[ACR3597]

I recently bought an 2013 Alpine White 328i MSport and there are swirl marks basically all over the car. I was wondering if anybody could recommend any polishing compounds or any other tools to remove the swirl marks? Also, does anyone have any general tips to remove the swirl marks?

As always any help is appreciated!

[ErkanTR16]

I would highly recommend subscribing to the YouTube Channel below.

His content is all related to auto detailing.

https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom

http://www.ammonyc.com/

[ACR3597]

Originally Posted by ErkanTR16

I would highly recommend subscribing to the YouTube Channel below.

His content is all related to auto detailing.

https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom

http://www.ammonyc.com/

Man, I totally forgot about this guy

[walkertexasranger]

I second the above. First, congrats! I actually just picked up a 2013 two weeks ago, my first BMW. Couldn't be happier. First thing I wanted to do was fix all of the awful swirl marks in the car. It's amazing what someone can do to a car's paint in less than 3 years. Also, my car is Jet Black so everything looks 100x worse than any other color.

I watched a LOT of Chemical Guys tutorials as well as reading/watching Autogeek tutorials. Unfortunately Jet Black is its own separate beast as far as paint correction, so read, read, read.. But here's what worked for me (I ended up with Menzerna/Wolfgang polishes - very similar):

**Get a DA polisher. It's the best/only way to remove swirls. I personally went with the Harbor Freight Chicago Electric model (only $60) as I will probably just use it a couple of times a year and if it breaks, at this price, oh well. But it has great reviews all over the internet. The Porter Cable 7242XP is a really great choice but you can read up on that.

Products:
Harbor Freight Dual Action Polisher/Buffer
Chemical Guys 5" Backing plate
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover
Menzerna SF3500
Menzerna Power Lock Sealant
4x white Lake Country 5.25" polishing pads
2x black Lake Country 5.25" polishing pads
Meguiar's clay bar
2x 5 gallon buckets + grit guard (for washing)
Chemical Guys yellow microfiber towels
*Bought but didn't use: Chemical Guys orange polishing pads
...can't think of anything else but there is probably something.

Steps (the short, simplified version):
1. Wash with Dawn to remove the wax the dealer put on
2. Clay bar (I used meguiar's but any brand is going to be fine IMO)
3. Apply Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover with a white Lake Country Polishing Pad. I did roughly 4 passes for each section. Sometimes 8 for the worse areas. Wipe off with high quality microfiber towel.
4. Depending on what pad you use you may want to follow up with a light cut polish like Wolfgang Finishing Glaze or Menzerna SF3500 or similar. With the white pad, I found that the Wolfgang TSR finished down really nicely. I followed up on the hood with Menzerna SF3500 and honestly couldn't tell a difference, so I went straight for my sealant on the rest of the car.
5. Do 10% IPA wipedown of entire car
6. Apply Menzerna Power Lock with black Lake Country finishing pad, wait up to an hour, and wipe off with microfiber towel.
7. Let sealant cure for 12 hours (very important)

I think if I would have used an orange pad (more cut) I could have gotten out some of the deeper imperfections. But this is a daily driver that's parked outside 24/7 unfortunately so I didn't want/need to get every single mark out. But I can say for certain that all of my swirl marks are gone. I've attached some before & after shots. Pic with two lights is before/after of driver door panel. The pic with one light is the trunk lid with masking tape line on my test section. I did a couple more passes to get the rest of the swirls out. The white specks are mostly just dust from the polish.

Like I said, since your car is NOT Jet Black, these steps may not be perfect for your car. I've heard that the clear coats on BMW paints EXCEPT for Jet Black are very hard ( possibly requiring tougher pads or polishes or more passes.) The truth of this is much debated about, as I've discovered. But I'm so happy with how mine turned out that I wanted to share.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out if you take the plunge into the paint correcting world! It's not as daunting as it seems and is extremely rewarding if you have a weekend to spend on it

[rolltidef32]

Next time don't use dawn. Either buy a Citrus Car Wash, get a paint prep spray like from Griot's, or mix 1 part Iso Alcohol to 8 parts distilled water into a spray bottle to clean the car with microfiber towels.

Dish soap leaves a residue and can damage your clear coat.

