I don't think i'm getting the best shine i could get.

I

imported_MP525i

New member
hey guys,



new to the forum and i just had a question regarding my paint. just some background information: i have a '95 m3 avus blue, never really cared for before me (mostly just washed regularly- but garaged). the car now sits outside :( but i'm sure to keep it waxed regularly.



here's my process: i start with just a simple washing of the lowers with a mitt and some bug and tar remover from rightlook.com. after i do all the lowers i move onto the wheels with the same procedure. i then use another bucket and mitt and wash the entire car from top to bottom. after the wash i clay bar the entire car with 3M's clay bar. i wash it again after the "blocking," process. i then use a dual cyclo head machine with green pads and the meguiar's heavy cut cleaner followed with white pads with the meguiar's swirl remover (of course i remove each layer before adding a new product). i then apply the carnuba s100 paste wax to really bring out a shine. i also apply a coat of zymol before the paste wax once a month.



here are my questions:

1. i'm told bmw paint isn't suppose to have that orange peel look. how might i get rid of that?



2. i still have minor swirls (only visible in sunlight). how should i get rid of them since i use this process every month and nothing seems to be working.



3. is there another way (another product(s)) to really bring out the shine in my car?



here are some pictures to give you an idea of what i'm dealing with. thanks a lot guys for any help you can offer me!



**the last picture is the most recent**



-mike

Side-Angle.jpg


Paint.jpg


6-29_8.jpg


m3-545i10.jpg
 
It doesn't look that bad to me but I think I read on the Autopia Guide to Detailing that some orange peel can be leveled but I think you need a rotary and someone skilled at the controls.



Maybe Scottwax or another pro can add more substantive advice here.
 
My '93 325i has the same orange peel, the only difference is it's black. I thought that's just how they all looked. I just did the following:



Menzerna IP

SSR1

AIO

P21S



and it looks really good, it has the orange peel just like yours.
 
I think everything looks great. The front lip seems to be a little dull (could be the light angle), but the rest looks really nice.
 
MP525i said:
1. i'm told bmw paint isn't suppose to have that orange peel look. how might i get rid of that?



2. i still have minor swirls (only visible in sunlight). how should i get rid of them since i use this process every month and nothing seems to be working.



3. is there another way (another product(s)) to really bring out the shine in my car?
Click to expand...



1. er, sorry, but i think almost all car manufacturers produce at least one car with orange peel. i think someone did a high end car, like a rolls royce, that had a little orange peel. i think a body shop may be able to take of it for you. well, a good body shop.



2. you might want to try different polishes. i've had good success on swirls visible in sunlight, with meg's #80 with a PC. other people may be able to suggest other polishes that would work too.



3. your bimmer looks great! it's nice, deep, and wet looking! :xyxthumbs i'm not so sure if it is a good idea to apply the zymol and then the s100 because the s100 may be removing the zymol. well, maybe someone else can chime in about that. but maybe you can just try putting on 2 coats of the s100 instead. or maybe you can try a sealant, like the klasse twins or poorboy's EX-P. but to *me*, you bimmer looks great as it is.



btw, is the front air dam chipped from rocks and road debris? but that is one nice looking bimmer, not to mention it is a M3! :D
 
thanks guys for the nice compliments.



at first i was fine with the orange peel until i found out that most highly maintained/detailed cars do not have it. now i detail my car like crazy and would really like that "mirror," shine so i guess i'll keep working on it. i really haven't hit it with anything too heavy except my dual cyclo head buffer. maybe it's time to invest in a rotary with different speed settings. i'm sure there's a thread somewhere in here that gives a bunch of comparisons and prices...i just have to surf around haha.



unfortunetly the m3 is my daily driver and there is a lot of road debris here in jersey. :( i just had it repainted in april and it looks like garbage again. i have to get that thing repainted every 6months. :( but i know the guy at a bmw bodyshop and he practically does it for free.



well, thanks for all the information guys. i'll look into meg's #80 some more.



thanks guys :xyxthumbs



-mike
 
I've noticed that when I use the CLAY MAGIC blue bar, there seems to be a very mild "wet sanded" look to the paint until I polish it out. Perhaps using a more aggressive clay bay a few times followed by a concentrated polishing will help without have to actually resort to 'real' wetsanding
 
Your paint looks good. If you are satisfied with the quality of your wax, then I would just take caution in getting the unwanted swirls out and dillegently re-applying wax. I tend to shy away from too much compounding, as although you may sand out some orange peel, in addition you are also sanding away some clearcoat.



If you are not quite satisfied with your wax, then that is the first thing that I would evaluate, the quality of that wax. I would try comparing some higher grade carnaubas and/or trying other products to see if it will bring the resolution you are expecting.



I improved the resolution of my paint finish (in which I started with a new paint finish on a then- new car) tenfold by critically evaluating the quality of the wax I was using, and moving up to a higher grade of carnauba wax. Most good or decent carnaubas will give you fair results if applied correctly, but the better quality brands, I've found out, will stand out from the typical brands that are readily available.



Good luck.
 
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