Undoing the damage...
 

My '06 E90 is a gorgeous car. Black Sapphire on Terra. However, the lady who I bought it from was married to a car salesman. Which only means one thing. Swirl Marks, and LOTS of them.
I bought a PorterCable machine and without passing the trunk have realized that I need guidance... and lots of it.
Any suggestions? :popcorn: :thumbup:

I would bring it to a good detailer and once the swirls are gone just maintain it properly yourself.

Don't know how far up you are in mooseland but here is a detail shop near Nashua that a buddy swears by

http://www.automotivespecialist.net/

Portland. I wanted to DI-Myself, but if i have to go to a pro, so be it...

You certainly could. I had a black 330Ci a few years back and removed some swirl marks following some advice from one of the Autopia forums

http://www.autopia.org/forum/

....still was a PITA to do and better left to the detailers IMO unless you love doing this kind of stuff.

I got better things to do with my summer than wax on wax off ;)

Meiac09 watch these videos and lmk if you have questions after:

http://www.detailersdomain.com/index...on=Custom&ID=3

what products are you using or have access to?

I have a PC 7424, some pads that came in the "bundle" and some shiat I bought at Wal-mart (zymol cleaner wax)
any product reccomendations?

any suggestions for auto detailing shops in the bay area (san francisco) for rock chips?

I used to use the Zymol and liked it, but that was before I got the PC. Autopia is a great site with loads of useful information. I am getting set for my spring detail on my Jet Black X. I use Klasse AIO for wax/sealant. Here is my process:

Wash with Dawn
Clay bar
Intense polish
Polish
Wax

Here is a pic of the ride I had when I got the PC. It had swirl marks but I was able to get the polish looking like this.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...Picture047.jpg

The polish I used for this detail was Einzett (green can) which Autopia stopped carrying. I have tried the Sonus line with my X, but did not acheive these type of results. I am going to try a more aggressive polish and pad as mine has ridiculous swirl marks. The damn swirl marks almost makes a case for buying brand new, if it weren't for the whole depreciation thing.;)

MEIAC -

for a newbee, I recommend getting the 1Z Paint Polish from Phil-aka DetailersDomain. It's the green can. It's more user friendly IMO for a newbee.

Once you past that stage, I really like the Menzerna polishes myself.