3M swirl remover or Griots fine hand polish?

jw · 01-06-2007, 09:18 PM

Which one of these would do a better job of getting swirls out on a brand new black car? I have a buffer but I think I`ll will be doing this job by hand since i`m a little afraid to use the pc on a brand new car.

**Accumulator** · 01-07-2007, 01:08 PM

Probably neither one, sorry to say. I try no to slam products too often, but I gotta say that I do *NOT* like either of those two and IMO you could do so much better with different products that I`d never use either of them.

NOTE: I`m assuming that the 3M stuff is what used to be called "SMR for Dark Paints". I forget the pn (maybe 5996) and/or what they call it these days and I`m not familiar with their newest products. It might be something great that I`m just not familiar with (but I kinda doubt it`s anything all that different/special).

Both products are so mildly abrasive that they seldom do much of anything, especially by hand. And both have a lot of "fillers" (scare-quotes are intentional because I don`t know what the ingredients that do the concealing really are) that`ll trick you into thinking that you truly eliminated flawas that`re still there. But maybe just hiding them, and sealing said fillers in with a wax, will be good enough...generally that wouldn`t do it for me but everybody`s different.

There are a few black paints that are a royal PIA to get perfect (new BMWs sometimes get mentioned in this regard), but more often clear is clear and I`d just give it a light polishing with a more suitable, and more abrasive, product. Even if you want to do minimal correction and lots of hiding, some other product (I`d probably lean towards something from 1Z) would, *IMO* be a vastly better way to go. Sorry if I`m coming across like a jerk (as I sometimes think responses such as this- "go buy something else and do something different"- sound awful).

Note that with the PC, you can turn the speed down to where it`s basically the same as doing stuff by hand. IMO after a panel or two of doing that you`ll gain confidence and crank it up to do some real work.

If you`re gonna use one product or the other, I`d probably use the 3M SMR. The Griot`s stuff always struck me as a knock-off of Meguiar`s #81 with maybe a tiny bit of abrasive thrown in, just enough that they can say it (technically) has some. The 3M stuff isn`t really all that bad for what it is.

**PRB** · 01-07-2007, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by Accumulator

NOTE: I`m assuming that the 3M stuff is what used to be called "SMR for Dark Paints". I forget the pn (maybe 5996) and/or what they call it these days...

5996 is the correct part number for that product. It is the consumer packaging for the original Perfect-It Foam Polishing Pad Glaze. According to 3M, they were the exact same product.

When I was having problems with another brand removing polisher marks from new clears in 1995, I went with the 3M product mentioned here. While it looked nice and worked far better than the previous brand, I found that it did fool me into thinking I`d solved my problems. It seemed that most of my correction was being washed out after a day or two in the sun. Not good

To truly remove marks, I`d have to run the product, then remove it to be sure I was getting rid of all my marks. Since it is so mild, it didn`t do much on the harder clears and I`d have to run it again. Not sure that it would do anything by hand, but it certainly wouldn`t be too rough to cause any problems.

**clnfrk** · 01-07-2007, 08:15 PM

I agree with Accumulator... I actually have the 3M swirl removers. One for light colors and one for dark ones. I`ve never even used the one designed for dark colors. I did try out the other one on my white Tundra and there was pretty much no noticeable difference before and after. If I had known these products used fillers I would never have purchased them. The "remover" moniker in the name is what sold me. I expected it to remove marring not merely fill them in, which even that it doesn`t do very well.

I can`t vouch for the Griot`s hand polish since I have never used it, but keep in mind that it is virtually impossible to get any worthwhile results by hand. Don`t even waste your time going that route.

**PRB** · 01-07-2007, 08:39 PM

[quote name=`clnfrk`]I agree with Accumulator... I actually have the 3M swirl removers. One for light colors and one for dark ones. /QUOTE]

3M told me that the only difference is pigment. Reasoning was that dark polish in a stone chip on a dark colored car will be less noticable than white polish. I used the opposite...white polish for dark cars (so it was easier to detect breakdown and get it wiped out of edges).

They DO have some swirl removing properties, but I feel they need the action of the rotary to do it.

**violentveedub** · 01-07-2007, 08:49 PM

I`m gong to take this opportunity to disagree (respectfully) with Accumulator and everyone.

I love 3M swirl mark remover. The secret is all in the time, it really takes some doing to break down fully but it will remove most mild swirls. I find that it does not hinder the bonding of FMJ regardless of if I do an IP wipedown or not...

Here is one of my favorite glam shots of a car i do routinely with 3m and fmj...

**clnfrk** · 01-07-2007, 09:33 PM

Originally Posted by violentveedub

I`m gong to take this opportunity to disagree (respectfully) with Accumulator and everyone.

I love 3M swirl mark remover. The secret is all in the time, it really takes some doing to break down fully but it will remove most mild swirls. I find that it does not hinder the bonding of FMJ regardless of if I do an IP wipedown or not...

Here is one of my favorite glam shots of a car i do routinely with 3m and fmj...

Okay... I take back everything I said about 3M.

With that said, after seeing that pic I want a black car even more so now.

Great work violentveedub! :2thumbs: The depth on the VW is unreal!

Is that factory paint?

**violentveedub** · 01-07-2007, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by clnfrk

Okay... I take back everything I said about 3M.

With that said, after seeing that pic I want a black car even more so now.

Great work violentveedub! :2thumbs: The depth on the VW is unreal!

Is that factory paint?

Factory paint (on all but the kit) and really good photography :goodjob (not mine).

I think it still looks good on the amature pics though...

(diff wheels)

Personally I don`t like any of the 3m stuff except the SMR, It looks, smells and acts very close to FPII IMHO, but maybe a bit eaiser to work with.

**Cleaning Fool** · 01-07-2007, 10:25 PM

Whether 3m works or not, the picture on the VW looks awesome..FMJ is a nice product ta boot

**Accumulator** · 01-08-2007, 01:37 PM

clnfrk- That`s cool, everybody has their favorites and their also-rans and all we can do is post our honest experiences and opinions. I know others who really like the 3M SMR and what works for you works for you :xyxthumbs And on the fillers/bonding issue, I know that Sal Zaino has recommended the 3M for use before Zaino and I`d expect that stuff to be pretty particular about what`s on the panels.

Also, IIRC it does seem like people who use the SMR by rotary *really* like it. It`s probably like Meg`s #9 and #82 in that regard.