Product help

[imported_Indy YZF]

I own an Alpine White, supercharged, '99 M3 with 71k miles on it. Despite its age, its a beautiful car, and is in excellent condition. Im a meticulous detailer, but I live in a hirise condo, so bringing out the Porter Cable is not quite as simple as if I had my own private garage.. We park in a communal garage with no assigned spaces. In order to polish, I need to find a spot near one of the doors so that I can run my extention cable to the socket just inside the door.. Or, there are a few overhead sockets that if Im lucky I can park near.. The trick is to find an outlet thats also near one of the lights that is good enough to point out the paint condition than needs most attention.



So... Ive been detailing this car since 1999 when I bought it new. Heres my dilemma. I have a decent assortment of pads and products to use with my PC. .Specifically, the polishes I own, listed from most agressive to least, grouped by approximate strength, are:



3M IMPERIAL MICRO FINISHING COMPOUND MEDIUM CUT 39001



MEGUIAR’S BODY SHOP PROFESSIONAL DUAL ACTION CLEANER POLISH MEDIUM CUT #83

MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE FINE-CUT CLEANER #2 (rotary only)

POORBOY'S SSR2.5



3M FINESSE-IT II MACHINE POLISH 39003

3M ONE STEP CLEANER WAX, MEDIUM OXIDATION REMOVER 39066



3M PERFECT-IT SWIRL MARK REMOVER LIGHT CARS 39109

MEGUIAR’S SCRATCH-X #108



MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE SWIRL REMOVER #9



MEGUIAR’S MIRROR GLAZE MACHINE GLAZE #3

P21S PAINTWORK CLEANSER

3M IMPERIAL HAND GLAZE 39007





Ive been away from the Autopia forums for a while, and now, when I come back from time to time, I see that these products, which I think are mostly useable (not all of them but most) appear to me to be dated.. Every time I come back, new products are all the rage.. For instance, back when I did my research and equipped my stash, products like 3M Finesse-it II were the ones grabbing all the attention and praise... Then, the next round of 'latest and greatest' featured the influx of the Poorboys products, so I bought and used the 2.5, which is too strong by hand because it leaves alot of micromarring when applied firmly by hand, but with the Porter Cable and a polishing pad, it does a wonderful job at removing surface blemishes and swirls in a single easy pass. And, on my white car, using this method, no swirls are introduced, although its very strong and with too much pressure on a darker car, I think Id always follow up with a milder product.



But thats beside the point. What i want to know is, from you guys who have been around the block... is my assortment of polishes adequate to maintain my finish? Am I missing out on some 'must-have' new polish that would make my choices obsolete? See, I recognize there are times, definitely, when its Mandatory to upgrade.. Mostly I remember coming from single stage paints over to dual stage with clear. Certainly, then, if you didnt upgrade your detailing tools, youd be in big trouble.. But, my products arent all that old.. ie, theyre still of a consistancy, in the bottle, that gives me confidence theyre still good.. And some are even still unopened. All are stored indoors at 70 degrees.



Thanks for the advice.

 

[spartacus_33]

There is nothing wrong with any of those products. Sure, there is always a buzz product, but the ones you have are tried & true. What is your last step product? For me, Zaino CS is the current "must have" for protection.

 

[Accumulator]

paul e- Nice car! I have an e36 M3 too, but nothing like yours



I don't think you need anything new or different if what you have now works for you. I try new stuff now and then, but I almost always end up going back to the same old stuff I've used since forever. And FWIW I never seem to have any problems with shelf-life, some of my stuff is *OLD* and it still works fine.

 

[imported_Indy YZF]

Guys, thats good to hear.. Reassuring if you know what I mean. Every time I return to Autopia, theres a slew of new products, and its like anything else youve been away from for awhile... you wonder what youve missed, especially when you dont see people raving any more about the products which were so hot the last time I was here. You know how it is...



As for my final product, Im all over the place with that one. I used to try Blitz carnuaba and Collinite, which were THE best pure carnaubas to use a while back.. I switched to P21S/S100, also a pure carnauba, but much easier to apply and work with.. I still use that one.. I also use Optima Spray when I want something different.. And, I got a buy on some Pinnacle Liquid Sovereign, so Ive got a couple bottles of that too. Thats about it for my final step.. Sound decent? I think with all my products I should be set for life!!