Swirl and light scratch removal from interior wood trim

[MichaelInChicago]

What would be the best way to remove the swirl marks and light scratches from the Dark Grey High Gloss Poplar wood trim on the center console of my GC?

I would rather not use a polishing machine but rather hand buff it, if possible.

Thanks for your help.

[Cincinnatus]

I'm sure you'll get many good ideas, but since the Clearcoat finish on the wod is probably similar to that on your paint, why not a quality diminishing abrasive polish like Zaino?

[Opie55]

I've done it many times. Scratches on the main center console piece bug me. The coating on the wood is very thick so you won't hurt it. Many times thicker than on the car paint. Although it is some form of acrylic, it is amazingly hard. I typically remove the center console piece the first time if I buy a car used to get rid of all the scratches. I have even wet sanded it before polishing if they are deep enough. Anyway, you don't want to get anything on the leather next to the main wood piece, so be careful there, but just go to most any auto parts store and buy a bottle of Meguires M105. It is my go-to rubbing compound for scratches on most everything. Take a piece of old soft cotton t-shirt and hold it so it is over the tip of your index finger. Put a very tiny dab of compound on the tip - very small - half a BB. Rub vigorously with pretty good pressure back and forth the same direction. Buff with a clean part of a t-shirt rag and see how it looks. If good, move to a new section. If you rub sections at a time no bigger that a third of the door over the cup holders you will get better results. On the long corner of that piece, you can put the rag over your thumb and index finger together and that fits well over that long section.

[peter777]

I have the 04CV in my F13 and there are many very little sratches, which i only can see when sun shines in the car... I hate that and I don't want this little scratches any more :-)

[MichaelInChicago]

Thanks.

I am leaning towards the Meguiars M105 but just came across Meguires X2.0. Does anyone know the differences between them?

[Cincinnatus]

Just sayin'.
http://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-PC.html

Then, follow with either a wrap, or a coating like CQuartz or Kamikaze.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

Just sayin'.
http://www.zainostore.com/product/Z-PC.html

Then, follow with either a wrap, or a coating like CQuartz or Kamikaze.

I have never used the Zaino, but by reading the description it might be a little too fine. When a products focuses more on talking about removing swirl marks and wax it is probably more of a final polish than is needed here. M105 takes out at least 1500 grit sandpaper scratches - coarser of you work at it. M205, the finer polish, would not touch scratches in the wood coating. Trust me, that coating is hard.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by MichaelInChicago

Thanks.

I am leaning towards the Meguiars M105 but just came across Meguires X2.0. Does anyone know the differences between them?

I have not used X20, but I just watched a YouTube video about it. Any product that is advertised where you put it on a foam waxing pad or microfiber towel, wipe a few times and you are done is not going to work in this situation. A week later when the surface dries out, you will see all the scratches again. If any product worked like that you would not have detailers spending hours with rotary buffers and different compounds. To truly remove scratches you have to remove material around the scratches down to the level of the scratch. In this instance you are, at a microscopic level, removing a tiny layer of some very hard plastic. That only happens with an aggressive enough compound and elbow grease. There is no miracle product that will wipe away scratches. X20 is a consumer product that will make things look better for a while. M105 is more of a professional level product that actually removes scratches. What I like about it is that you don't need to follow it with a finer polish if you don't want to. I use it by hand on most everything - isolated paint scratches, plastic lenses, wood, and use it on a DA buffer to do whole cars.

