Kaizen

Greetings guys and gals. So I've been considering using Meguiars #105 and #205 on my car to remove light-medium swirl marks. I've been taking very good care of the paint and the car looks fabulous in natural lighting. But I've noticed that when I get really close under the lighting in my carport, a ton of swirls can be seen.

Here are my questions:

Would this combination be too harsh for BMWs?

Am I overdoing it by using these products? On the Meguiars grading scale of abrasiveness, the #105 is up there, maybe 11/12 i think.

Should I be using something lighter? Again, the swirl marks/spider webs are light and can only be seen under bright lights and at certain angles.

Lastly, if you have ever removed swirl marks using these products or any others with success, please recommend the product used.



I can't help but think that if I removed the swirls, the paint would look greater than it already does. I was considering taking it to a professional detailer, but I'd rather save the money for other mods!
Thank you for any input.

Aaron

Anzafin

I'm not familiar with the Meguiar's polishes, but as a general advice, start with the least abrasive compound and the pad. Then go up to another level and so on to see what combination works best. If you have to go up to some very abrasive compound and pad, then you have to. Then you may have to repolish the paint with some slightly abrasive compound and pad to restore the gloss. Sure it would be good to check the paint thickness with a gauge before polishing if possible.

I've used Menzerna polishes and Lake Country pads with a success on BMW paint. I've used some heavier compounds too, and I've noticed that the loss of the paint thickness is still quite minimal. So I don't believe you should worry about it too much.

But again, start with the least abrasive combo and see the results, then go harsher if needed.

- Antti -

Kaizen

Awesome. Thanks for the reply!

Anzafin

Then again, the right techniques have their role too to achieve a swirless paint. I don't know how familiar you are with polishing stuff, but here's my procedure using a Flex XC 3401 VRG orbital polisher:

1) Moisture the polishing pad with a quick detailer
2) Put 2-4 pea size blobs of a polishing compound on to the pad
3) Spread the compound on a 2 feet x 2 feet area with machine polisher still off
4) Switch the polisher on to 2/6 of full power and spread the polish still more
5) Go for full power and gain some pressure on the pad
6) Buff until the polish seems to get clear (usually 2-4 mins)
7) Decrease the power down to 3/6 and continue buffing with a slow motion until the polish is almost gone (usually 1 min or so). Without any pressure.
8) Switch off the machine, wipe the polish residues off with a clean microfiber (possibly with a squirt of a quick detailer or water).
9) Check the result with a good light, like powerful halogens or a LED torch.

- Antti -

Kaizen

Thank you again for taking the time explain all of this. I was going to attempt to remove the swirls by hand. Should I look into buying an orbital buffer, like the porter cable everyone raves about?

rctmthouse

if it's just swirls, test it out with 205 first, with the correct pad, you can remove lots of swirls with 205.

tachyon

Yes yes yes ... you will want to use a machine for this. Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital or the Flex Dual-Action Polisher are good choices.

And before the polishing step, try some clay bar on your AW to get the grime off.

The Meg's 105/205 combo is exactly what I use on my E60 ... great stuff. It should make your Alpine White look stunning!

And don't forget to apply a quality protectant after doing all that polishing work. A nice carnuba wax or a synthetic such as BlackFire Wet Diamond are good choices.

Kaizen

Okay, so I got a little impatient (never a good thing) and used an OTC product, swirlx. I read articles comparing the 105/205 combo to meguiars Ultimate compound/ swirlx combo. Instead of waiting and ordering online, i went to the local auto supply store and picked up the UC/swirlx. I started with the swirlx by hand and I really didn't see any improvement. Went to the UC and I maybe there was marginal improvement. I'm used to waxing cars by hand, but polishing is another beast. It was such a PIA to get all the polish off, not to mention that I don't think I worked the polish long enough hence the crappy results.

So my question for you fine folk is this:

Is there a good over the counter polisher/buffer out there? I've searched everywhere for the porter cable 7424 but it appears that the ONLY place to get one is online. I've tried Home Depot, Ace hardware, autozone, and even specialty detailing shops. Thanks.

JDM99

I use the Dewalt Buffer which you can get from Home Depot or I think Autozone has and I love it alot but I don't recommend it for beginner's.