Same but different....

B

breakneckvtec

New member
I intend to attack swirls on my car soon as weather turns to warm. I was gonna start with 3M SMR but I hear it has fillers and I dont want to worry about removing fillers to see that I got or missed swirls. I now plan to start with the fine cut compound by 3M and a white pad, going to a yellow pad if necessary, or maybe an orange power pad and then follow with the SMR to polish it. One of my largest fears is breaking the clear, I am using a PC to do this. I hear its near impossible to break through but I would love to know more about any dangers and what to do to avoid them. I will most likely be so cautious about swirls and with the aid of klasses protecting ability any future swirls will most likely only need SMR, maybe even the ones I have now, they are light but I havent experimented so I think I will start with fine cut and probably never need it again....thoughts? Opinions? Advice, more than anything?
 
The fine cut cleaner is still pretty mild. With a PC, you'll be pretty safe. I would never say never. :) But it's pretty tough to burn to the clear with the PC and SMR or fine cut. The only places to be careful are on mirrors and spoilers and edges, which the PC can put more pressure on, and also where the paint is naturally thinner.
 
breakneckvtec- I always err on the side of caution when it comes to cutting through the clear. I use 3M's Fine Cut occasionally, but I think it's pretty strong. I'd rather use something milder with a yellow pad.



Could someone else please comment on Fine Cut vs. DACP? It's my understanding that DACP is milder while still capable of what breakneckvtec's after.



Nice to see someone's as concerned about wearing down the paint as with removing swirls:xyxthumbs
 
I know people who do it two times a year, I am gonna be careful about swirls so I dont have to use anything stronger than SMR in the future. I think I will start with fine cut and a orange pad. Then go to SMR. To my knowledge polishing doesnt remove much clear in comparison to how much there is.
 
Personally I think that you've been sweating about the "breaking through the clear" part too much. Just stop polishing when it looks done and you shouldn't face that risk because the swirls aren't so deep that you have to get close to the basecoat. Even if you don't completely remove the swirls the first time around, so what? It will take a little time for them to reappear and then you can just go at it again - think of it as a learning experience. Besides that, Klasse SG will reduce the really fine swirls and hide them for quite some time. If your swirls are relatively mild I'd personally start off with SMR and see how that works, fillers or no, since FCRC is a more abrasive product, and you shouldn't use a stronger abrasive if it's not truly needed. I'm sure someone might have suggested checking with alcohol in one of your threads.



A PC is gentle, SMR is gentle, now good luck and just get out there and start polishing! ;)
 
Accumulator said:
Could someone else please comment on Fine Cut vs. DACP? It's my understanding that DACP is milder while still capable of what breakneckvtec's after.
Click to expand...



DACP from the bodyshop line actually has a range of abrasives spanning medium cut cleaner to almost #9. The new bottles all show a scale, and Meguiar's shows DACP to span that range.
 
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