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by Opie55

I've done it many times. Scratches on the main center console piece bug me. The coating on the wood is very thick so you won't hurt it. Many times thicker than on the car paint. Although it is some form of acrylic, it is amazingly hard. I typically remove the center console piece the first time if I buy a car used to get rid of all the scratches. I have even wet sanded it before polishing if they are deep enough. Anyway, you don't want to get anything on the leather next to the main wood piece, so be careful there, but just go to most any auto parts store and buy a bottle of Meguires M105. It is my go-to rubbing compound for scratches on most everything. Take a piece of old soft cotton t-shirt and hold it so it is over the tip of your index finger. Put a very tiny dab of compound on the tip - very small - half a BB. Rub vigorously with pretty good pressure back and forth the same direction. Buff with a clean part of a t-shirt rag and see how it looks. If good, move to a new section. If you rub sections at a time no bigger that a third of the door over the cup holders you will get better results. On the long corner of that piece, you can put the rag over your thumb and index finger together and that fits well over that long section.

Thanks very much for this. There are a few scratches on the center console that drive me nuts! And I have the Meguiar’s M105 which I just bought to try and remedy some road debris damage that ended up being too severe for a rub out. I’ll give this a shot!

[MichaelInChicago]

Let us know how it turns out. Thanks.

[MichaelInChicago]

I bought the Meguiars X2.0 and used it on the center wood console of my 2015 650 GC.

It did shine things up, removing the most visible lines and scuffs, and it does look better. However, on close examination, deeper lines (even ones you cannot feel with your fingernail) are still there and no matter how many times I have gone over it with the X2.0, it made no difference.

Obviously, this product removes only the lightest of marks, lines and scuffs but is not nearly aggressive enough.

I am going to return the X2.0 and buy something else. Any ideas?

By the way, I used a thin cardboard to protect the leather and plastic by placing it between the wood piece and the various other trims.

I would like to remove the piece and get it buffed out with a small machine, but have no idea how to remove the large wood center trim as it seems really tightly fit and I do not want to break any clips. Any videos or advice on how to remove it if I go this route?

[Opie55]

Let's see, you got a very detailed response from someone who has actually done this several times on several cars (me), I told you what to use, you used something else, it didn't work for exactly the reason I said it wouldn't, then you ask "any ideas?" for a different product. I guess my "idea" was not satisfactory to you for some reason. I give up.

For the benefit of others, polishing that piece really does make the interior feel fresh and new. I almost always take the piece out, at least the first time. I leave it in when I am just removing fine scratches after I have done it once. Removing that piece is very easy on all BMW models, although the process varies. I've done it on an F12, F25, and E61. On F12/13/06 6 series, the process is as follows. On the driver's side of the center console right below the leather there is a long trim strip the same color as your carpet. It just pulls straight out and is held in with about 5 clips. After you pull it loose, remove it carefully so the clips do not scratch the leather console as you pull it up. It's tight where it fits between the seat and the console. You will then see either one or two screws (I forget) on the side of the wood piece that hold it in. Remove those. The piece will now lift up from the back. Lift it up enough to pull off the small wire connectors to the switches, and just lift it up and back. Be careful not to scrape the side of the shift knob as you remove it. You can then remove the switches from the wood so you just have wood to polish. What you have to do to get all the scratches out depends on how deep they are. If they are just fine scratches from wiping grit off, you can do it with just M105 and some patience. It's hard plastic. If they are deeper, wet sanding is the way to go. I might go as course as 800, followed by 1200, 1500 and 2000. Or I might skip the 800 if they are not very deep. The key to wetsanding is to be thorough at each step. The coating is probably 100 times thicker or more than the clear coat on your car, so you can sand it all day long. But even if wetsanding is more than you want to do, just M105 and elbow grease will make it look waaaay better. One last trick is to wax it with old fashioned Minwax paste furniture wax - the kind that comes in the yellow can with the pry off lid. My hobby is building fine furniture from exotic woods - so I have some idea what I'm talking about.

[peter777]

It would be nice if anyone could take pictures next time he removes the wood so we could see step by step how to remove it?

Thank you very very much!

[frazj]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Let's see, you got a very detailed response from someone who has actually done this several times on several cars (me), I told you what to use, you used something else, it didn't work for exactly the reason I said it wouldn't, then you ask "any ideas?" for a different product. I guess my "idea" was not satisfactory to you for some reason. I give up.

