# BMW Soft Paint?



## GazGJ (Oct 15, 2014)

Last night I had my first attempt with a dual action polisher.

So to be cautious I started off with (what I thought was) a fairly low abrasive polish/pad combination, on a reputably hard BMW paint.

I used Menzerna Super Finish SF4000 (PO106FA) applied using a DAS6 Pro with a Orange Sonus finishing pad.

I primed the pad with polish then added an additional three peas size spots to work with.

I worked in a 1 square foot area with the machine speed set to 4.5.

I worked the polish until it went clear and wiped off the residue. There were still visible swirls so I repeated the steps above again.

I wiped down the panel with IPA to remove any potential filling effects and the 50:50's are below (Sorry iphone quality)

Now I know the finish is not perfect by any means, (Didn't have time for further refinement.) But I am surprised with the progress I made on what I perceive to be a relatively mild polish/pad combo on a reputably hard BMW paint.

So...

> am I underestimating the power of this machine and / or polish?
> is there something wrong my technique?
> Does the BMW (1 Series 10 reg) have soft paint?

or are these results what you'd expect for the steps that I took?


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Haven't worked on a 1 series specifically but done plenty of BMW's and very hard paint on all of them, especially since the Bangle Era.. did a couple of old BMW's and the E46 era was medium-hard..


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## GazGJ (Oct 15, 2014)

If this is in fact hard paint, then I guess I will need to be uber careful when I get my Alfa next month...


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## smack (Nov 6, 2014)

I would change up your technique and pad selection a bit.

Grab a white polishing pad to pair up with SF4000, set the machine speed to 5, and instead of priming the pad with SF4000 and then adding working product, prime the pad with a quick shot of a detail spray and add 3-4 drops of your working product. Also on the first few passes exert a bit of downward pressure and then ease up to just the weight of the machine on the last two passes.

This should get a much better results from this one step.


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## GazGJ (Oct 15, 2014)

smack said:


> I would change up your technique and pad selection a bit.
> 
> Grab a white polishing pad to pair up with SF4000, set the machine speed to 5, and instead of priming the pad with SF4000 and then adding working product, prime the pad with a quick shot of a detail spray and add 3-4 drops of your working product. Also on the first few passes exert a bit of downward pressure and then ease up to just the weight of the machine on the last two passes.
> 
> This should get a much better results from this one step.


Thanks i'll give this a try and post a pic using this technique


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## AllenF (Aug 20, 2012)

Thy look like the da hasnt touched them lol yes bm1s are hard so you may need to stepit up a notch


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

I can't see much difference either....blast it


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## GazGJ (Oct 15, 2014)

AllenF said:


> Thy look like the da hasnt touched them lol yes bm1s are hard so you may need to stepit up a notch


Yeah I know there's a long way to go but what you need to consider is I used the mildest Polish/pad combo.


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## Dougnorwich (Jun 27, 2014)

I used mf pads on my bmw world of difference


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## PyRo (Oct 25, 2014)

I was wondering about MF pads as the paint on my 135i is on the hard side. The Megs 220 with the yellow pad and Megs 80 speed glaze barely touched it, it seemed to polish the slight marring and swirl's as it was not aggressive enough to cut through the admittedly slight defects.
Haven't had the opportunity to lay the flex 3401 on it yet. Looking to use LC Hybrid pads with a compound that I haven't decided on yet but leaning toward SF4000.
Decent photos as well.
PyRo


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## The Critic (Dec 2, 2013)

smack said:


> I would change up your technique and pad selection a bit.
> 
> Grab a white polishing pad to pair up with SF4000, set the machine speed to 5, and instead of priming the pad with SF4000 and then adding working product, prime the pad with a quick shot of a detail spray and add 3-4 drops of your working product. Also on the first few passes exert a bit of downward pressure and then ease up to just the weight of the machine on the last two passes.
> 
> This should get a much better results from this one step.


The protective polymers in a QD spray can prohibit the proper functionality of polishes and compounds. I would stick with plain water if you plan to add any lubrication.


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