Faint swirl marks

[DGW67]

Hi

I have some faint swirl marks on the bonnet of my 996. I guess these are a result of washing but I have always used Auto Glym products and the car is rarely dirty for long periods however it is a dark blue colour and these show up.

So, two things, firstly what is the best product to get rid of these and secondly how do I avoid them in the future?

Cheers

Dave

[dany225f1]

get yourself on www.detailingworld.co.uk and register

this site is really good for what your looking for

[Magic919]

Hmmm. How faint? It's a bit tricky.

Easy option is find a decent detailer and get him to fix it. Then follow methods on www.detailingworld.co.uk, like the two bucket method for washing, to maintain it and minimise future damage. It's when we wash and dry them that we inflict most of the damage.

Second option is to get a polish with a bit more bite than the Autoglym Super Resin Polish and try to remove them. Work a small area and see if it helps. I'd look for a retail outlet from Detailing World and tell them you plan to use it by hand.

Full blown option is to get some kind of machine buffer and make it a hobby.

[Tim Bomford]

Hi Dave, its possible to fill the swirls with a polish or a last stage product that contains fillers.
Blackfire polishes contain fillers, Autosmart do polishes with fillers as do many others.
The filler route is not a permanent fix though as you can imagine, to remove as far as possible would normally require a decent machine polish using modern progressive polishes. This can be done professionally or you can buy decent machines and have a go yourself
Good advice is often found on detailing world as mentioned already, and there will be advice on polish, machines, techniques etc!
You will also be able to pick up tips on how to reduce the chance of reoccurance most importantly.

Tim

[Auto finesse]

you wont remove swirls by hand its far to hard, you will need to machine polish

as said maybe a detailer to fix the problem and give recomendation on how to maintain it

[Orangecurry]

Auto finesse said:

you wont remove swirls by hand its far to hard, you will need to machine polish

I strongly disagree - use 3M Imperial hand glaze, available from proper automotive paint-shops - look in yellow pages.
Do a search using google to see that I am not alone in recommending this product.

Edited by Orangecurry on Friday 25th January 11:36

[DGW67]

Thanks for the info everyone, very useful. Dave

[belleair302]

3M make top quality bodyshop products, but are hard to find and not the easiest to use. I like Chemical Guys, Meguiars, Autoglym, DODO, and a variety of waxes, but do use 3M and Zaino and a PC. Get a decent polisher which helps when waxing, removing swirl marks and when polishing!!

[Auto finesse]

We are talking about faint swirls here not those lines you get from driving in to a hedge and that said polish is quite fill heavy mate, im not going to explain it and it dose all come down to paint types, but you wont get paint 90-100% bang on by hand.

[Orangecurry]

Auto finesse said:

We are talking about faint swirls here not those lines you get from driving in to a hedge

yes we are. Can you not see the faint swirls on the photos?

Auto finesse said:

and that said polish is quite fill heavy mate, im not going to explain it and it dose all come down to paint types, but you wont get paint 90-100% bang on by hand.

'90%'? Don't the photos look at least '90%' to you? We'll have to disagree then.

[Auto finesse]

im not going to argue the fact that the finish you have achived by hand is very good, but i can guaranteeit wont come close to the finish achieved by a professional machined finish.

Also so the Polish you mentioned is heavy in fillers so it is not a true finish,

Edited by Auto finesse on Monday 28th January 16:56

[Mr OCD]

Indeed...

3M Imperial Hand Glaze is VERY heavy in fillers - this is NOT true paint correction and only a temporary fix at best.

[Orangecurry]

So what do you call temporary? A year? Two? I took those photos in September 2006, and it still looks as good now.

I don't understand all this mystique - you can call it whatever you like, filler/polish/glaze/treatment/blah but this stuff has the effect shown in my photos - it actually works, you don't need a machine and it lasts.

Basically I tried to answer part of the OPs query. He said

...'what is the best product to get rid of ...faint swirl marks.'

So what have you guys done in this thread?

[Auto finesse]

^^ come on dont be like that i was just giving you my knowledge of that product, sorry to offend, if you look at it in direct sun light it will not be defect free.

as for how long it will last well depends on what it was topped off with and how often its washed,

this is paint correction




done with a rotary polisher and cutting compounds of various grades, to remove and level clear coat to all one level, kind of like a cutting fresh paint, fillers will, mute the metalic in a finish and haze the reflection thus not as good a finish, im not denying you can correct paint to a some extent by hand but not to perfection, ie faint swirls over a whole car are still going to be visable in direct sun light after a hand polish with the said polish.

[belleair302]

To answer your question, you need to clean the car using the two bucket method, do not use a sponge unless it is natural. Washmitts are the current favourite, lambswool in particular. Dry the car using a decent towel, along with a quick detiler to aid fast drying and then clay the surface to remove any contaminents.

Beg, steal or borrow a PC (Portercable polisher) or a Megs 220v equivilent, and then using Menzerna pads and Menzerna polish slowly work you way around each panel removing the swirl marks. Seal the paintwork, glaze, wax and away you go.

Read the Autopia website for a good understanding of how to really polish a car and how to use a PC to get the best effect.

[Orangecurry]

Auto finesse said:

^^ come on dont be like that i was just giving you my knowledge of that product, sorry to offend, if you look at it in direct sun light it will not be defect free.

not offended - if you'll look again at my photos, they ARE taken in direct sunlight - the sun's reflection is the big bright thing just up-of-centre in each photo.
I was showing pictures of what that product can do; you were telling the OP that

Auto finesse said:

you wont remove swirls by hand its far to hard, you will need to machine polish

which is, frankly, wrong - no offence intended.

Auto finesse said:

as for how long it will last well depends on what it was topped off with and how often its washed, ETA and how it is washed

exactly (which is why mine has lasted) - and isn't that the same for machine polishing?

I'm not saying that machine polishing doesn't give a much better result than hand polishing - of course it does.

But if you can get to 90% without a machine (and that is what the OP asked for), then it's a much better solution for the real world, one where the car gets used every day but the owner still takes pride in it's appearance.

Edited by Orangecurry on Wednesday 30th January 09:03

[Martin_Bpool]

OrangeCurry

Very impressed by your work on that panel, I'm very tempted to try some 3M Glaze now, instead of the ClearKote VM Hand glaze I normally use- to see if theres any difference.

I will have to say though that Auto Finesse is also right, in that you won't remove swirl marks by hand on certain paint types. Some harder paint types would take ages to achieve a decent finish by hand, and this is where a PC comes in.

[Tony@Cherished]

The 3M hand glaze is definetly high in filler content.

It takes a lot of work, even by rotary, to remove swirl, not a job that can be done by hand.

I, along with some other posters on the topic, to this almost every day, and if it could be done by hand I'd be a lot better off. It can't.