Can I use SMR for dark colored cars on a white car?

M

MnRiverman

New member
As the title states. I only have one white car and I don't want to buy another bottle just for that one car.



I'd be interested to know what the difference is between these two products (light vs. dark).



Thanks!



- Anthony
 
The difference is in the color of the fillers. You definatly don't want to use the dark SMR on a white car. Trust me on that. Get the one made for your car.
 
Jngrbrdman said:
The difference is in the color of the fillers. You definatly don't want to use the dark SMR on a white car. Trust me on that. Get the one made for your car.
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Speaking from experience??? :D



Don't worry, I trust you. Thanks. :)
 
We'll call it a mistake that I didn't advertise on the public forums. ;) I've since learned that there is a reason they lable them seperatly for dark and light cars. lol
 
What if you are going to strip it off anyway - i.e. proceed to apply Zaino? I only have the dark color one now, and thought it would be ok on white if I wiped it down with IA afterwards.:nixweiss
 
Ds01C5 said:
What if you are going to strip it off anyway - i.e. proceed to apply Zaino? I only have the dark color one now, and thought it would be ok on white if I wiped it down with IA afterwards.:nixweiss
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Eh...? SMR's purpose is to remove and fill swirls. If you plan on removing the fillers right after you put them down, then why would you do it to begin with? SMR can't be stripped. It is the stripper. ...that sounded weird. Anyway, its a pain to get those dark fillers out of your paint. It adds an extra couple hours to what should have been a simple project.
 
Are you talking about stripping the oils and fillers from SMR? You can probably give it a Dawn wash after using SMR, then proceed with the Zaino thing. Anyone care to differ?
 
Eh...? SMR's purpose is to remove and fill swirls. If you plan on removing the fillers right after you put them down, then why would you do it to begin with? SMR can't be stripped. It is the stripper. ...that sounded weird. Anyway, its a pain to get those dark fillers out of your paint. It adds an extra couple hours to what should have been a simple project.





Are you talking about stripping the oils and fillers from SMR? You can probably give it a Dawn wash after using SMR, then proceed with the Zaino thing. Anyone care to differ?
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Now I'm confused. I knew that the only difference between SMR for dark and light is the color, the abrasive quality is identical. That being said, I was also under the impression that 3M SMR is abrasive, albeit only slightly, not just a glaze/filler a-la 3M IHG or #7.



As a result, I would be removing light towel scratches from my clear coat with a PC and 3M SMR. I do not have "swirls" or spider-webbing, just 2 years of washing and drying induced, very light surface scratching that is primarily visible under amber lights.



My thoughts were that a dawn wash or IA wipe down would strip anything remaining after using SMR, leaving a Zaino - ready surface, as per the normal Zaino instructions. Why would the color of the remnants of polishing with SMR make any difference if I were to remove it by wiping down with IA afterwards?



Thanks for your help in clarifying this.:)
 
SMR is going to clean off anything that you have on your car anyway. Its more than just some mild filler. It will remove some of the swirls with abrasives. Any product with the abrasive power to take out any kind of a swirl will also strip any wax or sealant on the car. It may be faster to use something like DACP, but it will still get the job done. Doing a Dawn wash over an SMR job to remove the grey look your car is going to have is just a step that can be skipped if you'd just spend the ten or twelve bucks and get the SMR for light colors.
 
What about meg. #9 as an SMR? Doesn't that also contain fillers? They don't seem to specify whether they're light or dark colored..

i've never used any of these products, but am curious about their effects because I would soon like to get some. it seems strange to me though, that since red and black are both considered dark, that they can both be filled by the same dark-tinted SMR. I'd imagine you'd have little black lines filling in the crevices on red paint or something..
 
Jngrbrdman said:
SMR is going to clean off anything that you have on your car anyway. Its more than just some mild filler. It will remove some of the swirls with abrasives. Any product with the abrasive power to take out any kind of a swirl will also strip any wax or sealant on the car. It may be faster to use something like DACP, but it will still get the job done. Doing a Dawn wash over an SMR job to remove the grey look your car is going to have is just a step that can be skipped if you'd just spend the ten or twelve bucks and get the SMR for light colors.
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I appreciate your help, so please don't take this as disbelief or being argumentative. I'm looking for beneficial info for everyone.



I still think we're on slightly different pages. I primarily use Zaino and plan on removing the SMR residue with IA, so the color really would seem to have nothing to do with it, i.e. there is no extra step involved as I have to remove it to apply Zaino anyway.



I do agree that if I were going straight to wax, or other non sealant products, then the color would be more significant. The 10 bucks isn't an issue, I have a bottle of dark SMR that I have used on dark cars, that I figure should be fine for white if I'm not building on top of the SMR base.



:wavey
 
So the only reason you are using the SMR for dark cars is because you don't want to get a bottle of the Light just for one car? I guess I don't understand that because I've purchased products for use on particular cars that I may never detail again. I just sort of have to be prepared for everything I guess. I can understand you not wanting to buy a bottle just for one car. What I can't understand is that you would prefer to deal with cleaning up the mess of a product when you could probably just use something else instead and not have to worry about it. SMR is fairly mild in the line up of swirl removal products. You could probably use a different product that doesn't care if its dark or light.



I'm not trying to be argumentitive with you either. :xyxthumbs Its just an interesting discussion. I've used SMR for dark on a white car before. The mess wasn't worth the convience of not looking for the right product. The experience was worth it though. :D:up
 
Basically, there are 3 panels - hood, trunk lid, and a bit on the rear fascia that I would like to take care of the light scratches on. They are very light, so I really don't need anything agressive.



I am moving my heretofore 24/7 outside kept vette into a new home and garage, and would like to get the finish back to flawless. Once it's inside, I won't have to wash 2X a week to keep it nice, so towel and washing scratches won't be much of an issue. If I could get by using the dark color version which I have already, all the better.



I have no aversion to buying products, I have everything from Turtle Wax to Zaino, Meguiars, Souveran, and P21s. Bottom line, I figured if I was removing the SMR residue completely, the technicality of being for dark colors only would become irrelevant.



Thanks again, this has been an informative discussion.:up
 
raymond_ho2002 said:
What about meg. #9 as an SMR? Doesn't that also contain fillers? They don't seem to specify whether they're light or dark colored..
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I imagine #9 to be tailored for use on all colours of paint, just like every other glaze and polish out there. The 3M products are one of the very few I've heard of being made for specific colours.



3M SMR for light cars on the other hand, seems to "sorta work" on dark cars.... :p
 
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