Need help removing swirlies

[CamaroIBM]

Hey I'd like to thank anyone in advance for any replies. I've already used Turtle Wax Ice Polish and Meguiars SwirlX products to try and remove swirl marks with no results at all. I applied them by hand using a microfiber applicator pad and worked the products in good. I then removed the products with a MF towel with no results at all.

Can anyone give me some advice on which products I should be using? And if I should be using a Porter Cable instead of doing it by hand? They are driving me up a wall since I only had the car for 2 months and it already has a lot of swirl marks (it's my fault I used bad quality towels the first time I hand washed it) but I want to try a correct it.

BTW thanks for any advice I really do appreciate it!

[Angelo@Autopia]

Here's a great combo to use on your ride to remove those nasty swirls.

The Meguiar's M105 Ultra Cut Compound 32oz:

The unique nature of this phenomenal product allows M105 Ultra Cut Compound to function as both a super cut compound or as a fine cut medium polish. The micro refined abrasives have changed the nature of polishing. There is no timed buffing cycle required to achieve the best finish; simply polish until the defects are removed. Finish with M205 Ultra Finishing Polish for breath taking results. In most cases with a polishing compound, two additional steps are required (medium polishing and final polishing) in order to truly correct the finish and achieve the clearest swirl free finish. M105 Ultra Cut Compound “gently cuts” over time. Light swirls may require only a few passes with the correct pad, while more severe blemishes may require several more passes. The aggressiveness is determined by the amount of time used to work the polish.

Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish 32oz:

Until Meguiar's introduced M205 the nature of traditional finishing polishes often required a rotary polisher with a lot of experience to extract the last degree of gloss from the paint. The jiggling action of random orbital and dual-action polishers simply did not break down the abrasives, making a microscopically smooth surface difficult to obtain. M205 Ultra Finishing Polish does not “break down”, it burnishes the paint over time to an amazing gloss, regardless of the machine it is used on. M205 Ultra Finishing Polish, like its more aggressive brother, has a dual nature. By lengthening the polishing time and increasing pressure, M205 Ultra Finishing Polish can do serious paint correction. In our experience, it can outperform many medium polishes used with rotary polishers in terms of correction and finish and sometimes at a faster rate. Because M205 Ultra Finishing Polish is being applied in an oscillating fashion there is little chance of rotary holograms appearing later. M205 Ultra Finishing Polish is also versatile enough to be used as a one-step medium cut polish that finishes to perfection or as a follow up to Meguiar's M105 Ultra Cut Compound to increase gloss and clarity.

Meguiar's M34 Final Inspection Detail Spray 16oz:

Meguiar’s M34 Final Inspection is a body shop safe detail spray that uses no silicones, polymers, gloss enhancers, or waxes. M34 Final Inspection is the only product Meguiar's recommends for 'priming' a fresh, clean, dry polishing pad before use with M105 or M205. It also leaves no residue on the paint's surface that could contaminate the polishing action, making it ideal for wiping away polishing residue or dust.

Specific Pad Selection:

The non-diminishing abrasives in Meguiar's M105 and M205 are sensitive to pad design. Flatter pad's have a greater surface area or 'contact patch' than more modern designs. The increase in contact area allows more of the non-diminishing abrasives to contact the paint increasing the rate of polishing and delivering a higher quality finish faster. A great combo of pads are the Lake Country Classic Flat Pads in the 6.5" size or 5'5" size.

[Angelo@Autopia]

On drying towels I recommend using a leaf blower and a waffle weave towel to dry your car.

[Angelo@Autopia]

Here's more information for you.

Help in removing Removing Swirls & Water Spots:

Number one request is looking for help in removing swirls & water spots.


Before starting, it's a good idea to check for paint contamination by placing your hand inside a plastic sandwich bag and running your fingertips over the surface. If the paint is rough or gritty, consider using a clay bar before trying to remove swirls. Here some options:

Option #1
Temporarily hide swirls & spots:

Swirls can be visually hid by polishing the surface with a non-abrasive polish such as Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish, Meguiar's No. 9 Swirl Remover or 3M Perfect-It Swirl Remover. These polishes do not remove swirls. They round off the top edge of the swirl, robbing sunlight of a sharp edge to cause a reflection. When you buff off the polishing residues, fillers will stay in the depressions.