For the benefit of others, polishing that piece really does make the interior feel fresh and new. I almost always take the piece out, at least the first time. I leave it in when I am just removing fine scratches after I have done it once. Removing that piece is very easy on all BMW models, although the process varies. I've done it on an F12, F25, and E61. On F12/13/06 6 series, the process is as follows. On the driver's side of the center console right below the leather there is a long trim strip the same color as your carpet. It just pulls straight out and is held in with about 5 clips. After you pull it loose, remove it carefully so the clips do not scratch the leather console as you pull it up. It's tight where it fits between the seat and the console. You will then see either one or two screws (I forget) on the side of the wood piece that hold it in. Remove those. The piece will now lift up from the back. Lift it up enough to pull off the small wire connectors to the switches, and just lift it up and back. Be careful not to scrape the side of the shift knob as you remove it. You can then remove the switches from the wood so you just have wood to polish. What you have to do to get all the scratches out depends on how deep they are. If they are just fine scratches from wiping grit off, you can do it with just M105 and some patience. It's hard plastic. If they are deeper, wet sanding is the way to go. I might go as course as 800, followed by 1200, 1500 and 2000. Or I might skip the 800 if they are not very deep. The key to wetsanding is to be thorough at each step. The coating is probably 100 times thicker or more than the clear coat on your car, so you can sand it all day long. But even if wetsanding is more than you want to do, just M105 and elbow grease will make it look waaaay better. One last trick is to wax it with old fashioned Minwax paste furniture wax - the kind that comes in the yellow can with the pry off lid. My hobby is building fine furniture from exotic woods - so I have some idea what I'm talking about.

Hi guys. Opie55, thank you for this great post.

Having read your post, I decided to tackle the scratched trim in my 640d Coupe. I managed to get some Meguiars 105, and it worked really well. However, there were still some small scratches visible so I decided to go down the wet sanding route. I have used 1500 grit, and of course the surface then looked very dull and flat. I then used the 105 afterwards, and although the surface is improving once again, I can still see the markings from the sanding.

Would you recommend using 2000 then 2500, then going back to the 105?

Thanks, I really appreciate your help.

[Opie55]

There are three tricks to wetsanding - all of which can be summarized as care and patience.

1. Make sure the water, paper and thing you are sanding are clean. The grit on 1500 paper (or finer) is very fine. The dust and grit that settles on your trim from normal driving or on the floor of your house from normal living is far larger, so you can leave behind larger scratches than intended if any of that is between your paper and what you are sanding. So, for example, if you drop the paper on the floor while sanding, rinse it under a faucet before using it again even if it looks clean. Rinse your hand and paper together in your water bucket and don't then put that hand on the floor or anywhere else that could pick up dirt.

2. 1500 grit scratches are at the limit of what M105 will remove with hand pressure, but it takes patience to do it. It takes less time to use finer grits, as you suggest. I would do at least 2000, but 2000 then 2500 is even better. M105 will remove 2500 grit scratches quite easily. However, the biggest mistake in wetsanding is not being thorough and patient enough with the next finer grit. You have to totally remove the courser scratches from the previous grit, and since you are using a finer grit, it obviously takes longer. Take your time, take care to get every bit of the surface, and when you think you are done, go over it again. By 2500 grit the surface will actually start to get a bit shiny again. I once removed some clearcoat scuffs in an area of car paint and brought it back to a factory shine using only sandpaper - no polish. I went in stages up to 12,000 grit, which feels like a chamois. Not recommended, but I was just experimenting.

3. M105, or any polish, has a short term hiding effect while it is still fresh - like if you wipe WD40 on a scratched surface it will look good until the WD40 goes away. So you want to make sure you have thoroughly removed the 2500 grit scratches and not just masked them and then see cloudy areas a few days after you reinstall the piece. So you should use some soap and water and wash and dry the piece to make sure it is good. Then I'd wax it before installing.