3M products. The swirl remover is a mild abrasive, the glaze is a polish, which fills in very small imperfections, and the Wax is a silicone containing paste wax. All should be available at a local car shop.

I've tried many products for detailing. The above products are either above average or outstanding. My roomate has an M3 with Cosmos black finish. He didn't take great care of the finish until I moved up here.So I decided to help him out. I was already familiar with the above products, so that's what we stuck with.

All of these products should be used out of direct sunlight. If you use these in direct sunlight, your finish will be marred due to the excessive heat.

The swirl remover was just about the right amount of abrasiveness that we needed. It won't take out all the light scratches, but it will take out swirls and most of the light scratches. It's important to only rub both this and the glaze in a front to back AND side to side motion, but not in a circular motion. Circular motions will cause swirling. The swirl remover will also remove most of the grime, and certainly any remaining old wax. It's also important to note that the swirl remover will put it's own scratches in the clearcoat. Yes, re-read that previous sentence. The only way to make a scratch disappear or make it less obvious is to polish down the surrounding clearcoat. So if your car is still new, I would not suggest this step of the process. This is also why it's important to stay with side to side and front to back motions, and also lighten up on pressure as the product starts to dry. If the paint doesn't look super glossy after this step, don't panic. It's supposed to be clean, and you should see a nice even satiny finish, rather than a super glossy one.

On to the next step. The glaze will very gently polish the clearcoat, and more importantly, fill in the imperfections left by the swirl remover. Use the glaze sparingly, as more does nothing to improve the look, and in actuality, it may hurt it. If you apply more than can just cloud the surface, it's getting wasted. The paint isn't going to absorb this stuff, it's on top of the paint. The more you put on, the more work you create for yourself, and you may not remove it as effectively as if you used a light coating. After this step the car should look very glossy. If you over applied the glaze, or if you let it sit before buffing it out, you may notice some swirls. Check to make sure that they're just glaze swirls, and not swirls in the clearcoat. Do this by taking wrapping your finger in a towel and gently rubbing in a small circular motion in the area at question. Check to see if you can now see the pattern. If so, then don't worry, it's just a glaze swirl. If not, then it's a swirl in the clearcoat, and you may want to reconsider going over the area again with swirl remover and then the glaze. This glaze is the finest pre-wax product I've ever used. It does an incredible job of filling in slight swirls and scratches. The car looks so good at this point, I'm always a bit disappointed that I still have to wax.

Finally! On to the waxing. This is the hardest step, in my opinion. I'll explain why later. As with all of the above products, less is better. Try to use a closed cell foam sponge. I really like the white ones from Griot's Garage. If you can't get one of those, another foam sponge. One like from Detailer's

Choice, which should be available at K-Mart, Target, and local auto shops like Pep Boys, Trak Auto, etc. Apply sparingly in a front to back motion. Don't cover too much of the car at once either.

Otherwise it will be difficult to remove, since it will harden. Polish off with a clean 100% cotton terry towel. I've tried 100% cotton diaper type cloths before, but to no avail. They don't pick up enough of the wax, so they tend to create wax swirls. Buffing off the wax is the single hardest part of detailing a car. Yes, you can buff to a decent point, but to get that really really great look, you either have to buff like a champ (but lightly!), or buff to a decent point, then douse the car with cold water, and then dry it off while buffing the excessive wax off in the process. The 3M wax does contain silicone, which makes it easier to apply and remove, but be aware that many people frown upon silicone products being used on paint. Be sure to inform your body shop, should you need to repaint any areas which have had silicone products on them. That being said, the 3M wax is still my wax of choice during the colder months. Trying to use a wax like Griot's Garage, or Zymol during winter months is going to cause much grief, as it's very difficult to polish off under 60 degrees, and neither of the above mentioned last as long as the 3M wax. They will give a slightly better look to the car though.

That's it! Step back and look at all the hard work. Take a nice long stare, because a rainshower or snowstorm is going to be right around the corner after this. On the up side, a properly waxed car is very easy to wash and dry by hand. Enjoy!