X3 Paint Question

I have a nagging question for all you detail guys out there that is driving me crazy. I have a brand new 2013 Alpine White X3 Msport and have sealed the paint with Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant.

What I've noticed, actually felt, is from day one, even before sealing, the paint feels "gritty" almost metalic like all over. Is this normal with Alpine White BMW X3 paint? I am actually wondering if BMW had a bad batch of clear coat or something. Does this happen? The Wolfgang sealant gives me a nice shine but what's perplexing is how rough paint feels to the hand. It's like rubbing your hand over micro fine sandpaper.

The car felt this way straight out of production and so far hasn't improved after 3 sealant jobs. Does this sound like defective paint? Is this typical with sealants? Would switching to wax help? I'll clay it in the Spring but I don't this isn't the culprit. The car is brand new with only 4000 miles on it. I also have 2 tiny rock chips on the middle of the hood of all odd places so not even a direct hit. Cheap paint! What does a dealer normally charge Per chip?

Thanks for the input! Can't wait to hear what you guys diagnose and order up for a fix.
Jen

Originally Posted by Jen4BMW

I have a nagging question for all you detail guys out there that is driving me crazy. I have a brand new 2013 Alpine White X3 Msport and have sealed the paint with Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant.

What I've noticed, actually felt, is from day one, even before sealing, the paint feels "gritty" almost metalic like all over. Is this normal with Alpine White BMW X3 paint? I am actually wondering if BMW had a bad batch of clear coat or something. Does this happen? The Wolfgang sealant gives me a nice shine but what's perplexing is how rough paint feels to the hand. It's like rubbing your hand over micro fine sandpaper.

The car felt this way straight out of production and so far hasn't improved after 3 sealant jobs. Does this sound like defective paint? Is this typical with sealants? Would switching to wax help? I'll clay it in the Spring but I don't this isn't the culprit. The car is brand new with only 4000 miles on it. I also have 2 tiny rock chips on the middle of the hood of all odd places so not even a direct hit. Cheap paint! What does a dealer normally charge Per chip?

Thanks for the input! Can't wait to hear what you guys diagnose and order up for a fix.
Jen

You made the right decision by protecting the paint. However, it sounds like you did not clay bar the paint (necessary before applying sealant or wax unless layering protection), meaning the contaminants that are making the paint feel "gritty" are actually trapped under your sealant. Plus, this may be why you found it necessary to re-seal the paint (usually sealants can last 6 months to a year depending if you use wax boosters or not)

Also, if the clay bar doesn't help, you should use Iron-X before claying and applying wax. It's literally an after-wash spray you use when preparing the paint for polishing and/or protection. Just make sure you don't leave it on too long (a few minutes should be good enough) and do it out of sunlight.

You should clay the car as soon as possible. Could be that you have over spray on the paint or some surface contaminant. If you take a plastic sandwich bog on your hand and on palm side down rub the surface of the paint. If it feels rough then clay will remove that.

Jen,
I've had a similar thing happen to my car after it was parked under a tree for an afternoon.
The tree shed tiny droplets of sap onto the vehicle, which would not come out with regular washing. The droplets were hardly visible, though the the paint felt rough.

As others have wisely suggested, get yourself some quick detailer to use as lube, and use a fine to medium clay bar. If I could only choose 1 clay bar, I'd go with the medium, as it removes more contamination - but may slightly mar. Marring can be removed with a good polish like Meguiars M205 (either by DA polisher or by hand). Make sure to use good microfiber towels for these processes.

How-To Clay (Courtesy of Detailed Image)

Step 1: Wash and dry your vehicle.

Step 2: Break off a small piece of clay that you will be working with and shape it into a flat surface.

Step 3: Working in small 18" x 18" sections, mist the clay bar lubricant over your working area, so that every square inch is covered in clay lube.

Step 4: Gently glide the clay bar over your working area using overlapping passes going left to right or up and down. Note: You do not want to rely on a lot of downward force to clean the paint. You should allow the clay to absorb the contamination. Stubborn contamination can require a good amount of time, clay lube and passes to remove.

Step 5: Continue working on an area until all contamination is removed. You can tell this has happened because the clay will slide effortlessly across the paint and you will not hear any contamination being picked up by the clay.

