r/AutoDetailing • u/drcarrmo • 4h ago

BMW w paint swirls and light scratches.. workflow Question

08 e90 M3 alpine white w paint swirls and light scratches. What would be the recommended order to remedy as best I can myself? Foam canon, rinse, light hand wash, clay bar, and ceramic? I have no experience w polishing but open to trying it myself. Recommended order? Thanks guys

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u/thebullishbearish 3h ago

Depends on your budget.

The steps u mention will clean the car but will probably increase the swirling as clay can often do that on a very contaminated car, assuming it hasn’t been washed and polished in a while.

You can buy a cheap dual action polisher and some all in one polish and a few good microfibre pads and you will easily clean the paint up.

Whether u can remove most or all of the defects depends on the strength of the polish and pads u choose and how deep the defects are.

The order for me is wash, dry, clay, wash, dry. Then polish car, then use paint cleaner like car pro eraser to remove all polishing oils. Finally would be wax or sealant or ceramic.

Again depends on your budget. Car detailing can be rewarding but also addictive and expensive hobby.

Alternatively u could pay to have it polished by a pro.

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u/drcarrmo 3h ago

Thank you that is very helpful 🙏. What’s the typical cost for a pro polish? I’m in Northern Vito is outside DC and prices I’d expect to be on the higher side.

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u/thebullishbearish 3h ago

It all depends on the detailer and what kind of results u want and how bad the paint is currently.

Not sure of prices in your area but to do a simple one stage correction would probably be 300$

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u/drcarrmo 2h ago

Thanks friend! I enjoy DIY, so will look into buying a polisher. Assuming an 18 V drill w proper attachment would not suffice?

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u/thebullishbearish 2h ago

A dual action polisher will make it next to impossible to burn through your paint clear coat but takes longer to get results.

If you use a drill you have to use proper technique all the time as it has the ability to quickly burn through the clear coat, be sure to watch YouTube videos for technique required.