What To Use After 3M Finesse-It II?

[MBZ 500E]

My neighbor came to me and asked me how to get his recently purchased 68 Mustang looking really good. The car has a red single stage paint job which was done about 7 years ago and is in good shape. It has some minor swirls, light oxidation and light scratches but overall not bad. We headed to the local Autoparts store since he didn`t want to order products online and bought the following.



1. 3M Finesse-It II - First step to remove the lighter scratches, minor swirls and light oxidation.



2. Meguiars #26 as a final step.



I`m wondering if maybe he should use #9 Swirl Remover or S100 SEPC before applying the #26? He will be using a PC and a foam polishing pad to apply the 3M, the wax will be applied by hand using foam applications until he gets a softer PC pad. Keep in mind that this is a garage queen so protection is only secondary to appearance. Any suggestions would be helpful.

[raymond_ho2002]

I follow FI-II with 3M SMR. I don`t know whether you`d use light or dark colored SMR for red.. maybe the Meg`s equivalent, #9, would be better.

[imported_BretFraz]

I take it he bought the Machine Polish, p/n 39003. Good stuff to use with a PC.



S100 SEPC would be an excellent second step but its impossible to know for sure without seeing the car in person. I`d buff out the car with the FI2 then evaluate results. If it looks like it needs a 2nd step, go for it. Maybe try FI2 on one section and SMR on another and compare.



This one will prolly take a little experimentation to find the best combo.

[MBZ 500E]

Originally posted by bretfraz

I`d buff out the car with the FI2 then evaluate results. If it looks like it needs a 2nd step, go for it.



Thats a good idea, I have some SEPC I`ll bring over just in case it needs it. I think he`s in for surprise, he has doubts that the paint can look better.



I`ve used FI1 years ago but never the 2 so I`m glad to hear it will work well. I was hoping for DACP since I`ve used it a few times but they didn`t have it.



If anyone thinks of anything else or has suggestions on FI2 let me know. Thanks for the tips.

[WaxGuru]

I use 3M Swirl Mark Remover part number 39009 after I use the 3M F It II. It does not matter that much on buying the light and dark versions of the 3M SMR as they are the exact same formulation, the only difference is that the dark version is tinted a dark gray and the light version is tinted an off white. Me and my local body shop always use 39009 on all colors...

[boostdfd3s]

i personally would use the 3M machine glaze before the SMR. It will remove 90% of the swirls that SMR just fills and conceals.