[johnisccp]

Hi,

I have some scratches on the aluminum trim and wanted to know if there is a way I can easily remove it. I have seen someone say to use scottbrite red pad but wasn't sure. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[John in VA]

Easy - probably not. The aluminum is anodized so at best you can try to polish it. Replacing the piece might be easiest.

Go to https://realoem.com/bmw/select.do & enter your car info, go to Vehicle trim to find the BMW part #. You can then shop using that #. Many BMW dealers offer parts online at a 20% or more savings.

[Rob411]

Is it satin trim exterior pieces or brushed aluminum interior?

If you do try to do something to it...whatever you do...do not make circular motions or motions against the grain of the metal.

Are they light scratches or deep scratches? If moderate or deep...likely the best way is to replace.

You may wish to check out:

How To Restore Brushed Aluminum

[MaxVO2]

Originally Posted by Rob411

Is it satin trim exterior pieces or brushed aluminum interior?

If you do try to do something to it...whatever you do...do not make circular motions or motions against the grain of the metal.

Are they light scratches or deep scratches? If moderate or deep...likely the best way is to replace.

You may wish to check out:

How To Restore Brushed Aluminum

****The above products and video are good. I've done some restoration work on brushed aluminum on older cars before. Light scratches are easy enough to work out - deeper ones are best just replacing the piece if still available. Anything can be fixed for the most part, but can require a LOT of effort and creativity. Raw metal vs painted is *much* harder to deal with as paint can hide a lot of flaws with some filler put in, etc..

There are also brushed panel inserts or sections that can essentially be stuck over the old pieces if they are badly damaged but it requires some expertise in cutting and fitment. When done correctly, it is very difficult to spot but is done on older vehicles, classics, etc.. long out of production.

Good luck.

[johnisccp]

Thanks for the input. I will take a look.

[TboneS54]

I have a few small scratches in mine. I rubbed them (in the direction of the grain) with a dry MF towel and minimized them quite a lot. I'm wary of trying any harder methods as the grain on our m3 trim is considered "rougher" by BMW than the non M e9x trim or even e46 era, from my direct comparison. I didn't want to diminsh the grain.

[johnisccp]

I use the scotch brite maroon color seem to remove the scratches. Thanks all who responded.