# Polish a new car?



## davewe (Jan 17, 2012)

Like most people, in the past a new car of mine got a good washing and a coat of wax and I thought I was a big deal. But now I have a new BMW and reading this forum it appears that I've been a slacker.

So I have seen recommendations that claying a new car is appropriate and got the Meguiars kit. 

In addition my dealer gave me a bunch of BMW detailing products when I bought the car, including BMW polish. So my plan for a nice Saturday was a wash, clay, polish and then wax.

While I am a rank amateur here I am an experienced and skilled wood finisher and some of the concepts and methodologies are familiar to me.

But my question is - should I polish the car, or just clay and wax?


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## Wihelm G (May 15, 2008)

davewe said:


> But my question is - should I polish the car, or just clay and wax?


Clay and wax should be sufficient. Actually, depending on the condition of the paint, you may not have to do anything right away other than give it regular washings.

Some new cars come with the "dealer installed swirls" option. If that's your problem, polishing alone is not going to do much.

For more information, check out the detailing chatter on the E90 forum here or one of the dedicated detailing forums such as meguiarsonline, autogeek or autopia.

Have fun and keep some perspective. It's easy to get a little obsessed once you start down this path.


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## Ilovemycar (Feb 19, 2010)

Does the Meguiar's kit have the Meguiar's dual action random orbital machine? If so, definitely polish, but be patient because black can be a toughie, unforgiving. If you don't, also check out the Griot's machine, as well as the Porter Cable 7424xp.

If you are an experienced wood finisher, this will probably be pretty easy for you IMO. You already understand certain things better than most people who try to detail a car for the first time.

I have no idea how little or much cut the BMW polish has. I also don't know how bad any residual oils might be. Some polishes have barely any cut, and some paint cleaners actually do have a little cut. Hmm, check out this cut chart for example. Like with anything else, check your work often, do as much as necessary, test spots first, etc, and you should be fine.

http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-cut-chart-master.htm


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## eLECTRO eDITION (Jun 14, 2011)

Take a look, by hand, super wet look, like just delivered http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=598782


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## davewe (Jan 17, 2012)

It's dusk now and I am looking at my car in the moonlight and I am a happy camper. The day was beautiful here in the Pacific Northwest and I got the best look at the car since I bought it. Started out with a good wash. I'd washed it a week ago but not nearly as well. Then came the clay. As everyone said it was quite easy to do. Also as everyone said you need lots of lubricant. In my guitar building I am use to shellac finishes. Apply the finish with a pad, it also sticks as it dries, but nothing like this. So lots of fluid and the claying went quickly. After all the car is only 2 weeks old. 

Once dried the paint was much smoother to the touch - I mean really a nice feel. But it also revealed plenty of swirls and scratches. Don't know if they happened before the car was delivered, were added "features" by the dealer, or whether I did it in either of my washes. In a couple of places the paint looked thin on car edges. This is common in wood finishes. So I decided I would definitely polish.

Also between the nice February sun and the ultra clean car I got to look at the finish as I never had before. Even though my color is the non-metallic jet black, I swear the color appeared metallic. Never noticed that under the layer of dust and Northwest rain.

I decided not to use a machine. I just did not feel confident enough the first time. As suggested earlier in the thread, the polish is not aggressive enough to buff out swirls with a hand application. Nonetheless the swirls and other scratches did fade by maybe 50%. I am sure that with a machine they could have been eliminated. Frankly I am much more anal when it comes to my guitars, probably since I spend hundred of hours building one and will spend weeks doing the finish work. So in the end, I could live with the car results. 

Next came a light waxing. The finish was so smooth at this point that wax glided on as I have never experienced before. A sensual experience. I buffed it and it looks fabulous. While certainly not to the standards of the detailers here, it looks exactly like I had hoped and made me happy I chose a black color.

It's often been suggested that the BMW finish is softer than on many other cars. I totally believe that. Certainly compared to the Honda I last owned. But going back to my wood finishing background, the advantage of a softer finish is that while it is more easily damaged, you can bring it to an incredible shine. I don't know whether I will get into this detailing thing like some of you are; not that OCD I suppose. But for now i am pretty happy!


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## tdekany (Feb 3, 2007)

Congrats! 

FYI, no clear is soft. Your jet black may mar easier than any other pint in existence but it is still hard.

Having a machine doesn't mean you can eliminate all the imperfections either. It takes some skills.

In my opinion, you are the perfect candidate for black paint. Not too OCD about it.

Just be careful with your washing techniques and wax the car often.


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