Question about polishing compounds.

Post Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:37 pm

I'll be mopping my brilliant red e30 soon but im a bit confused about the polishing compounds. Which one is the safest to use on e30s - g3 or g10?(in other words, which one is less agressive!)

Also, is the zymol wax (like the picture below) any good for "sealing" the paint? If not, what would you guys recommend?

Cheers

Post Sat Oct 24, 2009 8:43 pm

I have used t-cut scratch remover and it takes all the dirt and grime out of the paint and the car has come up well after that wax the car and job done.

At first I was a little sceptical about the whole thing using t-cut but then I thought to myself what the hell I am going to re-spray the car in the near future so might as well give it ago its cheap and has honestly worked for me and to my surprise the car is now cleannn rich of its colour.

hope this helps and all the best
Jon-m42

Post Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:25 pm

Thanks jon but i know t-cut is ammonia based and pretty harsh - something that i dont fancy. I'll probably wash and polish it again tommorow with some autoglym paint renovator which is water based and weaker. That should get me by until it gets mopped.

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:12 pm

Sunday afternoon Bump

Another 3 hour washing sesh today

Looking nice and red again for another few days

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:16 pm

Cook318IS wrote:Sunday afternoon Bump

Another 3 hour washing sesh today Looking nice and red again for another few days

Lets see it then

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:16 pm

give me a chance

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:25 pm

g10 on a 3m yellow pad will be fine, the zymol stuff is good gear, to slow down the fading use a ph neutral shampoo is this will not strip off the protection as quick as some shampoos.

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:27 pm

I always use the zymol shampoo too, so im guessing that it wont strip off the protection too much like cheaper stuff would? Is g10 the weaker stuff then?

Cheers

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:35 pm

most shampoo,s will strip off protection if the mix is to strong,
g10 is mild but you still need to approach carefully with single stage paint
[no clear coat] as it,s easy to take off to much paint. hth

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:49 pm

Cheers den. Thats my main concern that my mate will take off too much paint when hes mopping it

Used some leather cleaner stuff

Washed the iS too

And now i feel ashamed with my front valance being in a state

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:53 pm

Big difference

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:09 pm

i have a red e30 myself,
if i where you i would think about it first, your motor looks good in the pics but if you insist on getting it mopped start with a 3m blue pad [softer than the yellow pad] or similar.
small sections at a time, and be careful of all edges as the paint will be thinner. your mate may be
a demon with a mop but even if working a paint thickness gauge caution is needed.
hth.

Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:19 pm

As with alot of red cars, it does look very good when polished. By mopping it and then using a good paint sealer, i was hoping that that it will help keep it red for longer.

Thanks for the advise

Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 1:31 pm

I bought some of that zymol wax, and its awsome stuff, would deffintly recommend it

will be buying more too once it runs out. smells nice too

Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:08 pm

Ive been using zymol since i bought my 318iS, it works VERY well on white paint. Im wondering whether to buy some dodo jucie wax instead and give that a go...

Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:35 pm

going into winter you,ll be better off using a paint sealant as it offers more durabilty than a wax.

Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:42 pm

Would it still be alright to use a sealant first and apply wax afterwards? would that work?

Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:16 am

That's the stuff you can buy in Halfords is it not, they also do a shampoo that goes with it, smells nice and looks ok but it doesn't offer much in the way of durability, from memory it's made by Turtle Wax, you're better off with Autoglym or Meguiars if i'm honest.
In answer to the OP, if you really have to use Farecla then G10 is the one to use, I really don't recommend it though, as I have said on here numerous times, it's old fashioned and even G10 is very aggresive in comparison to something from the Menzerna or 3M range. The problem with Farecla products is that the abbrasives are still cutting at the same rate when you start polishing as they are when you stop, the products I mention break down and towards the end of their worktime the abbrasives are so fine that even something like 3M fast cut plus will produce reflections and shine you couls never get with farecla.

Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:18 am

Cook318IS wrote:Would it still be alright to use a sealant first and apply wax afterwards? would that work?

You can, not really much benfit though.

Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:13 pm

Thanks for the advice powelly. I was only talking about farecla becuase thats what my mate had used on his. i'll probably look into getting some 3M fast cut. I did buy a few car cleaning bits including some chemical guys sealant last night

Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:15 pm

3M is my personal favourite, it's technically speaking a 3 step process, Fast cut plus is the most aggresive, it will remove deeper scratches, swirl marks and other defects, the next step is called extra fine, this will remove marring that you may have induced with the Fast cut plus, the final step is ultrafina, this is a finishing polish with a very fine abbrasive, strictly speaking this is not really for defect removal, it's really a finishing polishing designed to burnish the surface and really bring out the gloss, of course all paint types are different and in some cases Ultrafina may be all thats required to remove defects and bring up a real high gloss, on the flip side some paints (BMW) are so hard that it may take several hits of fast cut plus to remove defects.

Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:31 pm

Sounds like good stuff. Is there anywhere decent online to buy the fast cut plusand a 09550 3m pad for application? I dont think i could warrant spending even more money for some ultrafina at the moment though

There are a few marks and light scratching on the paintwork, some heavy scratching on the roof which i doubt that polishing will remove to be honest! The main aim is to try and revive the paintwork as much as possible and seal it

Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:53 am

3M or Menz for me, Menz can be a bit picky with heat tho.. So I'm starting to venture more on the 3M side.

Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 2:55 pm

tez180 wrote:3M or Menz for me, Menz can be a bit picky with heat tho.. So I'm starting to venture more on the 3M side.

I can get good results with Menzerna, I just don't like it, I find it hard work, 3M is brilliant and not so fussy with weather conditions, it makes it ideal for outdoor use, you could also try Meguiars, I really like 80/83.