Can I use an smr by hand?

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07bsmcrewmax

New member
I have never used a pc and don't own one. I want to know if I can use an smr by hand to get some swirl marks and scratches out of black paint? I was thinking about using some 3m Perfect It. Is that the correct thing to use?
 
The answer is yes. It can be done. Is it easy? No. Can everybody get effective results by hand? It depends on the condition of the car. I suck doing swirl removal by hand. It is something that machines were designed to do. Swirls are hard enough to remove with a machine. Figure on it taking at least 4 times as long to do a car by hand unless you have a tried and true system and lots of experience at it. I know it takes me about 4 hours to do a swirl removal job on a car with a machine.
 
If I understand your reply right your basically saying it`s a waste of time to try and use SMR by hand. It can be done but don`t expect result without a lot of hours which could be better spent.
 
Sprongs said:
If I understand your reply right your basically saying it`s a waste of time to try and use SMR by hand. It can be done but don`t expect result without a lot of hours which could be better spent.
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That's it in a nutshell. Swirl removal by hand is very difficult. You can apply any product by hand and buff it off by hand without a problem. Getting results from a swirl remover by hand requires a lot of strength and stamina. I wouldn't ever be able to do it because, honestly, I don't have the strength to do it. My shoulders would give out on me before I got half the car done. If you are one who has built up the endurance for this type of "event", so to speak, then it would probably not be that tough. Scottwax is a great example of swirl removing being effective by hand. He is a very rare breed. You won't find results like his done by hand very often. Using a machine is pretty much the best way to go if you are serious about removing swirls.
 
Something I've never been very clear on, and it has been suggested before, is that you could try to compensate for the lack of hand-polishing power by using a stronger product, say something like DACP. A product like DACP can be used by hand and has more "cut" than something like SMR. It could more quickly knock down the swirls with its stronger abrasives and then you could go over it again with SMR.



I can't remember where this idea was brought up first, but I wonder if this is an option for people who want to polish by hand. Comments anyone?
 
If its your own car, you may want to brake it up into doing a panel a day or something. So, take a fender and hit it with SMR, polish, then wax. Spending LOTS of time on the SMR obviously.

Then, do a different section the next day.



Obviously, you can only do this on your car. But, its worth a shot. I do it to my car, and I don't own a buffer either.
 
I`ve learned quite a lot from this post. I have a new bottle of 3M SMR and don`t own a PC. So just keep the cap on it untill I buy a PC or borrow one. Thanks
 
To add onto what they were saying, I tried SMR without a PC at first.... that did not work.... at all.



I spent the $120 on a PC and lovin' it ever since.
 
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