Four Star SMR Review

Jngrbrdman

Jngrbrdman

New member
Well, its been a very long day of testing. I pitted the new Four Star Ultimate Swirl Mark Remover (thus to just be called 4*SMR) against 3M SMR for light colored cars, Meguiar's #9 and Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion.

The product definitely works. In a comparison against the other three products, I have to say that it did the best job at cleaning up the minor swirls on the surface. Unfortunately the only car I had available to test it on today was my own and it is already in pretty good shape. The other downside to using my car is that it is white and pictures of swirls just don't seem to work well.

After I washed the car I clayed it and then went to work with the SMR. I know the SMR was doing something because after buffing it off I could feel that the towel grabbed more on that panel than the rest of the car. I buffed out a door and there was definitely a difference between that door and the one behind it. That tells me that it has removed all of the former layers of UPP that I had on it previously.

Its kinda oily after it is all said and done. I had to go over the car again with a towel to clear off the streaks. And speaking of removal, its not the easiest product to remove. I tried waiting to let it dry and I tried right away. No matter what I tried it was still hard to buff off. It was harder the more product that was on the car. I would suggest using this till you are practically buffing it off. Compared to the other three this was definitely the hardest to buff off. However, it was the most effective, so that still wins it points.

4*SMR is a lot like DACP in the respect that it 'dusts' after awhile. I worked it on half the hood for about 4 minutes before it was dusting and buffing back off the car. The other three products never dusted for me. In fact, they did their work pretty quick. They were all buffing back off in less than 4 minutes. The edge that the others have is that they aren't blue. My car is white and having a blue product on it was kind of playing tricks on my eyes I think. It was kind of looking blueish when I was done. I'll have to see what it looks like tomorrow after I can use the Wolfgang paint cleaner on it. I do know that it made a crack in the paint on my bumper stand out very badly. The blue just got in the crack and made it really stick out. I wouldn't really suggest this on a white car unless you plan on using a paint cleaner next to clear out the blue.

4*SMR doesn't spread really well. I had to reapply for each panel that I worked on. It does well on the panel you are working on, but its not going to stretch much further. I would suggest working on one panel at a time. That shouldn't be too big of a deal since that is what I would suggest you do with any polish.

All in all I would give this product a solid 3 out of 5. Its not the perfect solution for swirls, but it would be a great choice for someone trying to stay on top of the minor swirls that just happen on a daily driver. Whatever is in it will remove whatever waxes and sealants that are on your car presently. I spent a lot of time today doing intensive testing this product against the other three. I even worked a blister into my right thumb where I hold the PC handle at. I haven't had a blister there for years. I worked on my car for nearly 6 hours just working with these different SMRs. I didn't even get a chance to put the Wolfgang on it yet.

Bottom line....

4 Star SMR is a great polish that I would give high marks for in in the swirl mark removing department. I was supremely disappointed with 3M SMR when I first got it. It didn't do anything for my white car. #9 didn't really help much either. When I compared those two products against 4*SMR I followed it up with AIO to clean out the fillers. After it was said and done, the 4*SMR side still had noticable swirl reduction on it. (I told you it was intensive testing. ;)) The downsides are really that it is not easy to buff off and it is slightly oily afterwards. The oily part may just be my lack of experience with the product and I haven't found the best way to use it without the oily part. More testing will tell. ;) For now I can say that I really like the product and it is everything I expect a 4 Star product to be. If you are looking for the ultimate swirl remover for your well maintained car, then this product is it. I would put it in the 3 on a scale of 1 to 10 catagory as far as effectiveness against swirls. For a car that is well maintained and has minimal marks, I think this would be an excellent product to use. I'll post more results as I do more testing.
 
It's 6 in the morning so maybe I'm misreading your review. You give it high marks for swirl removal then on a scale of 1 to 10 you give it a 3 in removing swirls. Isn't that a contradiction? Not trying to start trouble just trying to understand.:dunno
 
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what about

Did you try it with a rotary or just PC?
I would like to know what it does with a rotary.
Great review and I'll be waiting to hear more.
:bigups
 
I was using a PC with it. Rotary would have been a little too much muscle I think.

