Here's what I'm doing, what's wrong?

[TopHatChef]

Right, I've been fighting swirl marks, and cannot seem to get rid of them. I can get most of them gone, 90%, but they seem to come back for some estranged reason. I want to make sure I'm doing everything right because I'd like to start professional detailing.

Here's what I do as a weekly wash:
Two buckets, microfiber towel, and Meg's Gold Class
I wet the car, and work from top to bottom, rinsing as I go in 3 stages (1. roof, windows 2. Trunk, hood, doors 3. Lower portions of doors and bumpers) and a simple washing of the wheels.
I dry with a squeegee, and microfiber towel.
I follow with some spray wax with a microfiber.

For a full detail with swirl removal:
After the wash, I clay with Turtle ICE (or Megs, whatever I've got).
Then, I'll go for Meg's UC, or ScratchX 2.0 with my Porter Cable. I use the 6" Cobra Cross Orange pad, and have a few passes 3-4 at speed 5-6. I'll remove the product with a microfiber.
Recently, I've followed with Meg's Professional Show Car Glaze or Meg's yellow Gold Class, Cobra Cross 6" White or Blue pad, apply at speed 3-4, 3-4 passes. Remove with clean microfiber.
When I'm done, I'll run the whole car with a clean microfiber to shine it up nicely.

[loudog2]

Stop using the squeegee first off. Meg UC and x 2.0 with a orange pad is pretty agressive. Have you tried finishing out with a finishing polish with a gray pad?

[ScubaCougr]

Are you sure the marks weren't there before and just more noticeable now that most are gone?

If the marks are swirled, maybe too aggressive a polish or pad contamination? Do all your MF's pass the 'scratch a CD' test?
If they're actually straight line, maybe the squeegee is at fault.

Guessing at several possibilities.

[TopHatChef]

Here are some pictures of what I've done. This is the morning after the detail in the sun, so the car has gotten slightly dirty. Just note the imperfections in the paint.

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/014.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/008.jpg
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/006.jpghttp://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/003.jpghttp://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/002.jpg

[SeaJay's]

I'm thinking it might be your squeegee and maybe you need to finish off with a finer polish and pad combo. It looks like some marring from the megs UC or scratch x. Which are both aggressive products that tend to need to be followed up by a finer polish.

Also, did you do a test spot to ensure your whole process works? I can't stress the test spot enough. Nothing is worse than doing the whole car and then realizing it's not the results you were looking for.

[jlb85]

To me it looks like a little of both: Need further correction, and needs further refinement.

The paint will always have some RIDS. It looks like the very small things might be deep (hardly noticeable in the pics as you see mostly the marring). I would tape off a section and go back over with UC under orange. If you see no difference, then you can decide whether to chase them out or leave them for future details. If they do come out some, then another pass should help clear things up really good.

Once done with the UC, though, you will need to finish down with a lighter pad and polish. The car looks like an 80's XJ Jag from the fuel door. Their factory paint is a 2 stage paint, and is rather hard. So even the ScratchX you have should be able to finish down better. Try a black pad, again, taping off a section to see your progress. If marring remains, a lighter polish might be needed. The black pad should be able to work with any finishing polish, though.

The glaze is a great way to bring out the best in your car, but you must understand it can hide the marring you see until after the washes. If you can eliminate the marring and RIDS, though, Glaze is fine to use. But it does not replace a wax. If you do glaze, make sure to wax over. You do not have to glaze once the finish is to your satisfaction, though.

[DLB]

First off - props for asking for what you are doing wrong and being willing to learn.

What jlb85 said is pretty much what I was thinking.

The only thing I can add to what has already been said is after you wipe your polish off, have you done a wipedown with Mineral Spirits or an IsoPropyl Alcohol mixture?

This would help ensure that you are really achieving swirl free results.

DLB

[TopHatChef]

Okay, I have stopped the squeegee, but I threw that in to make sure it was bad (I had my suspicions). So, what's a good polish to use after the UC? I have some Meg's Professional Swirl Remover 2.0.

The car is a 1997 Xj6. The late 80's Xj6's had flat caps (opened when you pushed on them), and the early 80 ones had chrome caps.

[TopHatChef]

Are you sure the marks weren't there before and just more noticeable now that most are gone?

