Should I polish?

[MikeSA]

<span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;">My car, 2013 BMW F30 Estoril blue, has been treated like a baby since the day I took delivery (I even instructed the dealer not to clean it prior to collection - the look on his face was priceless).


<span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;">I washed, clayed and did a very light polish with AG SRP, by PC (yes I understand that it has almost no cut), applied Wet Mirror Finish followed by IW 845 topped with Collinite 915.


<span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;">I reapply 845 or 915 every 3 months.


<span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;">My wash technique is based on Accumulator’s method and to date the car is 95% swirl free.


 


<span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;">It is stated again and again in this forum that prep work on paint is 90% of the final look / shine / reflection / depth, etc.


 


<span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;">My question: Will I improve anything by polishing the car and if so which product would you recommend? I have Menzerna 106FA (SF 4000)


<span style="font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t want to remove clear by polishing if I can’t expect to see much of an improvement.

 

[House of Wax]

Kind of a subjective question and hard to answer, especially without pics.  If you're satisfied with how the car looks, then I'd say there's no reason to polish.  That being said, a vehicle always looks better after a fresh polishing job.  My go to polish right now is HD Polish

 

[Accumulator]

MikeSA- As you know, the AG SRP is basically nonabrasive on most medium-and-up hardness paints.  So unless you've instilled some kind of very minor marring you presumably have the factory level of gloss.  Eh, wash anything often enough and you'll diminish that gloss a *little* just like you'll pick up some marring no matter how careful you are (hence the "95%", huh?).


 


But/hence my take on your situation is that you do not need to polish and I wouldn't do it.  Yeah, that Menzerna would probably up the gloss a little bit. And it would probably diminish (but not fully correct) the little marring you have.  BUT, IMO if you have to ask...let alone ask here at Autopia where only perfection is good enough    ...then I bet that its current condition doesn't really bother you.  So don't look for problems you don't have.


 


No, a light polishing with the Menzerna (FWIW, I've replaced all my finishing polishes with HD Polish, it's *that* much better IMO) won't remove an appreciable amount of clear, you could use that stuff over and over and over...no problem.  BUT why bother.


 


You could always redo the AG SRP to clean off any "dead LSP" residue and otherwise clean up the paint and fill a little bit, then re-LSP.  But even that's in the "if you really want to spend hours messing with your car" category IMO.


 


I do question whether all three products, on top of the SRP no less, aren't overdoing it.  I suspect you might get better clarity if you just top the SRP with something, but hey...use whatever product(s) give *you* the look that *you* want!


 


I bet your car is about in the same state as most of mine, and there's no way I'm redoing my vehicles!  Here's an idea, a painless way to improve things a tiny bit- try topping off your current wash regimen with a rinseless wash using something like IUDJ (that's the one I'm using).  What I mean is- wash the way your currently do, but then instead of drying off the car the normal way finish up with a rinseless wash.   I'm experimenting with doing that instead of using a QD as a drying aid, and it adds a bit of pop, more than I'd expected, and so far I'm really happy with it.


 


But my big suggestion is to avoid the Curse of Autopia- that unrelenting search for perfection

 

[5jjt]

MikeSA;


Sorry, I did not read your entire post, but I think I got the gist of it.  If you have a DA polisher, I would recommend polishing, even compounding if there are swirls that will not come out with menzerna 4000.  My personal opinion is that DA machine compounding/polishing is not intense, dramatic, dangerous, only-for-the-skilled as many seem to believe before they have actually done it.  I have a 2012 caravan with light swirls, very light actually, and an orange cutting pad and ultimate compound and menzerna super intensive polish put a barely-satisfactory-dent in my expectations. I imagined it would cut a lot faster and much deeper than it actually did. Hence, I actually have coming to the house right now 1500 grit/3000 grit foam disks, microfiber cutting pads, hybrid wool pads and some HD 3D CUT compound.   Of course, I will start with the least aggressive, but I would not be surprised if I decide to play with the grit pads in the end. 

 

[MikeSA]

<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Thanks for the replies.


<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);">Accumulator, your comment of spending hours messing with the car is valid. I guess I somehow need to justify the cupboard full of detailing kit and the cost of it all which is exorbitant here due to the current weak exchange rate and transport from the States or Europe.


<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);"> Not heard of IUDJ, is it similar to ONR?


<span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:arial, sans-serif;">“the Curse of Autopia- that unrelenting search for perfection� – it’s so easy to allow a hobby to become an obsession. Last weekend I spent 2 hours lying on my back using water paper and metal polish, polishing the silencer (muffler) because you can see a bit of it from the back of the car.

 

[Accumulator]

MikeSA- Yeah, the IUDJ is a variation on the ONR theme.


 


You could do a lot worse than just sticking with what you're doing now, though I myself would distill it down to just the AG SRP topped with Collinite. I know what you mean about all the kit (heh heh, even an American can use that term) sitting unused though.  Eh, I try to think of the cost of such products as part of the learning curve.


 


As for endeavors like your silencer-polishing, I can't say I've never done stuff like that, but over time I've gradually reprioritized. 

 

[5jjt]

Mike, IUDJ stands for Infinate Use Detail Juice. It's a multi-purpose rinseless wash concentrate that can also be used for clay lube amongst other uses. Garry Dean sells it. I would recommend watching his one bucket wash method. Also, google the two bucket wash method.