I went to take my car in today for an oil change, and kind ol' BMW washed the car for me, and without me asking. I thought that was nice at first, but then when i looked twice after i got back to my office, i noticed the car was buffed and scratched with the typical swirl marks (i have never hand washed or dried the car before, only touchless car washes)... but i mean, it's really bad... like they really gave a good go at it. So my only question is what can i do to make the swirl marks that the dealership put into my car go away?

 

I can't believe your dealership took the time and effort to BUFF your car. Taking it to the local touchless carwash or hand washing it on the premises is one thing...but they actually took a rotary buffer to your new MINI? Eeghads!

Anyway, if you really want to fix it yourself, get a bottle of "3M Swirl Mark Remover" (available at most Pep Boys and other automotive parts stores)...but you have a lot of work ahead of you if you need to do the entire car!

Good luck,

-Joe

 

They didn't really buff it, they washed hand washed it on premises and scratched the heck out of it...

boognish, hey? sorta like....

???

 

I have not used the Zaino products but will be ordering from them in anticipation of my MCS arriving in November. Through my excessive lurking on this site and Mini2, the Zaino products are highly regarded and supposed to do wonders in removing swirls. Look through the topic entitled "Zaino Products" and at the following link;

Zaino Products Link

 

Define "a lot of work" if I go grab some of that 3M stuff. I've got swirl marks all over from my pre-microfiber-enlightenment days.

 

I used it to remove some bug goo hazing and it requires a fair amount of elbow grease. And by "fair amount" I mean substantial. Not bad for little sections but my guess is, if you're doing the whole car, you're going to be alternating arms pretty frequently.

But... it's totally worth it. The stuff is awesome.

 

If it's bad I recomend having the the whole car rubbed out. You can do this your self but if you're not experiance with high speed polishing you can do more harm than good. Factory paint jobs today are very thin do to greater technology in paint application. Burning through paint is now quite easy to do. I would take the car to a detailer and get an estimate. Then approch your dealer with the estimate and see what they are going to do about fixing your paint! Because if it is truly scratched a good rub is what is needed and isn't going to be cheep from detailer.

 

BankyEdwards, not to hijack the topic, but you've got me curious who the guitar guy is in that photo. Who?

Back to the thread: I too highly recommend Zaino.

 

BankyEdwards,

Why, yet another WEEN fan on MCO!

I was at the show where that photo of Ween was taken: The Conduit in beautiful downtown Trenton, NJ. I videotaped most of the show, it's pretty good quality for a handheld MiniDV (MINI-DV?).

Anyway, good luck on removing the swirls and micro-scratches. I own a jet black MINI, the most difficult of all colours to keep looking new and scratch-free. However, I use the complete Zaino System, and even though the Z5 works great for removing swirl marks, the 3M Swirl Mark Remover does a stellar job on removing the toughest ones -- it was recommended to me by Mr. Sal Zaino, after I told him I couldn't remove some ghosting caused by magnetic stripes. The 3M swirl mark remover took care of the ghosting, and eliminated the swirls, too. Then after removing the swirls, I use a coat or two of Z2. Then I spray on some Z6, then a final coat of Z5. The MINI looks awesome after this regimen.

Banky, which dealer "washed your car?" I want to know so I can tell them not to wash mine when I take it in for service!

inioway, the musicians in that photo are 3-fifths the group WEEN, from New Hope, PA. From left to right: Dave (Double-Dip) Driewitz on bass, Aaron Freeman (aka Dean Ween) on acoustic and lead vocals, and on the right, Mickey Melchiondo (aka: Dean Ween) also on acoustic and accompanying vocals.

http:www.ween.com

Rock On MINI owners and disciples of the Mighty Boognish!

-Joe