New BF Distributor?

[lord_invincible]

Hi, all.



Long time lurker and first time poster. I have read all the threads on swirl removal. So this weekend I washed my car (white 2001 Acura CL type S) and wipped out Meguair #9 and 3M SMR for light

cars. I followed the direction closely but to my disappointment both products made no dent in the swirls I have on the front hood!:down Without a PC, I had to apply by hand. I used foam

applicator and worked the solution till it`s almost dry and then wiped it off with microfab towls. After about 2 hours, I used up almost half of the 3M SMR without removing any of the swirls. The swirls I have can

be described as spider web type of micro swirl which can`t be

felt by my finger tips.



I am out of idea now. How can most of you get great results

without PC?



Thanks in advance for any input. :bow

[jlward1946]

My experience is that you must use a PC in order for the product to wrk properly. Depending on the situation, sometimes it won`t remove the swirls unless you are using the yellow cutting pad.

[BillNorth]

I know how you feel. 3M SMR made absolutely no dent in the swirls on my green bimmer. I also used it by hand. Surprisingly though, it worked very well on my 1988 blue cutlass ciera. Maybe it works better on older paint. I dunno. I`ll be buying a PC this summer. Hopefully that will do the trick.



I wonder why DavidB advocates using SMR by hand when the majority of members have miserable luck using it this way. David, what is your secrect with 3M SMR? :)

[Scottwax]

You may need to use something stronger to make initial headway. With severe swirls, I start off with Meguiars Dual Action Cleaner/Polish (pro body shop line) and apply with terry cloth towels folding into 1/8ths which gives more even pressure. Just like the swirl removers, I work it into the paint until nearly clear and dry. After that, I move onto the swirl remover.

[rockafella]

I had the same problem with my black f150 last weekend. I used SMR with a pc and it only made a small dent in the swirls so this weekend I started with FI-II and ended with SMR and I still can`t get over how much better it looks.



The FI-II dulled the paint and at first I was dissapointed, but a layer of SMR both buffed to only a haze left made a huge dent in the swirls.....

[Andre']

Sounds like you do need somthing stronger, FI2 should do the trick, use the SMR to remove any haze from the FI2. 3M-SMR will only remove very fine swirls when it`s used by hand or DA.

[lord_invincible]

Thanks for the input, guys.



So it looks like I need to move up the abrasive ladder. Which one should I try next, FI-II or Meguiar cleaner/polisher? Can FI-II

be applied by hand? Is it clearcoat safe?



Thanks again.

[Andre']

Use FI2, it can be used by hand and it`s safe for all paint. Apply it using back and forth motions with firm even pressure to start with, use less and less pressure as it starts to dry.:)

[lord_invincible]

Hi, guys. It`s me again.



I ventured out to find the FI-II this weekend. It turned out

there are quite a few FI-II products. Which is the right one

to get? I saw Machine Finishing Polish and some others.

I have no PC so the Machine polish is out of the question.

Please advise, guys.



Thanks. :(

[imported_Intermezzo]

Even though it`s called a machine polish, it is in fact the product the previous posters recommended. I used it once in the past by hand to remove some swirls. It left a lot of micro-swirls but I was able to get those microswirls out with a finer abrasive product (Klasse AIO). If you really want to remove swirls by hand, you have to use something stronger than 3M SMR (unless you`re a nut like puterbum and polish your car all night!) and then clean up the resulting mess with a lighter abrasive.

Here is the link to Finesse-It 2 Finishing Material.

FI-2 (`http://www21.3m.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry10?xid=28181&SP=10023&PN=1&V1=267722&DSP=&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CACHE_ID=0`)

[YoSteve]

we sorta have all different hardnesses of paint



some get marring with PPCL; some paints won`t be touched by SMR`s



if your paint is tough as SMR didn`t make a dent in it, what did you do to put those kinds of swirls in it to begin with? I mean it had to be something pretty rough since not even an abrasive product can cut it, I would think, right?



it has always been advised to used the least abrasive first. here`s an example, let`s say your car had a ton of swirls on it. then lets say your paint was soft and it could be taken off with SMR by hand. If you jumped the gun and "estimated" that you needed FI-II right off the bat you could be in for a lot unnessicary buffing.



Try it out by hand first, then move up to either a more abrasive product or to a machine. I guess it may seem like a lot of wasted effort but it`s the only way to guage which route(s) you need to go. good luck :)

[2wheelsx2]

I had a similar experience a couple of days ago. I spent an hour using SMR by hand (no PC, and none in sight as I just got laid off) and I rubbed and rubbed. The result was that I had a brilliant finish, but the bigger swirls were still there. I gave up temporarily and slapped a coat of Meguiars #20 on. However, everyone who saw my car commented on how shiny it was! :)



Guess I`ll have to go out and try some FI-II.

[imported_Intermezzo]

2wheels, what color is your car?

[2wheelsx2]

It`s a medium Khaki green type colour (called Timberland by Mazda) `97 626 LS.

[BIOLINK]

Has there been an official announcement of who is going to distribute the Blackfire line? (not the vendors with current stock) I see AG has Gelcoat Labs. How about Eimann Fabrik?

Anyone with info willing to chime in?