Ask-A-Pro: Spring Prep on a BMW. Menzerna Polish and Blackfire Wet Diamond?

Ramzi wants to get his BMW prepped for spring, and inquires about some product combinations for polishing and protection.

I have a 2008 BMW 335i, titanium silver that I use daily. It is parked outside during the day. I live in the northeast. You are well aware the climate is pretty rough. Spring is right around the corner and I plan to give it a good cleaning.

The paint is in good condition. I only have a few rare swirl marks.

I plan to clay the car before polishing.

What polish and pad would you recommend? One of the Menzerna brand polishes, 106FA,  P203, or P085? Maybe another brand? I would like to perform this in one step, but of course not remove too much clear coat! I currently have a Flex 3401 DA polisher.

I plan to finish with Blackfire Wet Diamond, All Finish Paint Protection. Do you think this product is superior to Jet-seal 109? What about Optimum Opti-seal?

Any recommendations to make it shine really well, but also have a durable low maintenance shine would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Ramzi

Hartford, CT.

Thanks for submitting your question(s) Ramzi!

If you have only very light swirls that are difficult to detect even in direct sunlight, then I would recommend using Menzerna 106FA polish with either a white or black Lake Country pad on your Flex DA buffer. All of the Menzerna polishes you listed were designed to be used with the ceramic clear coat that your BMW uses. 106FA is a finishing polish, but it has the ability to remove light swirls, even on harder clear coats like yours. If you have a more moderate case of swirls, then I would recommend stepping up to Menzerna PO203S. It is a medium cut polish that finishes down almost as well as 106FA. The finish between the two polishes would be so close on a silver car that you most likely wouldn’t be able to tell the different if you did them side by side. The PO85RD is an ultra-fine polish to be used after 106FA or PO203S when you want to extract every last bit of gloss possible. So my advice would be either the 106FA or PO203S for a one-step depending on the condition.

Take a close look at the M3 in Silver Grey Metallic that I worked on to compare the paint condition to your car. It had medium level swirls and light holograms, and I went with PO203S and a white pad.

All of the sealants you mentioned are great options. I really like the Blackfire Wet Diamond because it’s relatively easy to apply and remove, it looks great, and is very durable. Jet Seal 109 is a tremendous sealant that looks incredible, but it doesn’t have quite the level of durability as the Blackfire. Optimum Opti-Seal is another tremendous product on silver, has a similar look and durability to Blackfire, but it is a little quicker to apply. Should you decide to use Blackfire Wet Diamond, then you can touch it up on occasion with Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray. It is a quick detailer that was optimized to use over Blackfire Wet Diamond.

Here is an “after” shot of the Silver Grey Metallic M3. It was polished with PO203S, and then topped with Blackfire Wet Diamond.

Have fun with your spring prep detail, and please don’t hesitate to reply with any additional comments or questions.