I bought a 2004 Orient Blue 545i with 44k miles. As part of the deal I asked the dealer to buff out a few minor scratches. When I picked up the car it looked fine. I had the car for a few days brfore I saw it in direct sunlight. The car has lots of Buffer tracks and a multitude of swirl marks.

I polished the car by hand on two different occasions using nu-finish swirl remover and turtle wax swirl remover. I was too exhausted to wax afterwards! I thought I fixed the problems to the point of not feeling embarrased about the finish. That ended when I went through a touchless car wash. Without having any wax on the finish, it must have washed out whatever the swirl removers had left that were covering up the defects. Back to square one.

I have just purchased a porter-cable orbital buffer & every color of CCS 6.5" pads. I have never done this to a car before, and I haven't decided what products to use to eleiminate the swirls and hologram buffer trails. I would like to REMOVE the defects rather than temporarily hiding them.

Any advice on successes with specific swirl removers, pad colors and orbital speeds would be greatly appreciated. I've seen a couple of videos of htis process from web sites that sell product, but its obvious they are just trying to sell their product.

thanks,

On dark BMW clearcoates nothing works better than Menzerna.
I will do my Carbon Black one next week and will use (after washing and claying) Menzerna Intensive Polish RD 3.02, followed by Menzerna Final Finish 106FF
That should already leave your car mark and hologram free and super glossy.
After that application of a good sealant (e.g. Zaino Z2 (or 5) followed by Zaino CS or Duragloss polish bonding agent topped with Duragloss TPP 105)
You could also try the new Ultimate range, which is the rave at the moment an Autopia.

In terms of using the Porter (i have a UDM), I will put the polish on the paint, dab a 2' x 2' area with it, give it a pass at speed 2 to distribute and then work at speed 5 until only haze is left, using a slight compounding/polishing pad. Same with final finsh Menzerna, using a polishing pad. Application of final product with one of the very soft pads at speed 2. Polishing out by hand with MF cloth.

Will do my E34 525i first tomorrow and the E60 next week

On lighter colours the Menzerna Intensive Polish can usually be followed by sealing product immediately, as it's nearly the only cutting compound that can also be called a polish.
Menzerna are OE use on Merc Maybach etc and even work on the new ceramic clearcoates.

I am trying to find Menzerna PO85 RD3.02 here in the states, but no luck so far.

Did your car ever have a swirl mark or hologram problem?

It has at the moment, althought there should a mark on the dealer's computer not to wash my car, they did.

Back to square on.

Might be that in the states they only sell the Menzerna, just called intensive polish.

http://www.menzerna.de/1.html?&=&L=1

I might even have to get the Power Gloss (higher cut) for the carbon black. We'll see.

The guy below seems to have all the Menzerna stuff you need

http://www.detailersdomain.com/index.asp?P...&Category=2

Good luck

Ipswich? ... I was just there today ... for a funeral, unfortunately. You've got some great roads there to toss the E60 around. :thumbsup:

Good move getting the polishing machine. Yes, Menzerna Intensive Polish works well - try it using the orange color light cutting pad. If that doesn't get it done, step up to something like Optimum Compound ... on a yellow cutting pad.

Then you need to work it down with something smoother. As Olli said, Menzerna's 106FF gets rave reviews as a final polish. I love Zaino's ZPC Fusion as a final polish. Use a white or green polishing pad for the final polish ... or maybe even gray or blue on the final run.

The trick with an orbital polisher is to go slow and let the machine do the work. Move the machine slowly back and forth, up and down, until the product is nearly clear but not dusting (this can be 1-2- minutes). You may need to repeat this 2 or 3 times over each spot, with each product. In other words, 2-3 runs with OC, then 2-3 with IP, then 1-2 runs with the final polish.

My experience with the E60 is that the clear coat is hard, so it takes a lot of work using the orbital to make headway. Be patient, use the right product and pad combinations, and don't worry about ruining the paint - you cannot with a PC.

Auto Geek is a good place to get all this stuff.

Good luck.

Tachyon, you're not the first one I hear recommending sticking at slow speeds. I need to give that method a try. Heard of good results (though a little longer working time)

And I agree, the BMW clearcoats are very hard. Easy to chip and put carwash scratches in, but a nightmare to get through when trying to polish. :D

Thank you Ollie & Tachyon.


I was frustrated trying to find the Menzerna 3.02 in the U.S. and I've read so many favorable comments on Zaino products that I ordered just about one of everything from them. Of course just a few minutes later I read your reply with the link to a U.S. distributor for Menzerna. Doooh!

I ordered the following:

Z-PC Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover
Z-5 Z-5 PRO Show Car Polish for Swirl Marks and Fine Scratches
ZFX ZFX Flash Cure Accelerator Additive
Z-CS Z-CS Clear Seal
Z-7 Z-7 Show Car Wash
Z-6 Z-6 Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray
Z-AIO Z-AIO All-in-one
Z-8 Z-8 Grand Finale Spray Seal

The wife's about to take my credit card away from me.
I suppose I'll try the Z-PC because it's too inexpensive to return. If I don't get the results I'm looking for, I guess I'll go for the Menzerna products.

Thanks again for you help.

I tell you what, Deano, that Zaino collection is gonna make your car sparkle more than the engagement rock you (hopefully) gave you Missus. :D

Now imagine what you've spent on the Zaino and add 80% to the price, then you know how much the stuff costs us in the UK.
On the other hand, the Menzerna stuff seems to be cheaper here than with you, which probably is the first car care product, where the US price is higher than the UK price.

As Tachyon said above, Zaino ZPC Fusion works great. As for the slow strokes back and forth with the orbital, that I have yet to do. I need to try that this weekend, as my car is getting it's Fall/Winter detail. I have the Griot's Random Orbital, which is similar to the Porter.