Oops I made more swirls

[Iconic]

Well I just detailed my car for the first time today, it was my first time ever touching polish and wax. I washed it, then went to P21S Paint Cleanser then to collinite 845 wax (Yes I know, I skipped the claybar). While I was hand polishing I noticed that the pad was picking up quite a bit of dirt and by the end the pad was pretty damn dirty. I was just examining the car though, and I feel like the clear coat has even more swirls than before.

Between washing and polishing I moved the car to the street for a little bit, and during that time the neighbor was mowing the lawn right next to my car. Is it possible that the dirt from the mowing got on the car and caused me to damage the paint while I was hand polishing? That would explain why the polish pad was so dirty even after washing.

I need answers! Its not a good feeling spending 2 hours doing something then finding out you actually made things worse....

[timaishu]

Could of pulled off some stuck on dirt with your wax pad.

Its happened to me before.

[weavers]

That is an awful feeling. I so do dislike that feeling. Hard work should pay off, but it doesn't always. Atleast there is a lesson to learn. As you polish/compound always check results after wiping off residue. work in 12"x12" areas and check results. if you aren't getting the results you want then you know something is wrong. I've compounded/polished whole cars without getting the intended results just cause i didn't stop to check my results.

Always clay, just do it. polishing a dirty surface will cause swirls/scratches. the lawn mower may of made a bad situation worst. don't use a dirty polish pad. always work clean. you also may want to invest in a dual action polisher. it saves so much time and you will get much better results.

[embolism]

I've turned a white polishing pad black using KAIO on a silver car that was washed, iron x'ed, and clayed so imo, you are asking for trouble if you skip claying before you polish.

The mower blowing stuff around and potentially on your car probably did not help either

Consider yourself lucky that you weren't polishing using a machine. It could have made things much worse than what you did by hand...

[jpegs13]

Lesson learned. You can't skip claying. During your polishing process you'll pick up foreign objects ( also known as sandpaper) and spread it around.
Just start over and clay it this time. No harm no foul

[HoosierDaddy]

Lesson learned. You can't skip claying. During your polishing process you'll pick up foreign objects ( also known as sandpaper) and spread it around.
Just start over and clay it this time. No harm no foul


LOL , sandpaper , I love it. So true.

I'm a total noob , but I'll second both of the power DA comments. Use one and you'll love it , but be happy you didn't have it this time around , the swirl marks would have been psychedelic .