I'm not a professional detailer, so take my comments on a swirl remover with grain of salt.
I think that the best swirl remover may be a combination of paint, product and technique, not just a best chemical. My 99 BMW is supposed to have a very hard clearcoat, so one product may be bettter for one vehicle versus another. I understand that the newer BMW clearcoats like the one on my wife's 2008 535Xi may be softer, so another product may work better.
About a year ago, I got lazy and used an airport detail service for a wash and wax while on a business trip, and it looked like they used sandpaper to wash and wax the car. I still fume just thinking about it.
I just spent the last four days washing, engine compartment cleaning, claying, taping off and learning to use a PCXP to remove swirls in the paint of my white 99 BMW 528iT (while dealing with issues with my backyard drain system due to the heavy rains, visits to various hardware stores and taking various phone calls ).
While I get a lot of compliments on the car using manual methods, I was only able to get the paint so far without a DA or rotary buffer. Meguire's Scratch X and Swirl Remover 2.0 didn't do it manually for me. I needed to get the spiderwebs out of the paint, as a glaze only helped hide them temporarily.
The paint absolutely glows after using WG TSR 3.O and WG FG. I also finally got the panel below the driver's door clean and shiny after years of trying various remedies. I will use the WG sealant tomorrow as I couldn't remember if I could apply the WG sealant in temps below 50F, so I stopped for the night. I plan to use one coat and perhaps add a coat of carnuba over the weekend. Added protection from the birds.
I didn't remove all defects/scratchs in the paint, but I chose to go a bit conservative since this was my first try with a PC and didn't want to burn the paint. (I also ran out of energy to do much more. How do professional detailers keep this up?). I initially tried to use a white pad with the TSR 3.0 with some success, but switched to the orange pad after suffering for about an hour and multiple passes.
I found that the orange pad with a 5 speed setting (PCXP) and slow overlapping patterns took out the swirls and most of the scratchs (at least 3-4 passes to break down the abrasives and tried to use an estimated 20lb pressure). Often a second treatment was necessary to get the scratch marks out, perhaps because I didn't have a yellow pad to try (but no burn throughs either). The paint looked great with the orange paint without using the Finishing Glaze; however the glaze seems to add a bit more depth and the paint is slick.
I also used a 4" Excel orange (TSR 3.0) and white (FG) pads to polish certain areas on the car that were difficult to polish with the 6.5" CCS pads such as the rear hatchback, rails above the door along the roof rack, front bumper, etc. I dropped the speed to 4 with the orange pads with good success, although I noticed some residual scratchs on the rear hatchback after using the finishing glaze (bummer). The Excel orange pads worked fine, but seem to cut differently than the CCS pads probably due to my technique. They really came in handy and arrived as a last minute suggestion.
I think that I used too much product when removing swirls. I also taped edges and high spots which I ended up removing, as I was left with swirls in the high areas that I initially taped. I learned a lot about taping off with this project. The blue "delicate" painters tape at Home Depot was easier to use than standard blue 3M painter's tape. :doh:
I bought a 1000 watt halogen lamp set yesterday afternoon and found that I didnt get all the scratch marks out of the roof. It was late, I was tired and I couldn't see the remaining scratchs the other evening with 2 75W flood lamps plus the garage track lights. This afternoon, I pushed my semi-clean 6.5" orange pad into the garage door guides before going back over the roof. I was just not willing to use a dirty pad to clean up the roof (and my body hurt) and I can deal with it after trying the WF Sealant when it is time to reseal or wax.
I tried to remember to work clean so I wouldn't scratch my paint. Sometimes I swore that I put a fresh scratch in the paint with a MF towel, despite shaking them out and using fresh over time. I cleaned the pad between each 2'x2' section using both the terry towel and pad brush methods (thanks MikeP and others for posting the lessons and recos). The orange pad did load up with paint and TSR product pretty quickly. The pad brush really helped remove hardening and shiny white buildup when the towel couldn't get it completely clean. The XMI pad cleaner worked great when I didn't trust the the pad any longer.
I cleaned the pads several times during the process, so I used the equivalent of 3-4 6.5" orange cutting pads and 2 4" orange pads for a car the size of a 1999 BMW 528i Sports Wagon depending on how often you clean the pads. I was able to use one white 6.5" pad, plus the 1 Excel 4" pad for the WF FG. After cleaning the pads, I squeezed out water between a clean microfiber towel and spun the pad using the PC to speed up the drying process.
A good light to see defects will be very helpful if you are getting started and trying to see the swirls. I paid $39 for a 1000 watt Cooper halogen at ACE hardware, but I saw a $29 dual halogen worklight set at Home Depot if you're on a budget. The Cooper light seems to have a good design. The halogen lights also helped raise the temp in my garage while working. Anyone find a better light without buying something specialized like the Brinkman?
Dwayne at Autogeek recommended the WG products, and I also previously read so many of the forum's posts before ordering the PC and WG products. So far, so good. Once I get the Sealant on the car (and it stops raining in Los Angeles), I hope to take a few pictures. Sorry, no before and after pics as I was trying to beat the rain and lost.
Thanks Dwayne for the reco and Mike P for showing me how to use my new PCXP and the various products with your videos. Meghan, I am now officially off the please post list?
Good luck in your search for the best swirl remover. At least you know how the WG Twins worked on my white 1999 BMW when using the described technique.
