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      02-24-2019, 12:22 PM   #1
patsgarageonline
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Rear bumper - paint or plastic?

I just picked up a used 2015 i8 and my rear bumper needs to be polished because of fine scratches from someone using a terry cotton towel to wipe it down. Is the black part of the bumper painted or just raw shiny plastic? I don't want to use the wrong polish on it.

Thanks!
Pat
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      02-28-2019, 03:28 PM   #2
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Same here

Except the black bit on top where the rear window comes down. Small, scruffy scratches on the plastic.
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      03-08-2019, 01:49 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PaddyMac View Post
I just picked up a used 2015 i8 and my rear bumper needs to be polished because of fine scratches from someone using a terry cotton towel to wipe it down. Is the black part of the bumper painted or just raw shiny plastic? I don't want to use the wrong polish on it.

Thanks!
Pat
If you are talking about the panel where the badges are fixed it is definitely painted. I know this because the dealership damaged the paint removing the i8 badge to replace it as the blue paint on it was peeling...
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      03-19-2019, 06:36 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Maxxsirrah View Post
If you are talking about the panel where the badges are fixed it is definitely painted. I know this because the dealership damaged the paint removing the i8 badge to replace it as the blue paint on it was peeling...
Sorry to hear you had that issue, but thank you for fulfilling my query as to what was going on with the rear. That's what I needed to know. Thanks!
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      10-20-2019, 03:55 PM   #5
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I have just managed to polish out the scratches on the black high gloss where the rear glass meets the plastic. Last owner must have caught a watch or keys etc.

It took a while and patience but got there in the end.

I actually thought it was black plastic and not painted as if you look underneath with the boot open, it's the same. Could be wrong though.

Also polished out a bad scratch on the wing mirror which is the same stuff.
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      10-20-2019, 10:20 PM   #6
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Good to know. My front needs to be painted from debris and rock chips. I was curious about this myself
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      10-22-2019, 07:13 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by RDDC View Post
Good to know. My front needs to be painted from debris and rock chips. I was curious about this myself
I still believe that it is black gloss plastic and not painted. The finish is to deep and flawless to be paint in my opinion.
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      10-25-2019, 12:24 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Swiss tone View Post
I still believe that it is black gloss plastic and not painted. The finish is to deep and flawless to be paint in my opinion.
I decided to buff mine and the buffer pad turned black due to it being black paint, not clear coated. I also ordered a small OEM BMW i8 spoiler and it was painted as well. The attachment point underneath was masked out. The spoiler perfectly matches the bumper and black spoiler.
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      10-25-2019, 12:42 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by patsgarageonline View Post
I decided to buff mine and the buffer pad turned black due to it being black paint, not clear coated. I also ordered a small OEM BMW i8 spoiler and it was painted as well. The attachment point underneath was masked out. The spoiler perfectly matches the bumper and black spoiler.
I told you it's paint! It's bloody paint, not plastic, i don't care what anyone thinks, the glossy black bits are all painted!
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      10-25-2019, 04:51 PM   #10
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I managed to put swirl marks on the black rear deck lid of my (BRAND NEW) Roadster last winter. It was my own fault as I switched the type of ceramic coating I was using on my cars (from OptiCoat to CQuartz UK), failed to read the instructions, tried to manually buff out the improperly applied CQuartz with the WRONG buffing compound...and, so, yeah my own fault...

The thing about ceramic coatings is they are the REAL deal. They are NOT over-hyped "snake oil". They really do last for a year or two. Unlike waxes or polishes, you can't wash them away. You have to use an abrasive process to remove them. If you ever have to buff out an improperly applied ceramic coating you will quickly appreciate just how durable they are. And now you don't need to ask me how I know this!

Anyway...

In buffing out the swirl marks and establishing a whole new process for prepping and applying a new ceramic coating (CQuartz UK), I came across a couple of really amazing products....

If you are looking to buff out swirl marks or light scratches I would suggest trying a bottle of CarPro Essence: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1Q7VQ4. You can use it manually although I used it with a buffer. Its not too aggressive and best of all, if you plan to put a ceramic coating on your car, you can lay the coating directly on top of the finished surface (no need for a wash and alcohol wipedown which is usually required for ceramic coatings). However, depending on how deep your swirls and scratches are - you might need to start with something more aggressive (as I also did).

I have found the CQuartzUK coating to be better than OptiCoat although the application is different (though no more difficult). If you are looking to put a ceramic coating on your car, I would highly recommend it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D4NXNTV

So, yeah, the CarPro Essence worked magic on the trunk lid of my i8 Roadster! It actually ended up looking BETTER than the rest of the (Brand New) car, so I ended up buffing the rest of the vehicle with it before I applied the quartz coating. (Although I didn't have to pay quite so much attention as where I had the swirls on my trunk).

