Hey guys Thanks so much

byrdpt

New member
I have some minor swirls/scratches on my 2001 BMW. I'd like to get the finish back to being new again. Is it okay to use a mild polish twice a year? Will it eventually wear the clear coat off the car after several years?
 
Jngbrdman? Is that you? lol just kidding. Try some 3M SMR or meguairs #9 if u do it by hand. What color is the car by the way? Also to achieve good results I recommend investing in a PC. I may bite the bullet and order one for my black ML.
 
PC is a porter cable orbital buffer. Check the forum acronyms up at the top left of the page.
 
I think 3m SMR would be too harsh to do twice a year. There are more mild polishes that you can use mid year. You should probably only do a polish once a year if you want your clearcoat to last.
 
Any time abrasives such as SMR are used, a microlayer of clear is also removed. So, it's true that if you use abrasives too often you'll weaken the clear to the point of failure. Always use the LEAST abrasive product necessary to get the job done to minimize clear coat reduction. Other mildly abrasive polishes like PPCL or P21S PC can be used a little more often since they're not as aggressive on clears. Personally, I like to use Z5 for light marring.
 
Here's a quote from the man himself, David Bynon, which explains his philosophy on the use of 3M SMR:

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

3M Perfect-It Rubbing Compound and Swirl Mark Remover are abrasives. They should only be used if you have micro-marring, not as a general purpose paint cleaner. If your paint is new, or otherwise perfect, use a show car polish to improve the finish, not an abrasive compound or polish.

With that warning out of the way, let it be known that I am one of those people who does frequently polish their paint (2-3 times a year). I do so because polishing with a good polish helps to level the paint surface, which in turn makes the paint finish look better.</blockquote>
If you're interested, the article in its entirety can be found here.

Personally, I believe that you'd have to use a whole hell of a lot of 3M SMR to cause any significant damage to your clearcoat. It's a very, very mild abrasive -- I've had to use three to four applications (with a PC, no less) of it in some spots to remove some minor swirl marks which were present when I took delivery of my car. Of course, don't use it if you're not trying to fix micromarring -- but I really think a once-a-year application would be fine.

How much clearcoat you "remove" also depends on how much SMR you apply and what type of polishing pad/method you use. I use a very, very small amount of SMR (about the size of a dime for an area about 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the hood) when I polish out any swirl marks, and I only use a white polishing pad with my PC, never anything harsher.

Of course, I may eat my words in ten years when I don't have any clearcoat left! :D
 
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Pharmacy Technician employment opportunities are abundant. Pharmacy technicians deliver the results in a variety of work settings this includes retail pharmacies these as CVS, Walgreens and Osco, hospitals and elderly care facilities. The hrs are generally various from the "typical" nine-five small business hrs, ordinarily requiring night time and weekend get the job done. Need SPAM quite powerful for the following 5-ten decades since the little one boomer era is entering the stage of their lives in which they are a lot more likely to use prescriptions.

Please don't spam our forum.
 
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