Step 6: Wipe off the excess clay lube with a microfiber towel.

Step 7: Continue steps 3 - 6 until the entire car has been properly clayed
Note: Reshape your piece of clay after each section so that there is a clean fresh surface exposed. If you cannot reveal a fresh surface, break off a new piece of clay. To increase the life of your clay bar, spray the bar with a clay lube and store it in a clay bar storage container.

If you drop a piece of clay, throw it away!
Working on a small area ensures that your clay lube will not dry up too fast.
Do not use too much pressure when gliding a clay bar across the lubricated surface.
Using a quick detailer that leaves behind a slick surface is often good as a clay bar lubricant
For most vehicles, we recommend using a fine grade clay bar.

A medium grade clay bar will almost always leave behind some marring that needs to be polished to remove.
Optimum No Rinse mixed with water is a common clay bar lubricant amongst professionals.
You can often tell if there is contamination still on the surface by listening closely as your clay.

Avoid using a clay bar in direct sunlight so that your clay lube does not dry up quickly
Cutting your clay bar into small pieces helps preserve your clay in the event you drop a piece.

Always try to reshape your clay to expose a fresh, clean piece of clay
When storing your clay bar, mist some of your clay lube in the bag or container to keep is soft and flexible.

It's good practice to re-wash your vehicle after using a clay bar to remove any loosened contamination and to remove excess clay bar residue
Clay not only works well on your paint, but also your glass, wheels, plastics and other surfaces

Originally Posted by Jen4BMW

I have a nagging question for all you detail guys out there that is driving me crazy. I have a brand new 2013 Alpine White X3 Msport and have sealed the paint with Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant.

What I've noticed, actually felt, is from day one, even before sealing, the paint feels "gritty" almost metalic like all over. Is this normal with Alpine White BMW X3 paint? I am actually wondering if BMW had a bad batch of clear coat or something. Does this happen? The Wolfgang sealant gives me a nice shine but what's perplexing is how rough paint feels to the hand. It's like rubbing your hand over micro fine sandpaper.

The car felt this way straight out of production and so far hasn't improved after 3 sealant jobs. Does this sound like defective paint? Is this typical with sealants? Would switching to wax help? I'll clay it in the Spring but I don't this isn't the culprit. The car is brand new with only 4000 miles on it. I also have 2 tiny rock chips on the middle of the hood of all odd places so not even a direct hit. Cheap paint! What does a dealer normally charge Per chip?

Thanks for the input! Can't wait to hear what you guys diagnose and order up for a fix.
Jen

Jen,
even brand new cars can have / often have paint contamination. As others have said claying would have helped. I'll give a brief summary of best routine for new car.
IMO most dealer prep on brand new cars harms the paint quality rather than helping as they don't have time/take time to do it properly---they do it fast.....

1. wash gently with two bucket method to keep contaminated mitt from rubbing on paint.

2. Iron-X vehicle. It reacts with tiny iron particles embedded into paint that can often be there at delivery. Rail dust (from railraod travel), industrial contamination, etc. Best to do prior to claying as this gets embedded particles and then claying gets surface contamination.
IronX is nasty nasty smelling chemical which turns purple when it meets/disloves iron in paint or on wheel rims (brake dust). Paint will be noticably smoother.

3. wash again.

4. now clay with ultra-fine clay like Pinnacle Ultra Fine Poly clay. Always always use least agressive correction method--not medium clay which can mar clearcoat.

5. Test to see if perfectly smooth.

6. I then prefer to use paint prep like Pinnacle Paint Cleansing Lotion which is non-abrasive polish which gets it even smoother /ready for protection. I use a premium quality dual action machine to safely/effectively do this step.
This step is not absolutely necessary but it's the final prep piece for a perfect job.

7. Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealent is excellent product BUT prep work/prep results are 95% of the final outcome. I use BlackFire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Protection which is a sister product to your Wolfgang----both superb.

8. Not necessary step---top with a carnuba wax/ or combo polymer/carnuba product.

There are many other optional steps with wheels/tires, windows, interior, engine bay which I did on my new MB for a grand total of about 40+ hours but they are not as important.
I was hoping for a BMW 5 series Wagon but not available here in US so was forced to go
with MB E Wagon. Good luck with your detailing.
AutoGeek.com is great site for info and products too.