Need product for 2 different cars

noahabel · 01-28-08, 03:35

As the title suggests, I'm embarking on a little mid-winter detail on 2 BMWs: my '98 Silver M3 and my girlfriend's '07 White 335i. I did a full compound/polish/sealant process on the M3 about 2 years ago, and thanks to the magic of Zaino and very little exposure (only 4000 miles and most days & nights coverered) the protection has held up well enough.

I used Menzerna IP and FPII at the time, via rotary and Edge 2K green/yellow followed by Z-PC via PC and LC White pads, but I never got 100% of the light scratches out of the surface of the M3. Another hitch - one door panel was repainted about 4 years ago to a decent quality, but may need repainting again due to a severe door ding/chip. And my friends call me crazy for never parking in tight spots!

Anyway, I was wondering what would be the best compound/polish choice to attack the stubborn scratches in the M3 and the general swirls/holograms of the newer, white 335i. It seems from a few pros here that the newer, lighter-colored BMWs have significantly harder surfaces then older or darker bimmers. So it would seem 106ff would be well matched here, but is that an appropriate choice for the older and partially repainted M3?

Basically, I'd like to keep the choices down to 2 products, a compound and polish, as I already have Z-AIO waiting as an intermediate step before Z2 or Z-CS or both. Menzerna, Optimum, PB? I think I'll trade in my PC in favor of a UDM in the hopes of avoiding rotary use, so pad choices are also welcome - I currently have the 8" Edge 2K collection and some old-school concave 6" LC pads. Can the 8" pads be used on a UDM or PC effectively?

TIA, everyone, 'bout time I got back into this stuff!

jshillin · 01-28-08, 06:26

My suggestion would be SIP and 106

racing2448 · 01-28-08, 06:27

^ (never saw that coming

)

jshillin · 01-28-08, 06:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by racing2448

^ (never saw that coming

)

They are pretty hard to beat... SIP is very hard to beat and 106FF isn't to shabby either. You could swap out the SIP for PO85Rd or Ultrafina. I haven't used the Ultrafina yet, but I've read many great reviews on it.

noahabel · 01-28-08, 07:26

Yeah, I know how the consensus always seems to come back to 106ff, but do you think SIP performs that much better than IP? I can't say I was too blown away by the cut of IP, even via rotary and moderate cut pad. I'm not too sure I should ever use the Edge black pad, seems far too aggressive. SSR 2.5 via rotary/Edge yellow didn't get the deepest of scratches out - but they are still not so deep as to catch a fingernail edge. Is my 10 year old clear coat that hard?

What I was hoping for is something with a level of cut I could manage with pad choice and still use a PC or UDM. Is Menzerna PG a lot more aggressive than SIP, or just a bit more? How does OHC compare on harder clear coats?

And the PO85RD is a bit more than the SIP and is designed for OEM hard c.c.'s, will it chew through the repainted door panel?

noahabel · 01-28-08, 07:32

And is 106FF really $20 better than Micro Polish?

wannafbody · 01-29-08, 07:14

If you already have a PC keep it and step up to a Flex.

noahabel · 01-29-08, 12:06

A) Hard to find
B) Expensive as hell

But yeah, it seems like a killer machine, maybe someday. Is the UDM not worth the upgrade over a PC?

And assuming I go with Menz. PO83 and 106FF (to supplement my remaining IP and FPII) what DA pads work best? Seems to be lots of people still prefer flat pads over the wave versions out there. What about the CCS Smart Pads? Since I already have both Edge adapters I'm thinking of using their wave or flat pads.