This is my first post! I already have a question?

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woptang22

New member
Hello, my name is John and this is my first post. I have a jet black 2002 BMW M3. I love my car I want to keep it as clean and new looking as possible. But the jet black is such a pain to keep clean and take care of. What I wanted to know is if anyone could suggest to me the proper products I need to polish and wax this color paint. It is jet black so I do have a # of swirl marks that I would like to remove. The only problem is I dont have a porter cable and I really dont want to use one. I would rather do everything by hand being that I feel more comfortable using my hands. But what I wanted to know is can everyone recommend a good polish to remove the swirls and a good wax, or sealant I can put on over the polish? I dont know much about different products and what works good on jet black. I was looking at Klasse all in one and then the klasse top sealant after that. But I talked to one person that told me the All in one wasnt that great and it wouldnt work for the swirls. So please help me out with some suggestions. thanks John
 
Hi John, I can tell you have a lot of enthusiasm and energy, that is good. I'd suggest you do some more reading before you post so you can ask more "specific" questions to help your needs. There are a lot of products out there and everyone on here has specific ones that they like better than another. I personally like the PoorBoy line up. You could try out the Professional polish with carnuba or the SSR lineup to get rid of some swirls. I'd reccomend the new EX sealant on the black paint, it's great! Do some searches and see what you come up with. It's going to be a task to remove any defects by hand, however!!

Mike
 
Hi John, nice car, it would make things alot easier if you would invest in a porter cable 7336 (99.00 lowes) and pads to make jobs in future easy and results better, not like your only going to polish/wax/seal once in life time of vehicle. Porter cable is very easy to use and almost fullproof ( I say almost,someone will prove me wrong,but hard to do)look at the menzerna line of products, can be put on either machine or hand, http://www.properautocare.com
read articles on above site and past articles on this site and autopia.com and make decision as to what to use.
 
To do the work on a black finish by hand, you're gonna need to be very patient and have quite a bit of stamina. Swirl removal by hand is definitely not easy, but it is plausible I suppose. You'll need to concentrate on small areas at a time, and you're not going to want to go too abrasive with your polish. IMHO, there's a point at which you have to realize you can't properly break down the diminishinig abrasives in a polish. I'd guess to say try something like Poorboy's SSR 2 by hand with a terry cloth.

Another option you may want to look into, since you're doing this by hand, is glazes. They will help hide many of the imperfections you won't be able to remove by hand.

Good luck and :welcome !!!
 
I would recomment a few things......

Give Steve a call at Poorboys. www.poorboysworld.com. He will give you solid advice on products/process. I like the other vendors on DC too, but Steve's product knowledge and killer service stand out IMO.

If you plan to maintain your ride, invest in a Porter Cable. With some knowledge about abrasives, pads, and process, and a pinch of common sense it's the safest polishing machine on the market. Can you damage your paint with a PC? Sure you can, but it's rare if you do some homework up front. The PC, IMO, was designed to be used by the novice, as well as the pro.

If you don't want to invest in a PC (for whatever reason), I'd probably ask around and find a local detailer with a good reputation.
 
Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate the suggestions. I will do a little more reading and research, but maybe sometime soon I will buy a PC. I just havent dont any reading about the PC and just thought it was difficult to use. And I didnt want to chance messing up my paint at all. But it sounds like everyone has had good results with it. Well thanks a lot.
 
I was looking into the poorboys products a little bit ago. I think I might go with the poorboys ssr1 polish for the swirls and maybe their ex sealant, or their ex-p sealant. I dont know the difference but what does everyone think of those products?
 
EX-P is great on lighter colors, at least in my experience. From what I hear EX is good on darker colors. I think it's more a persoanl preference. Why not give Mr. Poorboy a call. He'll set you straight.
 
I was also told that the Menzerna line of products is good for the german cars. Has anyone had experience with that? I think I have decided on gettin either the poor boys products or the Menzerna products. From what I have read it seems as if they are both pretty good. But does anyone actually have experience with menzerna?
 
Menzerna products are excellent, but can require a bit
of a learning curve. While they can work very well with
a PC, they are definitely OEM grade products, and tend
to be more geared to rotary use for maximum gain. I've
used the products for the last several months, and I
am still finding that I have a lot to learn about how well
I can do with their products. I also learned that the
nickname, "Gluezerna" is there for a reason. Contacting
Menzerna usa direct can be helpful, but ultimately,
you can only learn it's products capbilities by using
them. But once you're familiar with the Menzerna line,
you'll find there are very few products out there that
can match what they can do for your car.


Poorboys on the other hand, seems to me more
geared towards the serious enthusiast as well as professional
detailers. the primary upside to PB is that the products
are competitively priced, and are much more user friendly
over Menzerna. Best of all, their technical support is superb.
You wont get vague answers, and more often than not,
a solution for your needs is just a PM away.
 
The first rule of thumb is make it easy in yourself. In hindsight, after tinkering with the detailing process for a couple of years, I would pay the most attention to products that give good results to newbies. The Poorboy`s line would be far better than Menzerna in my opinion because it appears many with little experience get good results. On the other hand Menzerna seems a challange to some. I have Final Polish and have never been able to make much sense of it. Every time I have worked with it it goes back on the shelf and out comes the Meg`s no. 9.
 
I'm new as well to detailing and will be working on my first job this weekend (if the weather cooperates). I can tell you that after doing research and reviewing the tips I've received, I decided to by a PC last week. Autogeek has a kit with pads for 190. However, ask for the "Detail City" 10% discount and they will apply it. I also will be going with the Poorboy Products for the swirls in conjunction w/ Wolfgang's Paint Sealant. I also bought a clay kit from Autozone.

I'll be posting before and after pictures once I'm done.
 
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