Putting a quartz coating down properly is a major labor of love but well worth it! I did both my i8 and M4 over the Christmas holidays. It took about 3 days (in a garage) to do each car. I just cranked up the tunes and spent 3-4 hrs each day getting the cars done. Unlike wax or polish, the ceramic coating lasts YEARS and looks very deep and glossy if care is taken to apply properly. Dirt just never seems to want to stick to it and when it does most of it will just rinse away. Its great stuff, and if you want to show your car some LOVE, its a really great way to spend some quality time with it...

If anyone wants a step-by-step list of the entire process and the various compounds I use, I'll see if I can work one up.

Last edited by evanevery; 10-25-2019 at 05:01 PM..
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      10-26-2019, 11:07 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by evanevery View Post
I managed to put swirl marks on the black rear deck lid of my (BRAND NEW) Roadster last winter. It was my own fault as I switched the type of ceramic coating I was using on my cars (from OptiCoat to CQuartz UK), failed to read the instructions, tried to manually buff out the improperly applied CQuartz with the WRONG buffing compound...and, so, yeah my own fault...

The thing about ceramic coatings is they are the REAL deal. They are NOT over-hyped "snake oil". They really do last for a year or two. Unlike waxes or polishes, you can't wash them away. You have to use an abrasive process to remove them. If you ever have to buff out an improperly applied ceramic coating you will quickly appreciate just how durable they are. And now you don't need to ask me how I know this!

Anyway...

In buffing out the swirl marks and establishing a whole new process for prepping and applying a new ceramic coating (CQuartz UK), I came across a couple of really amazing products....

If you are looking to buff out swirl marks or light scratches I would suggest trying a bottle of CarPro Essence: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E1Q7VQ4. You can use it manually although I used it with a buffer. Its not too aggressive and best of all, if you plan to put a ceramic coating on your car, you can lay the coating directly on top of the finished surface (no need for a wash and alcohol wipedown which is usually required for ceramic coatings). However, depending on how deep your swirls and scratches are - you might need to start with something more aggressive (as I also did).

I have found the CQuartzUK coating to be better than OptiCoat although the application is different (though no more difficult). If you are looking to put a ceramic coating on your car, I would highly recommend it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D4NXNTV

So, yeah, the CarPro Essence worked magic on the trunk lid of my i8 Roadster! It actually ended up looking BETTER than the rest of the (Brand New) car, so I ended up buffing the rest of the vehicle with it before I applied the quartz coating. (Although I didn't have to pay quite so much attention as where I had the swirls on my trunk).

Putting a quartz coating down properly is a major labor of love but well worth it! I did both my i8 and M4 over the Christmas holidays. It took about 3 days (in a garage) to do each car. I just cranked up the tunes and spent 3-4 hrs each day getting the cars done. Unlike wax or polish, the ceramic coating lasts YEARS and looks very deep and glossy if care is taken to apply properly. Dirt just never seems to want to stick to it and when it does most of it will just rinse away. Its great stuff, and if you want to show your car some LOVE, its a really great way to spend some quality time with it...

If anyone wants a step-by-step list of the entire process and the various compounds I use, I'll see if I can work one up.
I would be interested! 😎
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      10-26-2019, 11:39 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by evanevery View Post
If anyone wants a step-by-step list of the entire process and the various compounds I use, I'll see if I can work one up.
Yes please! Also how much of each compound for the i8 would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Barry
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      10-28-2019, 12:43 PM   #13
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OK, here we go...

The largest part of this process is the prep. This is why it took me about 3 days to do each of my cars. The prep is basically the same as you would do regardless whether you were doing a ceramic coating or wax. However, since a ceramic coating is such a semi-permanent thing (investment), you definitely want to start with a properly prepared surface. The good news is that once you have the basic paint prep done, you should never have to do it again (unless you are touching something up)!

1. General Paint/Surface Prep:

- Wash the car with a DISH DETERGENT (dawn), NOT a "car shampoo". We want a detergent solution which will STRIP as much wax and surface deposits as possible.

- Wipe the car down with "IronX". This will lift as much particulate off of the paint as possible. Most cars are shipped by train at some point and this will help remove any iron based "rail dust" as possible: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UMB7WY

- Use a clay bar to wipe down the car. This will remove more of the subsurface impurities which a wash and IronX won't get. This is a standard part of proper paint prep (again, not just for ceramic coatings): https://www.amazon.com/Griots-Garage.../dp/B003POLA84

- Buff/Polish away any swirl marks or scratches which may have appeared over time. This may involve an electric buffer, various grades of buffer pads and polishes. Here's the buffing kit I started with: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M05F4U5 and some additional pads https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017GAGHMQ and polishing compounds https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P67GSRG

- Wash/Rinse the car one more time (again with a dish detergent) to remove and residue from the paint prep process.

