Ubetit

SMR for dark and light cars is best used by someone that keeps up on their car. It has fillers and isn't the best at getting out tough swirls. The new 3000 and Perfect-it III line are better products in the 3M arsenal.

wanabe

in my experience, smrs (like any polish) are not "easy" to use (you dont just wipe them on and wipe them off like a wax).
i also use several others- and just did a van (now thats a real pia!) with 1z- it worked fine, but required more "working of the product" than the 3m, imo.
and again, a swirl mark "remover" is a very light polish- it is not intended to remove swirls. it is intended to remove your ability to see them (by taking off the edges of the swirl to prevent light from refracting against the edges).
the theory was that the same results (no visible swirls) could be achieved with less damage to the "paint" (actually clear coat).
i agree with you 100% that if you really want to remove swirls, you have to go to a more aggressive polish (fine cut will usually get them).
the disadvantage to a more aggressive polish is that it will eat the clear coat more than the smr (a smr is a compromise for that reason), because to eliminate the swirl you have to remove enough of the clear to get to the bottom of the swirl.

btw, i have never had a problem with lack of pop from 3m- nor have i ever had it dull the finish.
i promise i do not get paid for this, but here is a pic of my s2000 after 3m smr:
http://properautocare.com/3mperswirmar.html

i have not used the poorboys product- so i will have to add that to the list of "need to try". thx simon- the list is getting longer!

Saint_Spinner

Update: Guys, thanks for all the suggestions and help. I went home last night, busted out the porter and SMR with the green sonus pad. I only used a little bit of polish this time, and worked in small areas. And when I say worked, I mean really worked it!! It took me more than 4 hours to do it, and the results are amazing. Not all the swirls are gone, but it made a big, big difference. I'm going to have to do it again soon. Hopefully the second time around, more swirls will disappear!

animeS2K

Saint, glad to hear you got some good results. Now that you're more comfortable with it, perhaps next time you can use the orange pad first, save some time and maybe then switch to the green (if it even needs it).

I went to order a second orange pad last night and noticed that they've replaced it with a new cutting pad, but the orange is on sale in the garage sale section of autopia-carcare.com...

Good luck with it!