Great Product for Quick paint repairs

[imported_Indy YZF]

Did you ever walk by your car, in a certain light, and notice a water spot, or light scratch or swirl, which you hadnt noticed before? Does it drive you nuts? Wouldnt you like to get rid of the offending imperfection right then and there, and not have to wait til you do the entire car, or until you have all your best equipment out at the car for a big job?



In the past, Ive used products like swirl removers to get out the kind of damage Im talking about. If the damage isnt too bad, that may work. But then I need to follow it up with a quick application of wax to the area to keep it protected. For a quick fix, thats two products I need to apply. I usually keep my quick car care stuff in the trunk, because I live in a hi rise condo with a communal garage. So I like to have stuff I need quickly always at the ready in the trunk.



Ive found the perfect product for this kind of quick touchups. Its 3Ms One Step Cleaner Wax for Medium Oxidation Removal, #39066. This stuff is sensational. I had some water marks that had etched enough such that wax didnt remove it, SMR barely removed it, etc. So, today, I tried a dab of the 3M med. strength cleaner wax on a white terry towel. The stuff is thick and creamy. When you rub it on, you can rub hard the first few strokes. Then lighten up, and rub lightly and quickly as you finish up. Then, just turn the towel, and wipe it off followed by a micro fiber buff. And I`ll tell you, the surface where I applied it is completely spotless, and, since its also a wax, its protected as well.



This to me is the ideal product for quick, hand done, touch ups for water marks, swirl marks, and light scratches and embedded dirt. The fact that it leaves wax protection behind makes this superior to the straight polishes and paint cleaners.



3M also makes a regular strength cleaner wax that is slightly less aggressive. What I like about the med. strength product is that it requires Less rubbing, and less pressure for the jobs that require less. Yet, its strong enough to handle the more serious duty. Really effective stuff

[topnotchtouch]

Not to rain on your parade but, have you tried a dawn wash on that area to make sure that it didn`t just fill the water mark in? Don`t cleaner waxes typically have fillers to hide whatever can`t be removed?

[imported_Indy YZF]

>>Not to rain on your parade but, have you tried a dawn wash on that area to make sure that it didn`t just fill the water mark in? Don`t cleaner waxes typically have fillers to hide whatever can`t be removed<<



Absolutely not. At least, not the 3M med strength stuff. Remember, its use is `.. for medium oxidation removal`. You dont remove oxidation by filling it in. You remove oxidation by rubbing it off. Im not a novice, so when I tell you this stuff does by hand what alot of people have been using machines for, thats the way it is. Im not saying its a substitute for a good all over car machine polishing. Its just what I said...good for quick removal of localized surface damage that you dont want to wait for the allover machine job to do.

[shaf]

Interesting idea. I think most people carry around stuff in their car for quick glass cleaning and bird bomb removal, but carrying around something for quick on-the-spot swirl removal? That`s new. :D

[imported_Indy YZF]

>>but carrying around something for quick on-the-spot swirl removal? That`s new<<



Ive done it for years. See....most people have a normal garage, so when they get home and see a new scratch or swirl or water mark or something, they just mosey on over to the shelf, pick up the chemical of choice, and go to town.



But for me, when I get home, I park the car, lock the doors, and as I walk away from it, if I notice one of these offenders, I have to schlepp through the large garage, go down a couple flights of stairs or take the elevator to the lobby, walk a couple hundred feet through the lobby, ring for the elevator to go up to the 6th floor, walk down the hallway, enter my apartment, grab my chemical of choice, reroute the treck back to the car, and remove the damage... Whew!! Its alot easier to carry a laundry basket in the trunk filled with ANYTHING I might need. Such are the joys of hi rise condominium living! How do I know just what to carry with me? It comes from years of experience of discovering what it is that you need that you dont have with you resulting in that schlepp that you dont feel like making. Finally, I think Ive gotten to the point where about 99% of the time, whatever IM going to need having to do with the car, Ive got right in the trunk whether its a tool, or car care product of any kind.

[Patrick]

Paul, nice lil review. Sounds like a good product. That was about the only product I didnt try when I had some terrible etching on a truck I did. I think i tried every other product i could come up with or recommended. Is that a order product or is it available thru local automotive shops...? I dont think Ive seen it at my local pep boys....



On another note, how do you like those Koni`s ? Do M3`s come with those or Bilsteins ?

[shaf]

I imagine you could find MOR wherever a more "complete" line of 3M stuff is sold. Some auto parts stores and body shop supply stores would be a good place to look I think.

[TurboCat]

Paul e,



Thanks for the tip! I`ll have to try this out.

[imported_Indy YZF]

>>On another note, how do you like those Koni`s ? Do M3`s come with those or Bilsteins ?<<



Ahh...Dont me started! The suspension is awesome. Everbody knows how good the stock suspension on the E36 M3s is. But, the shock go really early, like before 35K miles, theyre usually shot. Thats the perfect time to upgrade. I believe the stock shocks are Boge. But there are so many good replacement suspensions that it makes no sense to reinstall the same shock. Why not go with a hi performance shock, that will also last the life of the car? So, I chose a Dinan suspension, which comprised Koni single adjustable strut inserts up front, and Koni sa shocks in the back. Dinan then mates these to a set of slightly stiffer and lower springs, for a total result that makes you feel like youre riding on rails. But its not uncomfortable. The thing I like is that if I fill the tires with 32 lbs air, its more comfortable over rough pavement as the stock suspension. But if I push 35 lbs of air or more, it becomes race hard. In both cases, though, there`s next to no body roll, and the car just seems to know where you want it to go. Which is a good thing, because with over 400 chrank hp on tap, you need all the control you can get! :--)

[Patrick]

400 chrank hp on tap

OMG.........:eek:

[shaf]

OMG is right..... :eek:

[imported_Indy YZF]

Guys,



I just read this response from 3M about this very subject. Seems that the fabulous results I found with Medium Oxidation Remover Cleaner Wax are completely supported by the mfgs findings. It indeed has one of the quickest cuts (faster than SMR), while leaving the surface as smooth as any, while at the same time, being waxed! For a quick product to cure problems and leave protection, I dont think there`s anything better. Here it is:



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" Brian - thanks for the question about 3M Car Care Products. It`s difficult to give a perfect answer to your question because of the variety of tools and pads used to perform this function. They too can have an effect on the aggressiveness of the different products. But here is our best advice on the subject. I`ve identified both cut (how quickly it removes material - the higher the number the faster it cuts) and finish (how smooth the surface is after application - 0 being very high gloss). The perfect product would have a very high cut number and a very low finish number.



Swirl Mark Remover: 25 cut, 2 finish (this product contains no waxes or silicones - wax should be applied as a second step)



Medium Oxidation Remover: 45 cut, 2 finish (this product also has a wax in it which makes the finish look better) ...therefore Med. Ox. Remover should get rid of the cratches/oxidation/watermarks quicker and leave a very similar finish.



The next most aggressive product would be Perfect-it II Rubbing Compound, 39002: Cut=65, Finish=12. Typically a professional would use Perfect-it II to get rid of all imperfections, then Swirl mark remover to remove the minor scratches or swirlmarks left from the compounding stage and then a wax. When working by hand you can often go straight from 39002 to a wax/polish.



Hope this helps.



Bill Wheeler

3M Automotive Aftermarket Division

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