Swirl Marks

[swfcdan]

Sorry, i'm being lazy as i have a hectic day and haven't got time to trawl all the posts.

Had my car now brand new since December so the paintwork is in pretty decent condition, however....

being black its already starting to show swirl marks on the paint, all be it not too bad....so my question is whats the best way of removing the ones that are there and preventing it in the future.

I'm too lazy to get involved in these mass detailing sessions , but in the past i used the Carlack stuff with a decent wax. Having a silver IS, it was pretty easy to keep it looking good, but black is a bloody nightmare!

Thanks

Dan

[Parthiban]

Will you be applying by hand? If so Autoglym's Super Resin Polish is the one that everyone recommends, I've got some but can't confirm its performance as I haven't used it yet

[Hando]

Removing swirls: you need a pretty good abrasive polish to really remove swirls and you can forget about doing that by hand. If you're serious about it get a polisher (random orbit ones like the porter cable 7424 are safest and easiest). But if life's too short then yes Autoglym SRP does a pretty good job of hiding swirls and is very easy to apply by hand.

Prevent new swirls: use two buckets to wash - get a proper microfibre or lambswool mitt and rinse it often whilst washing. Try and do all your washing with straight line strokes rather than circles. (Mr. Miyagi has a lot to answer for)

hth

[Steviewevie]

You might be interested in this thread on detailing World, which compares several products for swirl removal, being applied by hand. It includes Autoglym SRP which actually came out on top in this particular test.

Obviously if your car is totally covered in swirl marks then some sort of machine solution is going to be an awful lot easier than applying by hand !

[dgman]

given as you say that you do not want to put the effort into swirl removal,a pro maybe your best option and there after careful wash technique will serve you well.

[swfcdan]

Thanks guys, I think im going to give the Autoglym stuff a whirl.

Whats the best method of prevention, a few layers of wax?

[colbecoz]

I use Meguiars full treatment. But before I do, I use the clay bar stuf. Itis great, easy to use, removes scratches and swirls.. The Meguiars 1, 2, 3 treatment works wonder and out-classes Autoglym on all fronts.

Col..

[LOcKY]

dont forget at Halfords its 3 for the price of 2 on Autoglym and other product as well :) i just applied some SPR and it works great. However my arm aches now and i only got the front part of the car complete. Its going to be tomorrow before i do the side and rear and after that im going to attempt to put wax :D i think i will have popeye arms by monday.

Ive been thinking about buying a polishing machine but i still feel like a novice in the world of cleaning.

Mmmmm... but yes i recommend the Super Polish Resin.

[swfcdan]

I bought some SRP but not had chance to give it a bash yet.

Just another question.

In the past i have used

Should i apply the SRP and then apply Carlack 68 AIO? I'm just wondering, will the Carlack remove the SRP and be left back a square one again?

[PJ S]

Aside from removing any light swirling by hand with the abrasives in SRP, the fillers left behind after buffing will almost certainly be removed (and replaced?) with Carlack's.

If the AIO is fillerless, then some of the deeper defects you have remaining or shallowed a bit, will still shine through.

Either go with EGP over the SRP, or replace with Auto-balm, whose fillers are more in abundance than SRP's, so you'll mask more and outlast the longevity of EGP.

Still use SRP for polishing, but for protection/masking AB will outperform the pair of them.

[swfcdan]

Thanks for that PJ S. So just to get my head straight! should i do it in this order?

Wash

clay

Wash

Auto Balm

SRP

Wax?

[hodaz]

I use meguiars full treatment. But before I do, I use the clay bar stuf. Itis great, easy to use, removes scratches and swirls.. The Meguiars 1, 2, 3 treatment works wonder and out-classes Autoglym on all fronts.

Col..

I agree with the above. If the car has any bad swirls then you could polish the whole car with Megs ScratchX (or similar) before you start the 3 step and after clay. All Scratch X is is a very light abrasive, so it will take out light swirls just caused by poor car washing technique. If the paint is actually distorted or its been repainted at some point in the past then it'll need a pro machine polish with something more abrasive.

[PJ S]

Thanks for that PJ S. So just to get my head straight! should i do it in this order?

Wash

Clay

Wash

Auto Balm

SRP

Wax?

SRP is before the AB, since the abrasives would remove it, if done the way you've listed.

So, if using the SRP for it's abrasives to knock back/remove some swirling, then the AB replaces the fillers with its own, and the EGP.

No need to add anything over the AB other than a 2nd layer 30 mins or so later, with a very light touch this time.

Wash, Clay*, SRP, Balm x2, job done.

* If using the Auto-clay, you'll not need to re-wash the car, assuming you're using just water. If using anything other than water with it, or another brand of clay which is designed around a QD type lube, then you should re-wash.