Have any of you guys used this stuff before? What are your thoughts on it?

 

Hi Donte,

This 3M polish has fillers which will simply hide your swirls and minor scratches until you wash the car. Also, it's best to apply this sort of thing by machine (Porter-Cable, for example) so you can get it on evenly and take full advantage of the product's versatility.

I prefer a polish without fillers like Menzerna's Final Polish or DyNa 2 (I forget the name, but it's the second product in their three-step process). Those fillers contain fine abrasives that help permanently remove the swirls in your car so you can seal it up with your favorite wax. Since they don't have fillers they won't actually hide anything.

However, the cool thing about a product with fillers is that it'll make your car look wetter and deeper. I think you have a black car, right? You might want to consider buying some glaze (3M Machine Glaze for example) which is applied after the polish but before the wax. That'll help you achieve a greater level of the oily wet look that the fillers in the 3M SMR provide.

This is a great thread on Autopia.org that talks about the various detailing products on the market today in order of perceived abrasiveness. Note that the 3M SMR products have an "F" next to them, indicating that they have a lot of fillers.

http://autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=36208

 

Would it be good to use the Swirl remover I have now and then put a coat of wax over it. I spent 10 dollars on this stuff so I don't want to wast it.

 

Donte:

Well, the product has abrasives (and fillers) in it, so you wouldn't want to use it or any other abrasive without a reason because it'll take down your clearcoat. (Although the SMR is a pretty weak product so you should be fine)

What is the primary reason for purchase? Do you have a bunch of swirls/fine scratches that you want to remove?

 

yes

 

I have been using Zaino exclusively for a year and have not had any swirl problems. I have anthracite and while it is not as bad as black for swirls, I very much hate the swirls that I have had in the past. This stuff is great. I have the Zaino for swirl, but have not needed it, yet. Has anyone had swirls and used the Zaino to remove them?

 

how about just clay baring the car? wouldn't that work the same?

 

Then yes, you can use this product to remove the swirls. You'll probably want to try using a microfiber application pad.

However, a warning from Autopia.org that states a rotary or a dual action sander might be needed for this:
http://autopia.org/forums/showthread...threadid=49285

BTW, clay bars will not remove swirls - they will, however, remove sediments and other gunk on your car that you may not see (but might be able to feel).

 

I was going to use an orbital buffer with this stuff. But in an earlier post you said that this stuff is just filler and will come off after the first wash correct?

Should I throw on a coat of wax after this?

I am going to read all the links you posted to get a better idea on this stuff.

 

By orbital buffer do you mean the random orbital kind (like the Porter-Cable) which is pretty safe for the clear-coat (in terms of danger of burning through the paint?)

SMR has abrasives too, which will help you remove some of the light swirls. However, I think it's mostly comprised of fillers which will hide in the swirls.

Definitely wax over the polish. When you wax over it, you can seal it in for a little while but soon they'll come back when your wax wears and the fillers are washed/rained off. Personally, I prefer to permanently remove the swirls by using a non-filler polish (Menzerna Final Polish, for example) with a PC.

 

I know this may sound dumb but what does PC stand for? I saw that on one of the sites you told me to go to. I know when you tell me I will be like "oh yea"

 

pc stands for porter cable

 

Ohhh the joys of a black car,,,, I love em but am too lazy to ever buy one

So Donte, are your swirl marks actual scratches in the clear coat or the usual "visual" swirl effect seen in the sun etc. on black..? The reason I ask is because unless you really need to remove "scratches" in the clear coat, I would not recommend a "swirl remover" - unless it's only a filler and doesn't mention the word "polish" or "abrasive" anywhere on the bottle. I have done it myself (to friends vehicles ) as well as seen many others make their black car worse by applying even the lightest of "compounds", by hand and via buffer etc..
If only fine swirls, most are created by washing/waxing in circular motions - it's humorous how you near have to force yourself not to wash/wax that way, all of us do it naturally... I know this has been said before but always try to use back and forth strokes when "touching" your cars paint.

Depending on the severity of your swirls, I would recommend either a "pure - non abrasive" filler, and/or just multiple wax jobs with your choice of product ensuring only back and forth motions are used. I have seen more "swirl mark" issues remedied this way vs trying to buff them out. If you do require the polishing route, ensure a professional is involved. Speaking from someone who's been their, I would hate to see you come back and post: "I wish I hadn't of done that..."

