sc354

hey guys,

so I realized yesterday that using a brush on the car will produce quite a bit of swirl marks....duh!!!

anyways, I cleaned the surface of the car, and then tried using maguire's Scratch X remover, it worked quite nicely, removing about 90% of the swirl marks, and I can tell that by spending more time buffing the car, I will be successful in removing almost 100% of it. Anyhow, my question is....

Which of the 3 stage process of the Maguire's edition will remove the swirl marks? I would prefer not to use the Scratch X as it's like 15 bux for a small tube. The one that I bought with it is the paint cleaner, polish, and wax.

Lemme clear this up a little more. Do I use the paint cleaner, polisher or wax and apply a lot of it to remove the swirl marks???

I currently have terry cloth's which I apply it with, and I have washed them a couple times to make them softer. Is this the correct material to use when applying the polish and wax???

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

fsttyms1

try this.
http://www.meguiars.com/clinics/clinics_template.cfm

kent_99TL

3M Swirl Marks Remover.

Severin

What I find, at least with Scratch-X, is that you THINK its doing a great job, but in reality it's just leaving an oily/waxy filling in your swirls. Give it a try yourself; put a dab on your finger and run it over a swirly spot then wipe it dry without any rubbing - the result is exacltly what you'd get if you had rubbed it vigorously.

As for the 3M swirl mark remover, I find that it is a bit too aggressive and needs to be used in conjunction with something less aggressive (Scratch-X etc).
In a garage, use 3M on a small area of your car. Turn off the lights and run a flashlight over the area. It looks terrible (1000's of really fine scratches) compared to the areas you didn't touch.

fsttyms1

TRY MEGUIERS PRODUCTS! they have many different steps of courseness. you can find those at most automotive paint stores. they have alot of products that will remove swirl marks. you need to remember there isnt any thing that you can wipe on and wipe off. its going to take a little elbow grease and some work, but you can remove them

kent_99TL

This is how I remove swirl marks.

1. Meguiers Paint Cleaner
2. 3m Swirl Remover
3. Black Fire Polish
4. Black Fire Paint Protection (WAX)

Of course if you can get a porter cable polisher with correct pad which make the job more easier.

Love my 99

Trust me...it works WONDERS

sc354

okay well I wanted to do a demo of the product for my dad, so I used the maguier's scratch X remover to polish his trunk and spoiler. It did a marvelous job. Only in very bright sunlight can you see the swirl marks, which not to mention have been reduced to a few hundred, versus having thousands of them. My dad needs the car tonight so I think i will wait it out until I try to remove the rest of them.

what I was thinking is putting scratch X all over the car, and buffing out all the swirl marks that I can, then use the 3 step process by maguier's...focussing the most on the second step, which is the polish. I figure that whatever spots of the swirls I missed with the scratch X, the Polish will take out....

btw I wanted to ask you guys, what's the best way to get rid of all the swirl marks...??? is this even possible to do???

sc354

okay well I wanted to do a demo of the product for my dad, so I used the maguier's scratch X remover to polish his trunk and spoiler. It did a marvelous job. Only in very bright sunlight can you see the swirl marks, which not to mention have been reduced to a few hundred, versus having thousands of them. My dad needs the car tonight so I think i will wait it out until I try to remove the rest of them.

what I was thinking is putting scratch X all over the car, and buffing out all the swirl marks that I can, then use the 3 step process by maguier's...focussing the most on the second step, which is the polish. I figure that whatever spots of the swirls I missed with the scratch X, the Polish will take out....

btw I wanted to ask you guys, what's the best way to get rid of all the swirl marks...??? is this even possible to do???
Keep in mind I don't wanna take the car to a professional...seeing as it's 6 months old, I wanna do it myself.

thanks

Love my 99

We already told you...look up

sc354

sorry about that...

umm what I'm wondering though is will this be able to remove the marks that the Scratch X left behind??? no point in picking one up if it's gonna do nothing...

what do you guys think???

Severin

If Scratch-X left marks behind, then you need to use something more aggressive, not less aggressive to get them out. A more aggressive swirl remover will leave very fine swirls behind itself, which in turn need to removed with a much finer (less aggressive) swirl mark remover, and so on until you're happy...

bricot

The 3m ssmr works wonders when used in conjunction with the Porter-Cable polisher. I've used in on my NBP car and it gets rid of all the light scratches and swirls. The finish looks way better than when it left the dealers lot !

moat

On the topic of detailing, I got a free sample of Pro Honda Cleaner earlier this year. It sat in the garage for a while and I tried it, it is the most amazing all purpose polish I have found. I use it on all my cars on everything except the carpets. It makes glass invisible inside and out and plastic lights and chrome look like new. Really impressive product, just dont use it in the sun. It makes paint and trim glow, but will take a litle more work on darker cars to prevent streaking. I just douse my car in it and wipe it down, inside and out. Check it out, avaiable at any Honda bike shop for $5 per can.

Mark

analu

i found that the red turtlewax polish is great for small scratches and such. i used that for the edges of the letters when i debadged my car. you cant even see it anymore. then i used meguiars polish/wax.

groebuck1

As other posted

To get rid of them you need something abrasive enough AND something able to generate enough heat/friction to raise the clear coat and seal the small scratches ... By hand, if they are fine enough, maybe...but (as posted) the best results are by machine (porter Cable) - but at minimum it will set you back 150$ (PC and pads).

If you don't want to spend the $$ for the mahince and the time it takes to do it , but your serious about getting rid of em - find a professional detailer in your area - should not cost to much (50-80 bucks at least that is what it is in my area)..

then once you get it done, stay away from car washes where they dry by hand, those 25 cent car wash places with the big brushes..do it yourself or touchless and drive about 85 to dry

TL BIGDOG

what kind of pads should you use on the porter cable?

