners.
REPAIR _________________________________________
(1) Remove all cracked paint film and refinish..
PREVENTION______________________________________________
(A) Apply all materials following label direction.
(B) Completely remove crazed/cracked finishes before refinishing.
(C) Do not force dry undercoats by fanning with spray gun air.
(D) Mix ingredients thoroughly using the recommended additives. Add each component in
proper sequence following the recommended mixing ratio.
(E) Stir or agitate materials thoroughly before use to ensure all ingredients are in solution.
(F) Use premium two component undercoat and topcoat system to provide maximum gloss and
durability.
(G) Use the recommended thinner/reducer and hardener, and then measure accurately.


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## masammut (Jul 13, 2011)

Probably at some point in its life that bonnet was used as a chopping board!


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

As said that's the laquer breaking down and cracking/splitting, caused by over application of the clear coat, which when it was painted what they might of done, is just paint the bonnet, them it looked off colour to the wings, so
They had to do it again and blend the wings. But bear in mind you have the heat from the engine in the bonnet when driving. Which in turn is causing the paint to crack and separate.

Only cure for this is take it back to baremetal an start again, but also it would be worth blending the colour over the wings aswell for a good match.


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## mitchelld (Jan 14, 2012)

its as if someones used it as a cutting board !1


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## mr paint (Jul 11, 2009)

with andy on this one 


defo blend the colour into the wings... price £400-450 fully stripted ..painted blended 


tommy


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## kiruji (Sep 17, 2007)

Thanks guys - as I thought though, that's way too much for this car, it's not worth a great deal more!


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