removing swirls and fine scratches

[crownvic03]

Hello to all. This is my 1st post here. Ive been reading alot and learning at the same time. This is a excellent Forum and I am glad to be a member.

I bought a 03 crown vic lx sport last year in august. Car had a horrible macco paint job. Looked good in pics and from real far away but it was the worst paint job macco could have done. I started giving the car alittle love in trying to improve the paint but it just didnt happen. I spoke to my father-in-law(body shop man and painter) and we agreed to get it painted. Cars factory color is black but I wanted a black with a little different look. I decieded to paint the car BMW Jet Black. We did sanded the whole car down, painted and cleared it. I couldnt stop there so I bought a dewalt potary buffer and a few pads.

Like a month ago I started my mission on wetsanding. Took my time and was mentaly prepared. I did educate myself watching videos on autogeek on how to wetsand and what to stay away from. Started off wetsanding with mequirs wet or dry 1500 grit sandpaper and mequirs sanding block. Moved up to 2000 and finshed at 2500 grit. Took me 2 whole days just to wetsand. After that was all done with I then compounded with the wool pad at a speed of 1800. Wool pad did great but very messy. I used 3M perfect-it 3000 rubbing compound followed by 30 perfect-it 3000 ultra fine machine polish with a lake country green foam pad at a speed of 1200. I must say, WOW!!!!!!!! what a difference. The results were amazing. With time running out that day and getting pretty dark, I did not have time to wax the car. Car had no scratches nor swirls.

After 3 weeks and 2 car washes, car is now filled with swirls and fine scratches(lots and lots of them). My question here is where did I go wrong? Did I miss a step or do I need to use better products? I do have a portacable 7424xp as well if that helps. Please help me as I need this car to shine and look like new.

pic of the car when I bought her. Notice the cheap macco paint job:
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/b41.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/b4.jpg

preped and ready for paint:
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/prep.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/prep1.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/prep7.jpg

paint used and color:
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/paint.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/paint4.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/paint1.jpg

[crownvic03]

pics of the car painted but not wetsanded:
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/paint5.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/paint3.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/paint8.jpg

Here you can notice the blurrines on car. Out of the shop but not wetsanded, just compounded:
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/rear.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/newpaintjob.jpg

On with the wetsanding:
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/wetsanded2.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/roof4.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/roofhalfcompounded.jpg

[Midnight1700]

First, Welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place...

Now, if I read your entire post correctly, you say that you polished out the car, did not apply any protection to the surface, washed it 2 times within 3 weeks. If this is the case, you missed a vital step before doing any washing. That would be applying a sealant, and/or wax to the surface before washing. It's very important to include this step. Without it, you have no protection what so ever on the paint. You now need to go back and re-polish the car to get rid of the swirls and minor scratches followed by a quality sealant/wax. Hope this helps.

[crownvic03]

Final results after wetsanding, compounding and polishing:
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/035.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/034.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/033.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/latest.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/032.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/likenewrearfender.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/crownvicsportstreet.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/allcleanedup.jpg
http://i457.photobucket.com/albums/qq295/isatisfy2003/crownviclxemblem.jpg

Once again, after 2 washes in 3 weeks, I now have swirls and fine scratches that cant be felt. what did I do wrong or did I miss a step. How can I fix this. Thanks in advanced.

[Midnight1700]

other points to consider, how long did you wait following the painting before you begain your normal washing? Did you use "Proper Washing" methods? Quality MF Towels? Proper auto shampoo? Just a few things to consider...

[crownvic03]

First, Welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place...

Now, if I read your entire post correctly, you say that you polished out the car, did not apply any protection to the surface, washed it 2 times within 3 weeks. If this is the case, you missed a vital step before doing any washing. That would be applying a sealant, and/or wax to the surface before washing. It's very important to include this step. Without it, you have no protection what so ever on the paint. You now need to go back and re-polish the car to get rid of the swirls and minor scratches followed by a quality sealant/wax. Hope this helps.

