So the rear of my car has some scratches and swirl marks. I already have a few coats of Z5 on it. Do I use the 3M swirl remover FIRST then wash and Zaino? Just curious about the order of events, that's all. Thanks in advance.

 

This is the process that you would follow:
1. Apply 3M 39009 SMR
2. Wash area/car with water/Dawn Detergent - Dawn will remove oils left by the 39009 product.
3. Start/Restart Zaino process.

 

Thanks SilverY2K2, that's what I was thinking. :cool:

 

Well, I got the 39009 and I'm not that impressed with it. There are still some hairline scratches in the finish. Here's what I did:

1. Cleaned area and dried.
2. Applied 39009 with dry cloth and let haze.
3. Buffed out with clean cloth.

Did I miss something? :confused:

 

"Applied 39009 with dry cloth and let haze"

"Did I miss something?"

Yes, you kinda missed something, the 3M is an abrasive compound made to remove very small layers of clear coat/paint, so you do not really "apply" it in the same way as you do wax, meaning smear it on, let dry, and wipe off.

The 3M needs aggresive buffing either by hand (by hand will only leave moderate results as you can not go fast enough by hand to build up the heat needed to break the product down) or with a buffer, I prefer to use an orbital with a foam pad.

Whatever you do, do not let the product dry on the finish, if you do, you can actually create new swirls and scratches trying to buff off an abrasive compound. Abrasives are always either rubbed off of the paint while wet or buffed to a point where the compound no longer exists on the paint surface. With the 3M, how it works is to continue to rub/buff it into the paint until only an oil is visible on the surface, this is how you know if all the product is completely broken down and done its job, at this point you rub off the 3M residue while still wet and inspect the area and decide if another round of buffing is needed. One application rarely does the job, I have done 3 or 4 in a row until I got the paint the way I wanted it to look.


[Modified by KLO, 4:27 PM 9/23/2002]


[Modified by KLO, 9:20 PM 9/23/2002]

 

Wow, KLO, thanks again. Your amount of paint finish knowledge continues to impress. I'll try that next time. :yesnod:

 

Also, 3M 39009 is really mild stuff. Be prepared to do a lot of hand-buffing if you want to get the results you expect. IMHO, it's better to use the 3M compound with a good random-orbital buffer (like the oft-heralded Porter-Cable) and a foam pad.

 

The plus side of this is that when polishing by hand it's VERY difficult to do any real damage to the paint.

 

True, but if you can manage to damage the paint with an orbital polisher, foam pads, and #39009, then you're trying to damage the paint. I know of one person who polished their car with an orbital and #39009 every weekend for an entire summer and never broke through the clearcoat. Like I said, SMR, when used with a PC, is very mild AND very safe. No worries!!

:cheers:

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm not sure if the weather is going to cooperate with me yet this season to finish her up. It was 47 degrees this morning. BRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Schwa72,

What's the best buffer/polisher to buy? A machine that is.... I recently purchased a 6 inch buffer/polisher at Sears for $30.00. I don't want to spend $150.00 for a Wen orbiter.


Do they sell micorfiber bonnets for a buffer?

 

The benchmarks for random-orbital buffers are the Porter-Cable #7424 or #7336. Both of these buffers use the same machine body, but the former comes with a polishing pad, and the latter doesn't. However, the included polishing pad is basically worthless, because you'll want to replace it with a velcro-backed pad anyway. Furthermore, if you make that change, then you'll need the counterweight included with the 7336.

Don't worry, the differences between the two items above are described pretty well here. You can get the 7424 at Coastal Tool with the proper velcro pad and counterweight for about $110 here or the 7336 at your local Lowe's for about $100. My recommendation would be to get either machine and then buy this pad kit. You won't wind up using the foam pad included with the 7424 anyway.

FWIW, cheaper random orbitals (like the $30 one you mentioned) just won't have the power to properly polish out swirl marks or scratches.

They sure do (and they're great, BTW)...right here!

Good luck! :cheers:


[Modified by Schwa72, 3:19 AM 9/25/2002]

 

Ok, so you guys are saying that a cheaper buffer ($30) won't have the power to buff out the scratches. Wouldn't a buffer like that have more power than you could apply by hand? And therefore, wouldn't you absolutely need a buffer to use 3M 39009? Am I missing something? :confused:

 

A cheaper buffer won't attain the speeds required to work the compound properly, and it will bog down when you put weight on it. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it, but I bet your results will be less than optimal.
I've never gotten 39009 to work properly on my car when used by hand. I've found that it just leaves a haze and isn't worth the trouble. Of course, on red cars, even minor flaws show up pretty clearly...but I think that an orbital is the only way to apply abrasives.


[Modified by Schwa72, 2:26 PM 9/25/2002]

 

Maybe someone should chime in and verify this. But a couple people told me that they use Pledge furniture polish to remove buff/swirl marks. This seems a little risky to me. What do you think?

 

The Pledge contains oils that will fill in the swirls until the next wash or until they evaporate. Totally cosmetic, and I certainly doubt it's compatible with any other products such as wax or Zaino or whatever you are using.

I would never use it on my car, though. :eek:

 

Thank you.