If the marks are swirled, maybe too aggressive a polish or pad contamination? Do all your MF's pass the 'scratch a CD' test?
If they're actually straight line, maybe the squeegee is at fault.

Guessing at several possibilities.

Okay, I suppose I could be a bit too aggressive, but what's the 'scratch a CD' test for the MF towels? Presumably to make sure they are clean. Yes, I've actually only used brand spanking new towels when doing a full on detail since I've become paranoid about the swirls.


First off - props for asking for what you are doing wrong and being willing to learn.

What jlb85 said is pretty much what I was thinking.

The only thing I can add to what has already been said is after you wipe your polish off, have you done a wipedown with Mineral Spirits or an IsoPropyl Alcohol mixture?

This would help ensure that you are really achieving swirl free results.

DLB

So, I should wipe the car with Mineral Spirits to fully clean the surface? That's after the UC and polish, but before the Glaze and Wax?

Right now, do I need to do anything to remove the current layer of glaze (from what I did a few days ago) I've got on my car before going over it with a polish, then glaze again, then wax?

Again, what's a good polish? I found that I've got some Nu Finish 'the once a year car polish' in an orange bottle. It doesn't have directions for a DA on it. Would that make a good polish, or should I use Swirl X, or Swirl Remover 2.0 (I only ask because I've got these on the shelf). Of course, Ultimate Polish is always an option. All of these with a _____ colored pad?

[Dr Oldz]

I think that you aren't fully removing all of the defects to begin with! The reason they are coming back is because the Megs show glaze is just filling them in and after time this product wears off and thats y they are reappearing.....JMO here!

[dougaross]

A good polish Megs 205

[Kristopher1129]

I think that you aren't fully removing all of the defects to begin with! The reason they are coming back is because the Megs show glaze is just filling them in and after time this product wears off and thats y they are reappearing.....JMO here!

Agreed. If they are showing back up...then obviously they were never gone. Plus, you can plainly see compound swirls in your paint. I think you need to follow that compound with a swirl remover. 205, or something of the sort. Then lay some sealant down. That should protect it pretty good.

Showroom is not a good product to follow compound. It will hide things...but not get rid of them. IMO...of course. :dblthumb2:

[slickooz]

To me it looks like a little of both: Need further correction, and needs further refinement.

The paint will always have some RIDS. It looks like the very small things might be deep (hardly noticeable in the pics as you see mostly the marring). I would tape off a section and go back over with UC under orange. If you see no difference, then you can decide whether to chase them out or leave them for future details. If they do come out some, then another pass should help clear things up really good.

Once done with the UC, though, you will need to finish down with a lighter pad and polish. The car looks like an 80's XJ Jag from the fuel door. Their factory paint is a 2 stage paint, and is rather hard. So even the ScratchX you have should be able to finish down better. Try a black pad, again, taping off a section to see your progress. If marring remains, a lighter polish might be needed. The black pad should be able to work with any finishing polish, though.

The glaze is a great way to bring out the best in your car, but you must understand it can hide the marring you see until after the washes. If you can eliminate the marring and RIDS, though, Glaze is fine to use. But it does not replace a wax. If you do glaze, make sure to wax over. You do not have to glaze once the finish is to your satisfaction, though.


+1 I would also recommend getting M105/M205 GREAT COMBO, some orange pads and white pads. And if you looking for a show room finish get a lighter polisher with black pads to finish the car. Also what MF are you using?

[TopHatChef]

Okay, I think I've got it. ScratchX or UC with Orange pad, then lighter polish with black pad, then sealant/wax.

I'm just using some cheap microfiber towels, but they do pass the CD test, and haven't seemed to attributed to any more swirls on the paint.

[TopHatChef]

Well, I went after the car with some SwirlX and then some Gold Class. The last few pictures are taken through the lenses from my sunglasses to reduce the glare. You can still see some slight swirls, but I suppose I'll have to accept it since the car is my daily driver. I'll use some filler for the auto show I'll be part of in April, but overall, I think it turned out pretty well.
http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/001.jpghttp://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/002-1.jpg<a href="http://s530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/?action=view&amp;current=003-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/003-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd346/tophatchef/0062.jpg