2014 BMW 750 LI: Removing Dealership Holograms

Zach McGovern

8 years ago

The owner of this vehicle had recently purchased the car and noticed that there were odd looking defects all over the vehicle. Upon inspection it was very obvious that the vehicle had been damaged by the detail shop at the dealership. The vehicle was covered in rotary holograms which are created by improper use of a rotary buffer. Thankfully we were able to restore the paint to its rightful glory, and the new owner can enjoy this incredibly luxurious ride. Follow along as we walk through the steps involved in this project, and as usual, I will include a full product list at the very end.

The vehicle was quite dirty when it arrived, so I opted to go with a traditional foam and hand wash rather than a rinseless wash.

I began by cleaning up the wheels and tires before covering the vehicle in a rich layer of foam courtesy of Meguiar’s Hyper Wash. After a pressure rinse, the car was hand washed, and then decontaminated with a fine grade Nanoskin Mitt.

With the paint free of all dirt and contamination, we began a thorough inspection to understand the true condition of the paint. It is not difficult to see that there was a lot of room for improvement.

There were a lot of rotary holograms (buffer trails)…

Swirl marks and scratches…

Water spot etchings…

I began my test spots on the driver’s door. After experimenting with a few cutting compounds and polishes, I found a great 2-step approach that was producing the results we were after.

The paint was compounded with Meguiar’s D300 and then polished with Meguiar’s M205. Talk about a difference in clarity!

After a long day of work, the entire vehicle had been compounded and polished, revealing the brilliant finish of this black sapphire metallic paint.

Aside from the deeper defects, the paint was in exceptional condition. Holograms, swirl marks, water spots, and other superficial defects were successfully removed.

We had all of the curb rash repaired while the vehicle was with us, so the exterior truly felt like a brand new car when the owner came to retrieve it.

After correction, the paint was thoroughly wiped with Optimum Paint Prep to prepare for a coat of Optimum Gloss Coat for durable protection and even more gloss. Unfortunately the sun wasn’t out, but the car still looked outstanding when we pulled it outside!