Finish by applying your favorite wax or paint sealant. This will hold the fillers in place, cosmetically hiding swirls and minor paint blemishes.
This procedure does not remove the swirl. Swirls may be visible in certain light conditions (fluorescent lamps are ruthlessly revealing) and will reappear as the wax ages. That said, most people will look at your car and think it's flawless.

Remove the swirl, water spot or paint defect:



Removing a swirl requires you to remove the top layer of paint or clear coat that contains the swirl. This is best accomplished with a circular machine polisher which is designed to remove paint. You literally abrade away the surface until the swirls are gone.
Dual-action polishers like the Porter Cable 7424 are not designed to remove paint. They can round over and make invisible minor swirls and spots but may not have the power to fully remove deeper paint defects.

To remove a swirl, you must remove the
layer of paint or clear coat that contains
the defect.

These polishers will definitely do a better job than can be accomplished by hand and offer the novice enthusiast the safety of a random orbital motion which will not make the problem worse or introduce additional swirls.
Very fine swirls can be removed by polishing alone. Deeper swirls. water spots and/or light scratches typically requires a three-step compound, polish and finish procedure. These are the same three steps used by automakers, body shops and professional detailers.

Compounding involves abrading away the area surrounding the scratch or blemish until the defect is no longer visible. This is best accomplished with a circular polisher (DeWalt 849, Makita 9227, etc.) but dual-action polishers like the Porter Cable 7424 will remove minor defects and visually reduce deeper swirls, scratches and blemishes. Compounding may leave the surface dull. This is normal. This dullness, or compounding haze, is removed in the next step which is polishing.

Polishing removes compounding haze and restores surface gloss. It creates a mirror-like, highly reflective finish ready for waxing.

Finishing protects the surface with your favorite wax or sealant. Finishing can be accomplished by hand or with a dual action polisher (Porter Cable 7424). Applying a wax or paint sealant by machine is typically done with an ultra-soft, foam finishing pad.

There is now the Meguiar's M105 & M205 that can be use with your Porter Cable to remove major swirls on GM hard clear coat paint.

[CamaroIBM]

So I have to use a random orbital machine for this kind of job I guess right?

[Angelo@Autopia]

Yes, you will need a machine to remove the swirls off the surface of the car.

[CamaroIBM]

Thanks for the help I appreciate it!

[promod55]

If you use a rotary buffer use a 3m waffle pad.I f you are not good on that type buffer take it to a proffessional shop and let them do it.Also another good product is 3m finesse it II.I t is a microfine cutting compound

[CamaroIBM]

Thanks, yea I'll probably just get it detailed by a professional detailer and then just use the right towels to wash, dry, etc. to prevent swirls and scratchs.

[DangerZL1]

I'm really suprised Swirl X didn't remove the swirls. I removed a lot of swirls on my black Honda last night with an orbital polisher quickly. I tried 2 other swirl removers that didn't work. If you're doing this by hand, try polishing with the direction of the surface instead of using a circular motion. Front to rear on the hood, top, and trunk, and top to bottom on the sides. Polishing in a circular motion may leave circular swirls. This may save you a trip to a detailer.

[ud_lose]

Mr G

You just killed everything I did yesterday. I started with the 3M Perfect-It 3000 Swirl Mark Remover, on my Porter Cable 7424. Then I did 3 coats of Zaino Z-2pro. Topped that off with some Griot's Carnauba Wax Stick. Finally I hit it with Zaino's Z-8 Grand Finale Spray Seal. My car looks great. Paint looks wet. I can't see any swirl marks. But after reading your post, I find out that I only hid those pesky marks.

[FirstLSK]

You effectively got rid of them. Rounding off the edge so that sunlight does not reflect off them is really as good as it gets.

The only Pro 3M product that has "fillers" is their imperial hand glaze. The stuff you used does not.

THE TEST FOR FILLERS (aka glazes) is to wipe the suspected area with iso. alcohol. It will remove these glazes and expose the raw surface.


P.S. -- The Z5 does have fillers.


.

[ffrcobra_65]

invest in a dual action polisher like a Porter Cable and make removing swirls and keeping your car looking like new a whole lot easier than using elbow grease.

[Moose]

Originally Posted by ffrcobra_65

invest in a dual action polisher like a Porter Cable and make removing swirls and keeping your car looking like new a whole lot easier than using elbow grease.

Good advice.

I invested in one last summer. I use it on cars I detail where the customer chooses something other than Zaino.

(Zaino is still by hand)

Ed