How to see swirls on very light paint?

[willowcat11]

I have a very Light Tan car and it is very difficult to see any swirls at all. I know it has them, because it's a 2001 and really wasn't taken care of before. So I compounded some today and could not see any swirls on either the compounded or non-compounded side,

What I could see, was better clarity of reflections. Is it normal to not being able to swirls on very light colored cars?


Thankyou all!


Ray

[Cabrio]

Hello Ray - as a general rule of thumb, yes, it is harder to see swirls on lighter colored cars than darker colored cars. That said, I've seen silver cars just scream swirls. Can you post any pics?

[AGOatemywallet]

What type of light/lighting are you using?

[GenesisCoupe]

Led flashlight often helps

[FinishingTouchA]

On light colored cars try to shine the light across the paint at about 140-160 degrees reflecting into your eyes rather than on dark paint it works shining straight into the paint. Also you may need a brighter light. a 26w LED spot light works wonders.

[Cabrio]

@willowcat11 - I'm presuming you did not notice swirls while looking at your car under sun light...?

[01GreyStangGT]

I always have to look at each panel at an angle with my silver.

[Eldorado2k]

Direct sunlight.☀️

41650

[StephenK]

You still using your harbor freight da?

[willowcat11]

You still using your harbor freight da?

Stephen, I ended up exchanging it for a new one at HF, and this one works great.

[willowcat11]

Direct sunlight.☀️

41650

E2K, it is very easy to see on that red paint. But in Direct Sunlight on my light tan color, and I can see anything. I looked at it with the sun shining straight on it, and with my led light shining right on it.

I am using a 200 Lumens Led.

[willowcat11]

What type of light/lighting are you using?

A 200 Lumens Led light.

[willowcat11]

@willowcat11 - I'm presuming you did not notice swirls while looking at your car under sun light...?

Correct.

[willowcat11]

The big reason why I am asking is, because I can't tell when to stop compounding or not. I'll wipe off, and still can't tell the difference between the compounded area, and the non-compounded area.

I checked in full sun, and also again during a lower sun.

This is a really difficult color to tell on. The only reason I could tell it needed it was, because of how dull it was. Otherwise you can't see any visual swirls on it.

[AGOatemywallet]

On Silver, I use a Brinkmann and look at what I would call the secondary reflection of the light.

Not the bright spot, but the less bright reflection above the bright spot.

Sometimes, you can take a photo with an iPhone using flash and then zoom in on the image after you take it. It sometimes reveals things that your naked eye won't see. Not sure why.


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