Best of luck

Smitty

 

Smitty,

Well, the Porter-Cable (or any other dual action random orbital tool) is a choice of professionals (along with the Cyclo tool) to permanently remove the lighter swirls you speak of without causing additional damage such as swirls or hologram effects.

However, I agree that if you use compounds on something that doesn't need it you definitely will run the risk of additional damage. In Donte's case, I think a swirl remover (which is essentially 3M's version of a polish) is perfectly suited for this sort of task. Polishes are very weak abrasives that round off the swirl's edges so they don't catch the light of the sun or other light that causes the swirls to rear their ugly face

 

Sounds good Lore,
I have not used nor am very familiar with the PC swirl remover/buffer. If it is a DA or dual action motion - as mentioned "orbital", I'm sure its a slow-motion (low rpm if you will) buffer. If used with a very light compound like the 3M product mentioned above, it would be relatively safe. I'm still an old school guy who uses commercial grade buffers from my bodyshop/detailing years. Depending on the job, I use the appropriate pad and polish, but would never recommend this for an amature. They could be looking at "primer" before they knew it... I've painted numerous cars with show quality finishes where 3-6 coats of clear coat were applied to ensure 2-3 could be removed via wet sanding and buffing - achieving a truly smooth and glass like finish. One just never knows the "thickness" if you will, of a factory finish.
The main point I was trying to get across is when attempting "mechanical" and/or hand polishing on factory paint, always start with the least aggressive method and try to achieve a satisfactory result vs going for "perfect".

Good advice from all

Smitty

 

Great advice - always use the least aggressive method and move up only if necessary.

The Porter-Cable actually achieves up to 6000 OPMs (orbits per minute) which makes it sufficiently powerful to remove all but the gnarliest of swirls. In Donte's case, his swirls are probably very light and can be easily buffed out using the SMR with a PC.

 

If you are talking about Z5 then it doesn't work. I tried to remove just a slight scratch with the PC and after fifteen minutes nothing.

 

I have to disagree that Z5 doesn't work. It may not work for slight scratches, which it isn't intended to work for, but it definitely works for fine swirl marks.

When I picked up my Anthracite, the dealer "prepped" it even though I reminded him several times to just leave it alone. His "prep" put an imense amound of swirls in the paint, especially noticable in the black painted trim around the windows.

After 3 coats of Z5 followed by a coat of Z2, the swirls were gone - even in direct sunlight. Unlike my past experience with many of these fillers that are on the market today, after a few washes the swirls didn't reappear.

I'm not a diehard Zaino guy who insists that nothing else in the world is better - but, you may want to try it. I've had nothing but great success.

 

Yes my swirls are the ones you can only see in the sun. At night the car looks perfect.

I just want to thank you guys for all the advice. I do have to admit though that I am a little reluctant now to use the 3M product. I don’t want to do more damage to the car.

Maybe I will try the Z5 first to see what kind of results I get. I have the Z2 and it works nice but never tried the Z5.

Maybe after three coats of Z5 and two of the Z2 with an orbital buffer it will fix my swirl mark problem. Thanks again guys.

 

Frankly, the 3M SMR is quite weak. At a ranking of 3 (compared to other compounds and polishes) you're going to experience very very minimal removal of your clearcoat. I really wouldn't stress about using the 3M SMR on your night-time swirls. If you use it with an PC or other dual action random orbit polisher, the risk to your paint is VERY low. The only reason I wouldn't use it is because of the fillers - I like to remove all of my swirls/scratches, not just visually hide them.

http://autopia.org/forums/showthread...threadid=36208

If you use

 

If the scratch is through to the clear, this stuff is great for helping to mask it - do it 3 or 4 times, then wax over it. My 6YO scracthed a spot on the horizontal rear bumper surface, and we had some of this that we used on my brother's black E55 AMG - it buffed our some place where a guy had tire scrubbed his car (amazingly, no dents or paint damage!!).

I agree, though, that the best polishes are glazes, unless the surface is damaged. I use 3M Imperial Hand or Machine glazes (they are different), and the TL is getting very shiny - much better than new. I use 3M Show Car wax with fluorpolymers that actually work - see my detailed post on the Wash & Wax section.

 

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