[fanofbmwe46]

Considering buying this 2021 Q5 with 50k miles on it. The hood is riddled with paint chips, marrs, and swirls. Probably a sign I shouldn’t buy an Audi! And just stick with BMWs right?! But if I did buy this.. do you think the hood is salvageable without a respray? Paint correct and go wild with Dr Color Chip before the final polish? What technique would you use?

[TboneS54]

Yes. It would look great with a full detail. You can fill chips in before the final polishing as well. Or do Dr color chip.

[alpineg20]

I have found that applying touch up paint into multiple rock chips is easiest with a syringe. You can buy them at Tractor Supply.

[disintegrator66]

That's alot of chips... You'll need to make a cheap investment to fill them if you choose to buy that car.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[fanofbmwe46]

Originally Posted by disintegrator66

That's alot of chips... You'll need to make a cheap investment to fill them if you choose to buy that car.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So you think this is better than those tiny sponge brushes?

[disintegrator66]

Originally Posted by fanofbmwe46

So you think this is better than those tiny sponge brushes?

Without a doubt!

[tcphoto]

I would use Chemical Guys v32 on a wool pad and DA polisher, it may take the swirls out. I tried everything on my E92 but later a shop told me the clear coat had failed. About two weeks ago, I had the hood, roof and trunk lid repainted and now it's nearly perfect.

[Upurock]

Heard good things about RestoreFX product, show photos to your local shop that does it, see what they say

[CrucialBBQs]

You can correct 99% of the swirls and washing scratches with the right tools and techniques. There are a number of ways to touch-up rock chips as well but that's a ton. I would guesstimate $1k-1200 tobhave it professionally repaired and refinished. For what it's worth.

[Ralph III]

Hello OP,
It all depends on your expectations. I'm a former professional Detailer and I've painted dozens of vehicles for friends/family over many decades. I've buffed well over 10k vehicles professionally also, btw.

You have three routes to choose from.

*If you just want it to be presentable. Fill in the paint chips, buff the hood, and call it a day.

*If you want it to look really really nice. Fill in the paint chips and then lightly wet sand with 2000/2500 grit sandpaper or higher. Buff out those areas and then the entire hood.

*If you want it to look pristine and new-like. Prep the hood and then paint/clear it. Follow that up with any necessary wet sanding and then buff the entire vehicle.

In regards to buffing. I use a Milwaukee rotary buffer and Meguairs compounds/polishes. I use Chemical Guys and LakeCountry foam pads. Stick with their less aggressive type pads. Let the compounds/polishes do the work along with a little patience. You can use a DA polisher also. I simply prefer a rotary because I can get the best results with one. Otherwise, DA's are capable of doing a phenomenal job also.

I'd recommend using M205 polish on your hood and then follow that up with one of their less aggressive glazes, such as M3. I didn't have any M205 on hand but I did use some M2 followed by M3 to remove some swirl marks on my wife's dark blue 6 series. They did a really good job by themselves. BTW, M205 works fairly quickly, so don't overwork it. Visit their online store for a full array of compounds/polishes as found HERE. Sonax also makes some phenomenal one step polishes with a cutting and finishing scale, as found HERE.

Wax/Seal it, once your done of course. The image below is of our 2007 530xi (260k miles) which I painted a few years ago, as we gave it to our daughter for college. I painted the hood, replaced and painted the front bumper, and side mirrors. I wet sanded as needed and then buffed the entire vehicle.

Good luck,
Ralph

[jllyons10]

Ralph nailed his response, being the expert. I do like Dr. Color Chip as a product and getting good results with chip repair. OP, wondering what you decided to do regarding the car?

[BlkGS]

Let's take a step back.

If the hood looks like that, what's the rest of the car look like? You don't normally have a jacked up hood without a front bumper to match, and the rest of the car swirled up too