Which bits can I compound?

[enginearin]

Hello all,

I have BMW m4 that is full of swirls. I’ve decided to sort it myself and have watched numerous YouTube vids... going to have a practice on my wife’s shed golf first.

I’m just wondering whether I can polish the black window trims as these appear scratched too? Obviously I’m not talking about the rubbers, it’s the gloss black trim pieces... guessing they are plastic but not 100% sure.

Many thanks

Tim

[daveenty]

enginearin said:

Hello all,

I have BMW m4 that is full of swirls. I’ve decided to sort it myself and have watched numerous YouTube vids... going to have a practice on my wife’s shed golf first.

It's not a difficult procedure but one that is worth spending a little time over, especially masking up areas you don't want to get polish on such as the rubber you mention in your photo. Are you using a machine polisher or doing it by hand? A rotary polisher is faster but can burn through if not treated with a bit of respect, whereas a D/A (Dual Action) is safer though will take a bit more time. Hand polishing could take a while, especially with a fine cut polish.

enginearin said:

I’m just wondering whether I can polish the black window trims as these appear scratched too? Obviously I’m not talking about the rubbers, it’s the gloss black trim pieces... guessing they are plastic but not 100% sure.

If they're the black high gloss pieces which surround the windows of most modern cars then yes, polishing them is fine, ideally by hand with a medium/fine polish and again, take your time. They should come up like new again very easily.

[Belle427]

There are a good few videos on you tube of polishing black plastics.
Forensic detailing did one.

[enginearin]

Thanks Both, very helpful.

I've got a DAS6 Pro polisher and intended to follow the guide that Forensic Detailing did for beginners using S20Black single stage process, he does make it look easy. I hadnt seen the video on polishing plastics by hand... i'll have a look for it.

Quite looking forward to getting going with it now... couple of days in the garage hiding away from the kids will be just the ticket after a week's holiday looking after them

[Belle427]

I was quite amazed how good a quick once over was with S20 black on my car, very good product.