Cleaning/correcting piano black exterior pieces by hand

Hi guys,

I was wondering if any of you guys had succesful attempts at cleaning and correcting the piano black exterior pieces of our bmw's by hand. In my case it's a g42. It just has the regular swirls because of staring at it.

I don't have a DA but I do want to attempt a single stage soft correction by hand.

Does anyone have a set of products they recommend? I am going to order bunch of other stuff for regular cleaning so might add a pad, polish and microfiber cloth? Not sure what else is needed. Should I also clay these pieces before applying Meguair ultimate liquid wax?

I'm interested in this too. I have a 2017 X5 with piano black trim, and it scratches very easily. I'd also like to know if a light hand polish is enough to remove the fine swirl marks or if using a DA polisher is the better option. Thanks for starting this discussion.

You may want to take a look at Novus plastic scratch and polish system https://novuspolish.com/en-ca/collections/plastic-restoration-system-1 I use their three step system on poly resins and other plastic material for pen making. Works extremely well for polishing pen barrel. I have not tried it on piano black plastic trim pieces in my BMW.

You will definitely get better results with a polisher. You can get one fairly affordable from Harbor Freight.

I have heard success stories with PlastX from Meguiars for piano black. It might not get rid of all the scratches/swirls, but it should improve it at a minimum.

I agree with bomtastic on the polisher - just so much easier to keep the pressure even and consistent. So yeah, if you can buy or borrow a polisher...

As far as products, I treat the exterior piano black like paint, but start at, or one step from, the final polish step. The trait that makes the material easy to scratch also makes it easy to correct... and yeah, damage. That means less aggressive pads and chemicals. Start with a very (!) mild polish and soft pad or microfiber. If that doesn't do it, go a little more aggressive.

I just got the 840 a few weeks ago. Every time I walked up to the car, I couldn't not look at the fine scratches and swirls on the vertical panels between the doors. I started with Griot's perfecting cream and a black Lake Country pad. So that's a very mild correcting compound on a polishing pad. The next step was a ceramic wax on a black pad. It took very little to make the panels look new again.

My Land Cruiser is 20-years-old and lives outside in the Atlanta sun. It's also seen lots of branches up close. I started with Griots correcting (not Fast Correcting) cream and an orange pad - both more aggressive than what I used on the 840. I worked my way up from there. And, I didn't try to match the finish on the 840. That pic shows one panel done, the other up next.

I am aware of PlastX and the Novo brand but I thought a mild/finishing polish can also be used for paint so kind of 2-1 solution for me.

I already bought some polish and some handpads. But the idea of DA does sound nice however for the piano black I definitely need the smaller ones and those are expensive.. something I am only going to use once a year.

I think I am going to give it a try with the hand, depending on how much I hate my life, I might get a DA or lend one. The car currently has an electrical leak (probably) so my roadtrip is cancelled. I'll park this topic aside for now. Within a month I will give an update of how everything went.

Thanks for the replies guys

mustiej wrote

I am aware of PlastX and the Novo brand but I thought a mild/finishing polish can also be used for paint so kind of 2-1 solution for me.

I already bought some polish and some handpads. But the idea of DA does sound nice however for the piano black I definitely need the smaller ones and those are expensive.. something I am only going to use once a year.

I think I am going to give it a try with the hand, depending on how much I hate my life, I might get a DA or lend one. The car currently has an electrical leak (probably) so my roadtrip is cancelled. I'll park this topic aside for now. Within a month I will give an update of how everything went.

Thanks for the replies guys

Yep, you can certainly try with the hand pads. You will most likely see some improvements.

As for DA's, you don't necessarily need the small 1" machines. Even machines that accept 3" or 5" pads will work. You can mask off everything around and just leave the piano black portion exposed for you to work.

Another alternative I would recommend is just a simple polishing pad drill attachment. It will be less forgiving than a DA. But for a small job like this, it will do just fine. So if doing by hand doesn't give you good enough results. This maybe another cheap option for you to try.

Good luck, post some before and after photos when you're done!!

My son's You Tube channel

Appash29 wrote

My son's You Tube channel

Nice! What is he using to "sand" the pilling from the Alcantara steering wheel?!

Appash29 wrote

My son's You Tube channel

that looked... easy lol

Kind of DA is that?

Looks like an SPTA

John in VA wrote

Nice! What is he using to "sand" the pilling from the Alcantara steering wheel?!

wet and dry not sure what grade

John in VA wrote

What is he using to "sand" the pilling from the Alcantara steering wheel?!

Appash29 wrote

wet and dry not sure what grade

Dudes, it shows the sandpaper and grit at the end of the video.

Shadowline painted trim is pretty soft and you can get good results with a hand applicator pad and a polishing compound, like Meguiar's M205 and a Meguiar's Supreme Shine pad. That setup should cost around $20.

That said, a dedicated polisher is a solid investment -- try Harbor Freight as noted. You don't need a high-end one for an occasional job. You can make short work of any imperfections or swirls on your entire car. And it's useful for more than just correcting and polishing -- if you don't like using a clay bar, you can get a Nanoskin and do the whole car in a short time.

Charles

tracer bullet wrote

Dudes, it shows the sandpaper and grit at the end of the video.

I didn't watch the entire video - thanks!

Once you get it polished, ceramic coat to give it UV protection to prevent it from turning milky. However, note that some of the piano black plastics straight from BMW have a slightly milky hue to them. Learned that the hard way on my F90 after paying a hefty sum to replace several pieces.

I can get SPTA in Europe, looks/sounds pretty cheap. Not sure. Freight habor does not sell in Europe unfortunately.