- Buff the car with Essence. This stuff is a great final buffing/polishing step. The reason we are doing this AFTER we do the final wash/rinse is that it leaves a SiO2 surface behind which is perfect for immediately receiving a Ceramic Coating directly! If you use Essence, and plan on applying a ceramic coating, you want to do the final wash/rinse BEFORE the Essence so you do not leave any soap residue or other chemicals behind.

2. Prepare the surface for Ceramic Coating (a little more demanding then wax)

- Wipe the car down with a 50/50 solution of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water. This will remove any chemicals still on the surface of the paint. (NOTE that you will NOT have to do this if you just buffed the car with Essence - but you CAN). You can also use a premix called Eraser instead of a 50/50 alcohol mix: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FY1E0HE

- Apply the Ceramic Coating according to the Manufacturers Recommendations (NOTE: That different ceramic coatings have different application techniques. OptiCoat wants to be wiped on and then left to flash, CQuarts wants to be wiped on and then wiped off a minute later). I greatly prefer the appearance and quality of CQuartz UK 3.0: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D4NXNTV Its relatively expensive stuff but although there is only 50 ml in the bottle you should be able to 2 or 3 cars with that amount. It goes on very sparingly.

- Do a second coat of the CQUK if you have the time. You need to wait for several hours (overnight) to let the first coat fully cure.

- You can spray and wipe Reload on top of the CQuartz coating (after it cures for several hours or overnight) to give it even more depth and hydrophobic properties. Reload can also be used from time to time to refresh the ceramic coating and give it a boost: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L9A0AC8. The link I provided for CQuartz above includes a sample which you can use to do the car the first time.

- You can use GLISS instead of Reload for an every "wetter" top coat. I like the Reload cause I mix it with my ECH2O (see below). The GLISS might be a litter better standalone though: https://www.amazon.com/CarPro-GLISS-.../dp/B078F5Q4DR

- While you can/should Reload to refresh you coating from time to time, you might also simply want to use a detailing compound (wipe-on/wipe-off) to further deepen the appearance of your coating. ECH20 is a waterless detailing spray which can be wiped on/off quickly (on a relatively clean car) without washing. Note that ECH2O is already intended to be mixed down with water (1/5 - 1/10) but you can even mix in a bit of Reload to make a killer detailing spray: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076KNF38C


Here are some extra items I noted in my orders used to research the above links:

- Extra APPLICATOR small microfiber suede towels. These are the smaller "suede-like" towels you use to APPLY the coating. As Ceramic Coating is a semi-permant coating these can only be used ONCE: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CESRDXW

- Extra WIPE_OFF microfiber suede towels. These are the larger "suede-like" towels you use to WIPE OFF the coating: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FG397U

- Regular Microfiber Towels. These are general purpose microfiber towels used for wiping off regular polishes or detail sprays: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01NAAJLVG

Last edited by evanevery; 10-28-2019 at 02:34 PM..
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      10-28-2019, 01:22 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by evanevery View Post
OK, here we go...
[/URL]
I really appreciate you taking the time to detail the process and products.

Many thanks

Barry
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      11-01-2019, 02:23 PM   #15
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Great post evanevery! I have been an amateur detailer for quite a while and learnt a lot doing my past cars. Spend far to long getting it perfect like you probably do!

I've just done my 'W' diamond cut wheels, quite awkward cutting them back and getting the black swirl marks out. Now coated in ceramic Gtekniq C5 wheel amour which I recommend.
Took about 4 hour per wheel but worth it.

Never actually put ceramic on my paintwork as I enjoy polishing so I've used Sonax Hydrosilex which is a liquid alternative to the wax I used to use, works well but obviously doesn't last as long as ceramic.

As for the black trim, i stand corrected if it is paint! Very flawless finish and no orange peel for paint then. Should make the front blunt sections easier to re-do if badly chipped?
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      04-25-2020, 12:59 PM   #16
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Hi Evanready

The weather has been good here in the UK and I managed to get some time to use the products that you recommended.

Rightly or wrongly I decide to try them on my wife's car first

It has taken about 13 hours to finish the small car of which a fair amount of time was repairing scratches, stone chips, etc.

Anyway I finished the car this afternoon and I am really happy with the results. For the first time ever my wife's car looks better than my i8 .....!!

I am therefore very keen to start work on my i8 as soon as possible.

Without your posts I may never have attempted the work; so thank you for all your time help.

Stay safe.

Barry
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