Jet Black X5 with Swirls

I

imported_Bill Valley

New member
Bought my 04 X5 last winter and, of course, tons of swirls.

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Here is my plan, please offer feedback:

Wash with Dawn

Clay

Crack beer #2, bust out PC

Polish using Menzerna IP

Polish using AIO

Apply SG



Is this adequate to touch up my swirls, or do I need something more aggressive than the IP? I have used the 1z green in the past with amazing results. My current polish is the Sonus and did not do the trick last year.
 
Hard to say- but I would have something more aggressive on hand just in case.



What pads do you have?



Also, skip the Dawn wash...no need.
 
I think what Lumadar was saying about something more aggressive was about your polish, not your pads. I'm more concerned with whether the KAIO will be able to refine the finish satisfactorily after the IP. You may need to do something in the middle on black. Which Sonus polish did you use last year that didn't "do the trick"?
 
I have the Sonus SFX1-Restore and SFX2-Enhance. These were not as effective as the 1Z green can, IMO. I am sure I will not be able to get rid of all swirls. I used the 1Z with KAIO on a deep red Saab with swril marks and got it to look like this.....

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Setec Astronomy said:
I think what Lumadar was saying about something more aggressive was about your polish, not your pads. I'm more concerned with whether the KAIO will be able to refine the finish satisfactorily after the IP. You may need to do something in the middle on black. Which Sonus polish did you use last year that didn't "do the trick"?
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I *highly* doubt it will. BMW jet black is one of the very softest clears out there. The only polish I've ever been able to finish down well on jet black BMW clear is Menzerna Final Polish II via rotary and no bite foam pad. Using a PC on jet black bimmer is difficult to get to finish out without those annoying PC-type compounding marks.



This particular paint is very difficult even for seasoned pros to work with. Please don't be surprised if you're not happy with your results; it's gonna take a lot of work and patience.



Most of the battle will be won, though, if you pick up some Menzerna Final Polish II (Auto Geek calls it "Micro Polish. It's Menzerna part number is PO87MC), and the very softest no bite pad you can get. Red Lake Country foam is good.



Good luck, and let's see some before and after pics!
 
It would take forever to try and hand polish out all the swirls. Give the PC a shot. Use the IP first, then the FPII on a no bite pad. That's pretty much the best course of action you can take without using a rotary.



Hope this works out for you... BMW jet black paint is really difficult to maintain and/or polish.
 
Do not be sad if you find out that your Jet Black is super hard. On a recent X5 that I worked on that looked exactly like that, I found the paint to be almost Corvette clear like. It completely threw me off to say the least...
 
eyezack87 said:
Do not be sad if you find out that your Jet Black is super hard. On a recent X5 that I worked on that looked exactly like that, I found the paint to be almost Corvette clear like. It completely threw me off to say the least...
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Man, that would be great news. Hard clear, IMO, is so much easier to work with than the stupid soft clear they used to use on jet black.



Bill Valley's is an 04, though, and I think they were still soft.
 
My father's '04 Silver 535i kicked my ***. One pass with SIP + Orange on my 3401 barely put a dent in the clear. Two passes and I still wasn't happy. I should have used a PFW pad but I just got frustrated and moved on to finishing...said, "To hell with the deeper stuff, I don't have the BP for my rotary yet."



Do your test panel with what you've got and see how that works. I hope it works out for ya.
 
MadOzodi said:
My father's '04 Silver 535i kicked my ***. One pass with SIP + Orange on my 3401 barely put a dent in the clear. Two passes and I still wasn't happy. I should have used a PFW pad but I just got frustrated and moved on to finishing...said, "To hell with the deeper stuff, I don't have the BP for my rotary yet."



Do your test panel with what you've got and see how that works. I hope it works out for ya.
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For some reason, the soft clear problem BMW had was *specific to only the Jet Black* color. Any other BMW color was *not* soft. I've always liked working on BMW's; their clears are just the right hardness. But that Jet Black will kick butt and take names.
 
SuperBee364 said:
For some reason, the soft clear problem BMW had was *specific to only the Jet Black* color. Any other BMW color was *not* soft. I've always liked working on BMW's; their clears are just the right hardness. But that Jet Black will kick butt and take names.
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Check...staying away from my friend's '04 black 330i. She's been wanting me to clean it up a bit before she goes to trade it in.
 
SuperBee364 said:
I *highly* doubt it will. BMW jet black is one of the very softest clears out there. The only polish I've ever been able to finish down well on jet black BMW clear is Menzerna Final Polish II via rotary and no bite foam pad. Using a PC on jet black bimmer is difficult to get to finish out without those annoying PC-type compounding marks.



This particular paint is very difficult even for seasoned pros to work with. Please don't be surprised if you're not happy with your results; it's gonna take a lot of work and patience.
Click to expand...



Damn I thought it was just me. I've been attempting a full correction on my 03 and even the white pad with the old fp2 wasn't enough with a pc. Going by some advice I received I did the trunk to near flawless with a lc black and 85rd I had lying around and worked it for a pretty long time. Finish looks pretty close to perfect but man if you look at it even sideways the clear scratches it's unreal how soft it is. Even one wrong wipe and you have marring. I would not hesitate to equate it to a very high maintenance hooker.
 
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