[ACR3597]

Originally Posted by walkertexasranger

I second the above. First, congrats! I actually just picked up a 2013 two weeks ago, my first BMW. Couldn't be happier. First thing I wanted to do was fix all of the awful swirl marks in the car. It's amazing what someone can do to a car's paint in less than 3 years. Also, my car is Jet Black so everything looks 100x worse than any other color.

I watched a LOT of Chemical Guys tutorials as well as reading/watching Autogeek tutorials. Unfortunately Jet Black is its own separate beast as far as paint correction, so read, read, read.. But here's what worked for me (I ended up with Menzerna/Wolfgang polishes - very similar):

**Get a DA polisher. It's the best/only way to remove swirls. I personally went with the Harbor Freight Chicago Electric model (only $60) as I will probably just use it a couple of times a year and if it breaks, at this price, oh well. But it has great reviews all over the internet. The Porter Cable 7242XP is a really great choice but you can read up on that.

Products:
Harbor Freight Dual Action Polisher/Buffer
Chemical Guys 5" Backing plate
Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover
Menzerna SF3500
Menzerna Power Lock Sealant
4x white Lake Country 5.25" polishing pads
2x black Lake Country 5.25" polishing pads
Meguiar's clay bar
2x 5 gallon buckets + grit guard (for washing)
Chemical Guys yellow microfiber towels
*Bought but didn't use: Chemical Guys orange polishing pads
...can't think of anything else but there is probably something.

Steps (the short, simplified version):
1. Wash with Dawn to remove the wax the dealer put on
2. Clay bar (I used meguiar's but any brand is going to be fine IMO)
3. Apply Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover with a white Lake Country Polishing Pad. I did roughly 4 passes for each section. Sometimes 8 for the worse areas. Wipe off with high quality microfiber towel.
4. Depending on what pad you use you may want to follow up with a light cut polish like Wolfgang Finishing Glaze or Menzerna SF3500 or similar. With the white pad, I found that the Wolfgang TSR finished down really nicely. I followed up on the hood with Menzerna SF3500 and honestly couldn't tell a difference, so I went straight for my sealant on the rest of the car.
5. Do 10% IPA wipedown of entire car
6. Apply Menzerna Power Lock with black Lake Country finishing pad, wait up to an hour, and wipe off with microfiber towel.
7. Let sealant cure for 12 hours (very important)

I think if I would have used an orange pad (more cut) I could have gotten out some of the deeper imperfections. But this is a daily driver that's parked outside 24/7 unfortunately so I didn't want/need to get every single mark out. But I can say for certain that all of my swirl marks are gone. I've attached some before & after shots. Pic with two lights is before/after of driver door panel. The pic with one light is the trunk lid with masking tape line on my test section. I did a couple more passes to get the rest of the swirls out. The white specks are mostly just dust from the polish.

Like I said, since your car is NOT Jet Black, these steps may not be perfect for your car. I've heard that the clear coats on BMW paints EXCEPT for Jet Black are very hard ( possibly requiring tougher pads or polishes or more passes.) The truth of this is much debated about, as I've discovered. But I'm so happy with how mine turned out that I wanted to share.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out if you take the plunge into the paint correcting world! It's not as daunting as it seems and is extremely rewarding if you have a weekend to spend on it

Man the difference in your paint is night and day! Thanks for your advice!

[walkertexasranger]

Originally Posted by rolltidef32

Next time don't use dawn. Either buy a Citrus Car Wash, get a paint prep spray like from Griot's, or mix 1 part Iso Alcohol to 8 parts distilled water into a spray bottle to clean the car with microfiber towels.

Dish soap leaves a residue and can damage your clear coat.

Agreed.. Paint Prep would have been a better option. Tried to research as much as I could to do it right and finally it was just time to do it. Live and learn! Thanks for the info!

[walkertexasranger]

Originally Posted by ACR3597

Man the difference in your paint is night and day! Thanks for your advice!

Sure thing! Like I said (and has already been proven here) make sure to do lots and lots of research. It's both a science and an art form. I'm sure there are quite a few things that would make this process better as it was my first go at actual paint correction. But hoping this will help you move in the right direction!

My old car forums had a beer cheers-ing emoji... would insert that here if we had one.

[Man In Black]

Megs 205 and a DA will sort them out .