I was thinking on buying Wolfgang products and give that a go. I was recommanded,
steps:
1st-wolfgang total swirl remover 3.0 with orange foam pad useing portacable
2nd-wolfgang finishing glaze 3.0 with white foam pad useing portacable
3rd-wolfgang deep gloss paint sealant 3.0 with grey foam pad and portacable.

Will this do the job?

[crownvic03]

other points to consider, how long did you wait following the painting before you begain your normal washing? Did you use "Proper Washing" methods? Quality MF Towels? Proper auto shampoo? Just a few things to consider...

I waited about 2-3 months before I washed it. Car was just parked because it was not insured. I take my cars to a local car wash. I know that the swirls are not from them because I had a black car before this one and I would wash it once every week and it didnt demage the paint. In this case, its very very very noticable.

[SkateForGirl]

Welcome to AG!

Like the above poster said you have missed a vital step. Wax/sealant your car after the initial polish you did. You would probably have to go back with a fine polish and polish it back up. After that a nice Carnuaba Wax or Sealant should be applied. You should be fine after that.

When you did the 2 washes was the car really dirty? did you use a grit guard in your bucket? A grit guard really really helps not to create swirls in your washing process.

[ShineTimeDetail]

I love a black crown vic! For starters you could have a soft clear coat which would put swirls in the paint unlike your other black car that may have had a harder clear coat.

Welcome from another 'Whale' lover!

[slickooz]

It sounds like improper washing. Any detailer here will tell you stay away from any car washes because they are more likely to swirl up the paint. 10 of 10 times they are using dirty towels to wipe down the cars. I would suggest washing your own car with two buckets system with grit guards. Use a leaf blower and get couple quality drying towels and you should see an improvement in maintaining your car.

[crownvic03]

I will polish up the car again and apply the sealant. I will use the wolfgang combination and see what happens after that. Car has not seen no wax since its been painted. I didnt get around to it after the polish because of time but, I will for sure give it another polish and apply the wax and see what happens.

[crownvic03]

any one recommand a combination of polish and sealant to use on a black car or is wolfgang good?

[Mike Phillips]

any one recommand a combination of polish and sealant to use on a black car or is wolfgang good?


Wolfgaing products are very good and I have a numbler of success threads sharing the results others have achieved using them, like these,


Wolfgang Twins (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wolfgang-car-care/34641-wolfgang-twins.html)

Lessons I learned from a Black 2009 BMW 550i (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/33599-lessons-i-learned-black-2009-bmw-550i.html)

How To Remove Horrible Rotary Buffer Swirl Marks out of a 350Z using the Wolfgang Twins (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/21413-horrible-swirl-marks.html)

Proof You Can Do It! - Joe The Detailer - Black Porsche Turned into Black Pearl! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/25226-proof-you-can-do-joe-detailer-black-porsche-turned-into-black-pearl.html)



:xyxthumbs:

[Mike Phillips]

I will polish up the car again and apply the sealant. I will use the wolfgang combination and see what happens after that. Car has not seen no wax since its been painted. I didnt get around to it after the polish because of time but, I will for sure give it another polish and apply the wax and see what happens.


Most professional grade compounds and polishes are water soluble and after a wash or two the paint surface will loose slickness, then when you wash it the paint will be more prove to being scratched.

Definitely apply some type of protective wax, paint sealant or coating after the last machine polishing step, this will,


Protect the paint
Create a sacrificial barrier coating between the paint and everything that would attack the paint
Create a more uniform appearance over the entire finish
Maximize gloss, clarity, depth, shine and richness of color


As for taking your car to ANY car wash... if you want your hard work polishing the paint to last I wouldn't do it as it's just too risky for all kinds of reasons.


These are from my article list (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/23722-articles-mike-phillips.html) under Car Washing


How to maintain a freshly waxed car (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/40056-how-maintain-freshly-waxed-car.html)

Scratch your car for $5.00 (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/40142-scratch-your-car-5-00-a.html)

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/hot-topics-frequently-asked-questions/40122-reality-100-hand-car-wash.html)


:)