[RSouthern]

Hi, I'm new to this forum having just recently purchased a CPO 2018 i3 but not new to BMWs or car ownership/detailing.

One question for the long time i3 owners regarding the black hood. It seems very susceptible to scratches. When we bought the i3 from the dealer we found lots of swirl marks all over the hood and several bird dropping etchings. I tried polishing the hood to reduce both the damage types, and while I reduced the scratches a bit, they were still pretty visible in the right light, and the bird dropping etchings ate deeper into the paint than I felt comfortable polishing/cutting down to fearing I'd thin the clear coat too much. Since we also had someone run into the front of the car when parked a few weeks after buying it, we used the opportunity to repaint the hood since the front bumper cover was being replaced/repainted too. The collision center had a very difficult time with the black paint, and new fine scratches were put in when they polished the fresh paint (inexperienced finisher I think), so they sent the car out to be detailed by "a pro" after the parts were all done and put back on. The main hood surface is now better, but not completely swirl free, however I noticed that the polishing around the windshield washer nozzles is still hazy, so clearly they didn't mask properly or didn't use the right size polishing pad to do this area.

Is this just something that's impossible to get back to a factory new level of polish and finish? I intend to do PPF on the front, covering the entire hood, bumper and fenders, but I'd like to have the paint as good as possible before covering it.

Are there any secrets to maintaining this paint, it seems very delicate, however it may just be the nature of gloss black paint.

I searched before asking but didn't find anything helpful

thanks in advance for your thoughts

[vreihen16]

Is it even paint? I was under the impression that the colors were molded into each part at the factory, and replacement body panels comes out of the box with the correct color and ready to install.....

[ovekvam]

Check out this video from the i3 production, from around 13 minutes onwards. Those are our robots at work, painting panels.

[Nahlem]

Actually the hood is very sensitive, i had mine at the detailer the first time i got it, and they said them self they have never seen a hood that is so sensitive to scratches, my big advice for you if it to damaged and can't be saved buy a new hood because you can buy them as stand alone parts and then xpeel it otherwise the swirl marks will drive you mad, i xpeled my hood to give it protection against the swirling.

[Noggie]

It's definitely painted, I got a pretty big stone chip in mine, which sucks since the car is just 6 months old.

That said, a new hood is cheap, approx. 400usd, doesn't say if it's painted or not though, but if it is painted, that would be an easy relatively cheap way to fix it.

The body panels is only listed with one number, so it is not molded in the color of the car, probably come unpainted.

Having done hobby detailing for close to 10 years now, I guess this paint is very soft, then it scratches easily, something I also noticed.
I have't touched mine with a machine yet, I just gave it a good clean and put some wax on it.
Guess I will do a proper machine polish as my winter prep.

[Coastali8]

It’s definitely painted.
The replacement panels do not come pre-painted from the dealer.

I recently purchased a 2018 i3s and I just had the hood repainted because it appears that the previous owner dragged the charging cord over the front hood when he plugged the car in.
Any decent body shop should remove things like the hood emblem and windshield wash squirt nozzles. They easily come off. The kidney grill is a little harder to remove as it is held on with adhesive trim tape and screws but it also comes off with a little careful effort.

Gloss black is a tough color to keep looking nice. That’s just the nature of all gloss black paint with a clear coat. Don’t touch it with anything and you’ll be ok. Or cover it with a clear paint protection film.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Is it even paint? I was under the impression that the colors were molded into each part at the factory, and replacement body panels comes out of the box with the correct color and ready to install.....

Nope hoods come primed and you have to paint it!

Mine was pretty bad so I just bought a new hood as their only around 200 bucks new and had it painted and buffed. Once it cures for the 8 weeks I'm gonna PPF it with a self healing kind and it will always be swirl free


However the 2019 i3S front end comes painted black and the factory i3S wheel arches also come pre painted from the factory so it's very nice and cheap to replace if it gets beat up. Parts are just over 100 bucks and couldn't even get them painted for that!

The rear bumper parts are also primed and the main bumper body color portion is also primed. Their are no MIC parts.

Note: I get wholesale prices from
My dealer.

If you don't get wholesale prices from your dealer try getbmwparts.com for discounted OEM parts

[Coastali8]

Please clarify…
What do you mean when you say i3s “front end”?
Are you saying that the front hood (bonnet for those driving on the left side) comes pre-painted black for $285?
I thought all the hoods through out the years were the same. Why is 2019 different?
And the wheel arches painted black too?

[-c-]

Originally Posted by Coastali8

Please clarify…
What do you mean when you say i3s "front end"?
Are you saying that the front hood (bonnet for those driving on the left side) comes pre-painted black for $285?
I thought all the hoods through out the years were the same. Why is 2019 different?
And the wheel arches painted black too?

The i3S black trim up front that surround the blue or grey trim and turn signals are painted black from the factory. I said 2019 as the i3S was a 2019 year release here in the states I think. The wheel trim is also painted from the factory. All other parts need to be painted as they only
Come primed. Why I have no idea.... ask BMW.

How do I know. I've already bought all the parts.

In this pic only the i3S front face and wheel arches come painted from the factory everything else comes
Primed and you have to have professionally painted

Also note the trim also comes painted from the factory like the lower blue trim and grille surrounds

[Coastali8]

Thanks,
I see when I read your original post again you say that the hood comes primed. That’s my problem with speed reading. Sorry
Interesting that some parts come painted.
2018 was the first year for the i3s in the US.

[-c-]

Originally Posted by Coastali8

Thanks,
I see when I read your original post again you say that the hood comes primed. That's my problem with speed reading. Sorry
Interesting that some parts come painted.
2018 was the first year for the i3s in the US.

Ok cool. Yea I wasn't sure if it was 2019 or 2018....

Thanks for clarifying.

[restleg]

Bird poop is even worse, make sure you remove it as soon as you spot it, with no delays. It will chemically damage it.

[-c-]

Also it's easy to remove the washer nozzles to polish correctly and their cheap so buy some new ones. They had a design update as well with them so their more robust now.

Once done have a clear paint protection film applied. A self healing one then it will look new and swirl free forever.

Money well spent.

It's cheaper to as the hoods in our cars are small.

[MsGoGoMoto]

I'm considering getting my i3 wrapped.
Anyone ever had a car wrapped and does it last past 2 years with normal care?

[-c-]

Originally Posted by MsGoGoMoto

I'm considering getting my i3 wrapped.
Anyone ever had a car wrapped and does it last past 2 years with normal care?

Well if it's wrapped with PPF it lasts for 10+ years or more. Newer stuff is better.


If your talking vinyl it depends on brand and quality of vinyl used. Some say expect 4 years maybe if Daily driven more if a garage queen.

At a cost of around 4 grand to wrap I'd just go with the PPF and get the benefits of self healing and hydrophobic properties of the newer films....

Never have swirl marks again.