Car parking carelessness

[Twitch Massacre]

Add my Sakhir Orange M6 Coupe to the list. Went to my local BMW dealership today to check out an i3 for the Mrs. to get to work. Got a small dent on the passenger side door, luckily no paint damage. Funny thing is the only 2 cars that parked next to me were another M6, a Gran Coupe in Alpine White, and a little later an Audi S5. If the White M6 Gran Coupe's owner is a member here, I'm going to hunt you down!!! Just kidding. I don't hold it against you, I know a parked a little crooked. I still left plentiful space, though. Oh well, Guess I'll have the dent pulled on Monday.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by RichardP

Well, I managed to pick up a ding today, not caused by parking though.

Something quite large was thrown up in front of me on the motorway and hit the near side A pillar making one hell of a bang. It's left at least three separate small dings about half way up the pillar, the paint is not damaged due to the protection film but the dings just catch the light as you look at it.

I'm guessing that dings on the A pillar will be impossible for a paintless dent removal guy to access, unless anyone knows different. I really don't want to have the entire strip over the roof and rear wing painted, plus bending, so I guess it will just have to stay the way it is.

Hi Richard, IF it's not right up tight to the windscreen, it can be got at/filled repaired/painted.

I was driving my F30 330D M Sport behind this uncovered lorry and a house brick came off it, it almost came through the screen scared the S**T out of us.

[RichardP]

These are my dings, nothing like Palmnuts, but bloody annoying! Three dents pretty much straight up from the mirror.



Guess I should be grateful that whatever it was didn't come through the window and take out my head!

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by RichardP

These are my dings, nothing like Palmnuts, but bloody annoying! Three dents pretty much straight up from the mirror.



Guess I should be grateful that whatever it was didn't come through the window and take out my head!

I see what you mean Richard. It's a minor thing, probably unnoticeable to most, but surely annoying. I've been trying to take a picture of mine for my body shop to see. It's an impossible task. I can only spot mine from a few feet back at a certain angle, when the sun is hitting the car from that side. I can't get it to show in a photo. The Mrs. tells me to leave it as is. I told her there's no way I would do that.

[Palmnuts]

Yeah, I see that Richard - it would bother me. Personally, I'd have it in a body shop to be sorted with what would probably be the tiniest bit of filler, than blended over the roof - I doubt there'd be much paint required as it's a very slim panel so would likely be blended by the time it reaches the B pillar.

Seeing your close up pics really does highlight how crap BMW's paint it - the orange peel is atrocious. When my car is painted, the body shops paint will probably end up smoother than the original paint - I wonder how well that'll blend in!

Seems I have started a trend.....shame it's not one any of us want to be part of!

[RichardP]

I agree that BMW paint is not the best in the world, but to be fair, the texture in the picture is caused by the protective film! Without the film I'm sure that there would be three large gouges in the paint as well as the dents.

If I have the dents filled and painted I'd also have to have the film replaced, and that's the most expensive piece of film on the car as it goes in one piece from the A pillar to the rear wing.

I'll have a word with the body shop that I use and see what they say, but I'm quite reluctant to have it painted. On the off chance, I'll ask the dent guy I use too, just in case.

[Palmnuts]

Of course, I forgot you had the film. That'll be most of what can be seen then.

Love the idea of film, don't like the way it feels or lack of being able to really polish the car to a smooth shine. However, my front bumper has picked up a few chips so am considering having that done when it goes into the bodyshop, then having just the front bumper covered. I take it you used Paintshield in Peterborough...I've used them before so guess they have the M6 front bumper pattern?

[RichardP]

I much rather not have the film, but I'm sure it's prevented some pretty serious stone chips already, one impact actually made a hole in the film but left the paint unmarked when it was replaced.

Close up





Film replaced



It's the lesser of two evils to me, stone chips (and dents!) drive me nuts!

Paintshield have the M6 pattern, the bumper, bonnet, wings, lights (yes, they have film on too, a thicker version) and mirrors are the same for the F06/F12/F13, maybe rear bumper too. I'm not sure if they have done a full wrap on any Coupes.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Richard I would be inclined to leave them for now, don't touch it.
If it does not notice get it touched up before you PX it.
If you can live with it.

[RichardP]

Well, never underestimate a good dent man!

I rang the guy I usually use for dings, Andy from Specialist Dents, just in case. He said there was a good chance he could pull it out with a glue gun. I'd have to remove the film though. The piece of film on the A pillar is one of the biggest on the car, it goes right back to the rear wing in one piece. So I rang PaintShield and asked if they thought the film could be peeled and re-applied, answer maybe!

So, using a spray of water and baby shampoo I peeled back the film to about the top of the windscreen and kept it wet to prevent sticking.

Andy came and started by sticking a small lug over one of the dings



Then he attached a sort of impact puller and gave it a few sharp taps outwards, you can see the film rolled up out of the way.