Mr Hyde

With the 3M SMR, use the Porter Cable's yellow pad. The 3M stuff does a great job on Swirls, but as SC said the best way to deal with swirls is to avoid them in the first place.

So avoid any and all car washes, dont use brushes or sponges, only all cotton or microfiber mitts, and finally kep the car well waxed, and use only microfiber towels to dry the car off.

bricot

The yellow pads are cutting/deoxidizing pad, I haven't needed to use anything that aggressive. The white foam pads have been all I have needed to get rid of swirls and fine scratches. They sell a 'Fingered' version of the pad which are really nice, they have 9 times the surface area as the standard pads.

If you want a good description go here:
http://www.properautocare.com/glosresfin.html

SK2003TypeS

I have Meg's SMR #9. I heard 3M makes a great SMR.

Also might want to check out topoftheline.com for pads. Get 6 7.5" Lake Country pads for $45. I haven't had the need for yellow pads. I've only used white (polishing) and black (finishing).

Might want to look at coastaltool.com for the PC 7424. Comes with 6" counter weight and 6" velcro backing plate which can be used with the pads I mentioned above.
As a rule of thumb, I try the least agressive product to see if I can get the results I'm seeking.
Good Luck !

HacGyver

I'm new to this stuff, can you please explain to me exactly how to use the 3M product.

I tried to use it by hand and it did not come out good at all, I think it sticks to the paint a little too good, it was hard to remove, any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

groebuck1

the 3M SMR so I cannot speak on it, but double check that it is for hand/machine and not machine only.

If you are having problems getting it off the car then you are probably using too much,

remember with wax/polish and such less is more!

SK2003TypeS

HacGyver, what was your process ? Was the paint clean ?
Like groebuck1 said, sounds like you used too much product. That's a common thing when it's hard to remove the product. I find a dime size dab will be more than enough for a 2' x 2' section.

HacGyver

SK2003Types:

I washed the car with Dawn soap, and I was going to use the 3M wax, but when I applied it to the hood it did not remove too easy(maybe it was too much)
what is the proper method - by hand or by machine???

groebuck1

it should say hand/machine or have directions for by hand on the back -

The dawn wash will remove all the wax ( a good thing ).

Use a damp applicator, terry cloth kind as it will have more "cutting" power than foam (hand applicators) -

results will depend on how deep your swirls are, by hand it should soften fine swirl marks (basically what the product does is remove the hard edges of the micro fine scratches so they do not reflect light, then followed with a good polish (not wax..polish) it should fill what is left of the swirl mark giving you a smooth finish.

A machine will give you much better results - a Random Orbital Buffer with a terry cloth waxing bonnet should give you better results then by hand, a semi pro unit like the Porter Cable will really power those babies out (but that set up costs a minimum of 150 bucks).

for a rubbing compound/SMR you should apply it in small sections and keep buffing until it is dry and almost off the surface (as stated a sime sized application on a 2 foot by 2 foot section). So if you have a Random Orbita Buffer -

but a dime sized drop on the center or on the surface..place the buffer on the surface but do not power it on, use the flat bonnet head to smear the product in a figure 8 pattern over the 2'x2' section, then still having the bonnet flat on the surface, power it on and go over it top to bottom once, then side to side once, then from top right section to bottom left, then top left to bottom right - by this time most of the product should be worked in, dry and almost all removed from the surface. At this point (if you have one) squrit a little plain old water on the section and buff off the remaining with a Microfiber towel or good terry cloth towel. If the surface is a little dull don't panic, that is what it was supposed to do (or if it is shiny but the swirls are gone or almost all gone)

then once you do the secitons (or the whole car if it is all swirly)

follow up with a good polish, this will fill in the remaining swirls and revitalize the paint (same application method but don't use the same bonnet you used for the Compound/SMR)..once you are done with the polish the paint should be smoooooth and bling bling shiny - then apply the wax (I always apply by hand)...it's a long process but taking your time and doing it right will make you happy with the shine!

HacGyver

hey Groebuck1

good info, I will try it this weekend

one more question - what kind of wax is best: liquid or paste?

groebuck1

Paste is best only becuase you get more of it, liquid has water added so your getting less of it v.s. a can of paste wax. Stay clear of cleaner waxes becuase it will remove the polish you just put on.

off the shelf a pure carnuba like Mother's California Gold is great -

SK2003TypeS

Nice write up groebuck1. I have a PC 7424, so I usually use that unless I'm doing spots.
I prefer a paste wax as well. Liquid has it's advantages if you're applying by machine, but that's about it in my book.
S100 is cheap underrated paste wax that sells pretty cheap.

groebuck1

is PS21 but sold in Harley Shop and that wax is da bomb !

goes on like buttah and man what a shine - I just got some Trade Secret (expensive but worth it)

My routine is -

(all the prep work mumbo jumbo then)

Klasse AIO

Platinum Ulitmate Paint Protectant (3 layers 24 horus a part)

then layer on the Trade Secret - (once I get my car back from the dealer I will start over again - hoping for 6 layers of trade secret!)

Off the shelf though - products you can get from stores -

Like I said - Mothers, 3M Products are really good, Meguairs (use their step system - Gold Class has some cleaning properties)
Zymol is really good, just stay away from their Cleaner wax as well (and check the label - some zymol products are made by turtle wax - others are "real" Zymol).

Wax Shop Glaze is an excellent "quick" wax..goes on and off easy and no powder residue (you can get it at most pep boys or auto zones) -

I am a product junkie (if you can't tell) and Anal about my car - inside an out it looks better than the day I got it and will till I turn it in....people think I am nuts....