I give it high marks on removing the type of marks that I anticipated that it would remove. That is why I tested it against other products that I would also say are fairly mild on the swirl removal scale. However, the big difference is that 4*SMR seem to do what it needs to do in one application. I've had to use more than one application of #9 to get the same results that I got with SMR on the same type of swirls. Once I figure out an easier way to remove the product and control the oilyness then I will definitely have to give this product the nod for light swirl removal work.

Oh, I almost forgot.... I was using Edge pads to work with on this. I have to say that I really like those pads. The Edge backing plate is really great too. Much better than my Meguiar's one. The pads are thicker than Meguiar's ones and that is a plus because they don't seem to get saturated in product as quickly. I used the Yellow pad for this task because I felt the blue pad would have been too mild. I'm going to use the blue pad for the Wolfgang cleaner.

Another cool part of the Edge pads is the hole in the middle. I asked Dwayne what he thought the purpose could be and he wasn't sure. Well, I don't know what the purpose is either, but I think it does help control product sling when you first get started. The edge of the center hole seems to pick product up and keep it from flipping out of the sides. Its hard to explain... Having been a long time user of Meguiar's pads I can really see the difference between them. I think you guys will see the difference too. They are well made pads that I am a real fan of now.
 
Although I have no experience with this product, I have found that a spray of qd after the initial wipedown and a new mf to help with other products that have removal issues. It kinda smears at first, but wipes off much easier. You may want to give it a try.

Gary
 
That's what I ended up doing on some areas. It worked out well. Just using a damp area of a microfiber worked out well.
 
THIS JUST IN: Keep this stuff off of rubber trim. It is murder on it. Holy cow... Fortunately it comes off if you spritz a little QD or even go over it with whatever pre-cleaner you are using, but try to avoid getting it on there in the first place. I'm going to have to spend some time with a tooth pick getting it out of the seams in my door handles and stuff now.
 
Thanx for the heads up. I tend to get carried away with my products. I need to be more meticulous.
 
Yeah, same here. I sort of slopped this stuff all over the place on purpose so I could find out how it did. I don't know how I could have protected the seams in the body panels though. I needed to go around the seams and seals with a toothpick anyway, but I don't know that it will be the case for everybody.
 
So this product is more suitable for Newer car ? Maybe 4* should make it more abrasive so it's more versatile:dunno . Hopefully, 4* can make it "stain-less" and one less step for the user:)
 
The Chee said:
So this product is more suitable for Newer car ? Maybe 4* should make it more abrasive so it's more versatile:dunno . Hopefully, 4* can make it "stain-less" and one less step for the user:)
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By using a more aggressive pad and increasing the speed of the polisher the Four Star SMR becomes a very versatile product that can be used in many different situations on numerous paint conditions.

This product isn't restricted for use on only new cars but certainly will not be effective on badly neglected finishes. The Four Star Ultimate line as a whole is geared towards maintained finishes.
 
Dwayne said:


This product isn't restricted for use on only new cars but certainly will not be effective on badly neglected finishes. The Four Star Ultimate line as a whole is geared towards maintained finishes.
Click to expand...

I agree totally. The wheel cleaner, for example. My wheels are well maintained and very rarely dirty. The Four Star Ultimate Wheel Cleaner is perfect for them. I wouldn't use them on really dirty wheels, but for rims that just need to be cleaned with the rest of the car it works out well.

I wouldn't suggest that 4*SMR replace DACP or anything like that. This would be a great product to clean up any haze from a more abrasive product or if you just have minor marks on the paint that you need to have cleaned up. Its effective at what it is meant to do. I can only imagine how nice it would be for 4* to make something along the same lines as DACP. :drool
 
Really? I used the wheel cleaner on some dirty wheels and it ate the grunge for breakfast :) - great review!

I think the holes in the middle of the edge pads are due to the fact that they probably (I am guessing) come off the same line as the rotary pads (the fast connect ones) and they are just cut to different sizes for DA..
 