He pulled up all three dings so they were slightly high, then gently tapped them back down with a plastic ended drift. After Andy had finished with it it's 100% fixed:



All that was left to do was to see if the film would go back, PaintShield said there were a few potential problems:

- The film might stretch, although it should spring back into shape.
- The corner where I started pulling it off might get creased.
- I might get dust under the film.

After a bit of messing about I've replaced the film and it does not look too bad.



There are still a few bumps in it, but hopefully this is just water and maybe a little air under the film which should dry out in the next day or so. There may be some dirt under there, I'll be able to tell when it dries and the film has had time to 'relax' after being pulled off. Anyway, at least the dents have gone, so if the film needs replacing it's an easy, if bit more expensive, job to do.

Sorry for the thread hijack, but it goes to show it's worth calling a dent guy even if you think it would be impossible to remove.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by RichardP

Well, never underestimate a good dent man!

I rang the guy I usually use for dings, Andy from Specialist Dents, just in case. He said there was a good chance he could pull it out with a glue gun. I'd have to remove the film though. The piece of film on the A pillar is one of the biggest on the car, it goes right back to the rear wing in one piece. So I rang PaintShield and asked if they thought the film could be peeled and re-applied, answer maybe!

So, using a spray of water and baby shampoo I peeled back the film to about the top of the windscreen and kept it wet to prevent sticking.

Andy came and started by sticking a small lug over one of the dings



Then he attached a sort of impact puller and gave it a few sharp taps outwards, you can see the film rolled up out of the way.



He pulled up all three dings so they were slightly high, then gently tapped them back down with a plastic ended drift. After Andy had finished with it it's 100% fixed:



All that was left to do was to see if the film would go back, PaintShield said there were a few potential problems:

- The film might stretch, although it should spring back into shape.
- The corner where I started pulling it off might get creased.
- I might get dust under the film.

After a bit of messing about I've replaced the film and it does not look too bad.



There are still a few bumps in it, but hopefully this is just water and maybe a little air under the film which should dry out in the next day or so. There may be some dirt under there, I'll be able to tell when it dries and the film has had time to 'relax' after being pulled off. Anyway, at least the dents have gone, so if the film needs replacing it's an easy, if bit more expensive, job to do.

Sorry for the thread hijack, but it goes to show it's worth calling a dent guy even if you think it would be impossible to remove.

Brilliant repair, he's your man all right, where are you located in case I need him?.

[RichardP]

I'm in North Yorkshire, he covers North Yorkshire and Humberside.

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by RichardP

I'm in North Yorkshire, he covers North Yorkshire and Humberside.

ok thanks to far for me.

[Palmnuts]

That's impressive Richard - I bet you're delighted with the result!

[PhantomCypher]

Knock-on-wood and by the grace of God, I've been able to dodge all sorts of nasty dings due to meticulously planning my parking every time. If there is no spot then I either valet it or just go somewhere else!

Street-parking usually defeats all my strategies so I have to end up finding an end space on the street so at least I'm exposing only one end of the car.

If I'm feeling real cheeky, I park in the middle of two spots to secure a cushion around my car. Some people call me "that guy" because of it. I give them a shrug and smile at my M6

[Cabbro]

Horrible to come back to, whilst £800 is a bit painful I think that for a BMW job you actually got a pretty decent price on it.

UK car parks are terrible for this stuff, all 4 corners of my car have small scuffs on them. Supermarket car parks are by far the worst! The spaces are designed for the original mini to fit comfortably. At least in the US the spaces are designed for big trucks!

Someone just hit my rear bumper a few days ago, split through the paint. Luckily enough the guy was kind enough to leave his details, so will pass on the bill to him! Now to get payment from the cat who has jumped onto my rear boot lid and left some claw marks.... !!!

[JOHNBMWM5]

Originally Posted by Cabbro

Now to get payment from the cat who has jumped onto my rear boot lid and left some claw marks.... !!!

I hate cats.
That would put me in "shooting mood".

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by JOHNBMWM5

I hate cats.
That would put me in "shooting mood".

I've noticed a few marks on my trunk lid that look like claw marks. Don't think they're cats though, most likely birds in my area. What can one do about these?

[RichardP]

The clear film I have will either prevent scratches from cats, birds etc. or make it a simple job to get rid of them by replacing the damaged piece of film.

[Twitch Massacre]

Originally Posted by RichardP

The clear film I have will either prevent scratches from cats, birds etc. or make it a simple job to get rid of them by replacing the damaged piece of film.

I have a similar film to yours Richard, if not the same, but only on the front of my car. My vendor told me it was only available for the front. Is yours or any other available for full coverage?

[RichardP]

My car is completely covered. It's done using XPel Ultimate film. The pattern was done (at least partially) by PaintShield in the UK, I don't know if they would supply the details to an installer in the USA or if anyone in the USA already has a pattern.

[JustChris]

That's sucks, looks repairable perhaps but maybe not. Most likely on purpose I'm afraid, attracts the wrong kind of attention sometimes from muppets