http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/hnoppenberger/116-1636_IMG.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/hnoppenberger/116-1635_IMG.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/hnoppenberger/116-1634_IMG.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/hnoppenberger/116-1633_IMG.jpg

my swirls in all their glory
im prepared to buy a PC kit from autogeek (the one with all the pads)
or should i just get a pc and one set of pads?

then what polish do i need for swirls like that (and what pad color)

i was thiking klasse aio and moving to klasse SG due to its long life. suggestions please help me out guys!

Those are pretty light, but I'd go with something a bit more aggressive than AIO (AIO is very light polish). Since you're shopping at autogeek here's what I would buy, and the process I'd use.

Porter Cable + Pad kit, that way you get one orange, two white, 3 grey and some mf's.

Now the polishes I recommend are based just on the fact that you're new to a PC. I would normally recommend Optimum products, but they can be a tad user un-friendly, so I'd recmmend the following:

Meguiars #83 DACP
Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze
Poorboys EX-P Sealant

Here is why.

I believe those swirls above will come out very well using Megs #80 and a white pad, however as a new PC user you might find that using a slightly more aggressive combo (megs 80 and an orange pad) to be a little quicker and easier. I added the Megs 83 because there might be some spots that are worse than the ones in the pics where a more aggressive polish (which 83 is) will be helpful. What's nice is no matter what you do, Megs 80 on a white pad will finish up very nice, and be sealant ready.

I'd pick EX-P as your sealant for a couple reasons. First, I find it's more durable than Klasse SG, second, since I didn't recommend AIO and AIO and SG kind of go together, I think it's be better to stear away from SG unless you do go with AIO. Also, I've been using SG and EX-P a long time, and I like EX-P a lot on flat light colors like your car. Lastly, EX-P is much easier to buff off than SG after application. Here is the process I would use.

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Polish a panel with Megs 80 on a white pad and check your results. If results are good, do the whole car and skip to step 7. If results are bad move to step 4.
4. Polish a panel with Megs 83 on a white pad. If results are good, continue as needed. If results are poor, move to step 5.
5. Try Megs 83 and the orange pad. If you do not achieve results here I would say you're using the PC wrong. This is a strong combo, you shouldn't even need this step.
6. If you do either step 4 or 5, polish the entire car with Megs 80 on a white pad to clear up any hazing Megs 83 produced.
7. Apply EX-P with a black pad, wait 30 min, buff off.
8. Profit.

I really do think you'll only need to do 1, 2, 3, and 7. I do not think you'll need the 83 for more than some spot polishing, but it's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

You could also go the AIO/SG route, but if you do I would definitely still get a polish like Poorboys SSR2.5, XMT swirls remover 2, or Optimum Compound just to get rid of some of those tougher swirls, since AIO probably wont do it alone.

Cheers.

thank you so much. you are so helpful.

i do have a couple worse areas and i think that you are right, meguiars products are pretty good from what ive used... how is the poorboys sealant compared to zaino? ive loved zaino in the past but it really doesnt last all that long (good beading for about 3 months max)

thank you so much. you are so helpful.

i do have a couple worse areas and i think that you are right, meguiars products are pretty good from what ive used... how is the poorboys sealant compared to zaino? ive loved zaino in the past but it really doesnt last all that long (good beading for about 3 months max)

Interesting that it didn't last long. Typically users report that Zaino lasts very long. Oh well.

EX-P normally lasts between 4-6 months for me, it has about the same durabilty as Klasse SG and Zaino, and like them you can layer it over time to stretch out the durabilty. You might also consider a spray on sealant (like AJ trigger), which is bascially a sealant but in a spray bottle for easy/quick application (you could use it after washes to really make the sealant last and last).

In terms of look Zaino and EX-P are very similar. I find EX-P a little wetter, and Zaino perhaps a bit more reflective, but on two cars side by side I doubt anyone would be able to tell them apart.

Those swirls arent bad. Im suprised they arent much worse for a 99 M3. You really cant go wrong since you wont be needing to take alot of paint off. Davids parked writeup at the top of these forums would also work very well since he advises using 3M Finesse-It 2 which is practically ideal for your mild swirls.

Good job on posting photos! It really helps that the people advising you can see what youre up against :)

Ya, those are light swirls... pics helped

I'm a noob at removing swirls, and I have swirls like above only on my trunk lid and a spot about the size of a dollar bill on my hood (twice as bad as above). Do I NEED a porter cable? Can it be done by hand? Partly I don't trust myself with a power tool on my paint surface.

TiA
jeremy

Those look like pretty light to moderate swirls. Id say pb's ssr2.5 + ssr1 would take em out no problem. Start off with 2.5 on a white pad. Bump it up to an orange if you need more cut :)

I'm a noob at removing swirls, and I have swirls like above only on my trunk lid and a spot about the size of a dollar bill on my hood (twice as bad as above). Do I NEED a porter cable? Can it be done by hand? Partly I don't trust myself with a power tool on my paint surface.

TiA
jeremy
Jeremy you wont be able to get those swirls out by hand. You may be able to cover them up for a month or two with a product like Meguires StratchX but this will be a high maint. option.

PCs are very easy to use (just a little noisy) and can bring your finish to a brighter shine than you probably can by hand.

Jeremy you wont be able to get those swirls out by hand. You may be able to cover them up for a month or two with a product like Meguires StratchX but this will be a high maint. option.

PCs are very easy to use (just a little noisy) and can bring your finish to a brighter shine than you probably can by hand.

Thanks for the help Mercer. You are 100% right.

Despite your warning I decided to go ahead and try by hand since I had already bought the stuff I thought would help. I decided to try on my trunk lid b/c the scratches by the nozzel look deep and the swirls on the trunk don't look too bad (looks like prev. owner used a car cover and bunched it up on the trunk lid, rest of car has no swirls).

I used Z18 Clay, Meg. ScratchX, Meg. Step2 Polish and Meg. Pro Show Car Glaze #7, Z2 and then Z6. I'd say about 3 hours of work. If 100% is all the scratches are gone, I'd say I reached 50%. Greatly improved, haziness gone, 50% fewer swirls, but still swirly and this is all probably temporary.

I think I'm ok for a while on the trunk lid, but I learned the hard way that I'll probably have to get a PC to do the scratches by the nozzel. See pic:

http://members.roadfly.com/argento/98E36M3/Scratches_050606 005.jpg

http://members.roadfly.com/argento/98E36M3/Scratches_050606 008.jpg

These scratches are leftover from a dent repair gone wrong. Dent is gone, but they left me with these scratches.


Jeremy