Jngrbrdman said:
I wouldn't suggest that 4*SMR replace DACP or anything like that. This would be a great product to clean up any haze from a more abrasive product or if you just have minor marks on the paint that you need to have cleaned up. Its effective at what it is meant to do. I can only imagine how nice it would be for 4* to make something along the same lines as DACP. :drool
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By the way, thanks for the review Anthony. This review was more for Rick than it was for Detail City.
What I mean by that is Rick wanted to fine tune the product before it is released rather than changing anything after it officially hits the market so your oppinion was very important to us.

He is cutting back on the blue color to a very pale whitish blue.

I also want to know if it is possible for you to use less product per panel than you used during your testing or of you feel you used the least amount that you possibly could get away with.

We just think that may have something to do with the residue that you experienced but it would be better if we could be there to see your results in person to offer more detailed instruction.

We really appreciate you findings and your unbiased review.

Take care,

Dwayne McPeeks

P.S.

Of course we are coming out with something more abrasive in the next few months...
 
Not a problem, Dwayne. If my opinion is going to matter to anybody then they need to know that it is my own and not purchased by someone. While I appreciate Rick sending me some to try for him, you can be sure that if it sucked then I would certianly be the first to say it. :) I think Rick has really come up with something good here and it is certainly going to be a good product for anyone needing something slightly more effective than 3M SMR, #9 or PPCL.

I believe that my use of too much product in some areas was the problem. The hardest places to remove the product were the areas that had the most on it. It is as tough to remove as DACP the following day if you miss any. I found some on my side mirror this morning on the way to work that took a little QD on a towel to remove. I don't know how that spot got missed with the rest of the polishing that I did, but it found a way. Anyway, either using less product or making sure that it is worked long enough is the key to not having removal problems. I didn't have any problems on the panels that I was able to really work the product.

I will keep testing this product. The abrasives in it are interesting. I want to test it on a car with some oxidation on it just to see what effect it has. You'll never know what a product is capable of unless you put it to the test. ;) Testing will continue...
 
As to the Edge pads' hole, my thoughts are (and this isn't for certain, as I'm not affiliated with them), that the holes are (as alluded to by Groebuck)to prevent marring that's introduced when a pad spins in 1 place too long (mostly for rotaries, or floor buffers). The center has a more concentrated spin, so it can cause swirled scratches if the pad isn't kept in motion. This wouldn't be of consequence with DA pads, but there would still be the extra margin of safety.
Plus, you can use the hole to hang the pads all neat and tidy on the wall or while drying.:-p
 
If 4* SMR is a little difficult to work with and SSR is not, why not just use SSR? Are there any advantages to 4* as far as results are concerned? I realize that you said that you probably applied too much product which is why it was more difficult to remove, but isn't it better if a product is forgiving to that?
 
I haven't used SSR yet so it isn't something that I could compare it against. Honestly, there are a lot of products that are more effective at removing swirls simply because they are more abrasive and may be removing more of the clear. However, there are times when it just isn't wise to use a canon to kill a mosquito. Why use a 7 on the scale of 1 to 10 if a 3 will work? I don't know where SSR fits in on the scale, but my guess is that it is not on the same level as 4* SMR. 4* SMR is designed for new cars or cars that are in good condition and have very very minor swirls. It isn't for neglected surfaces. There is DACP and stronger abrasives like that out there for bad finishes. Unless SSR is low in abrasives and comparible to #9 or 3M SMR, then I really don't feel like it is fair to compare them on any level. It may be easier to use, but if it is more abrasive than you need it to be, then it may not be the right product for the situation.

The reason that they had me test this new product was to work the bugs out. I have been told that changes will be made and updated versions will be tested before it finally hits the shelves. It is still in the development stages at this point. Areas of improvement have been identified and are being worked on, I have no doubt. Some of the problems I experienced were user error and easily corrected by adjusting how I used it. This is a new product unlike any other that I have used and it takes a little getting used to. I am looking forward to continuing use of this product on my car for minor swirl repair.
 
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