Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Paul A.
My trick for inspecting white paint for scratches and swirls is to pull it into my garage and turn off all the lights. I then inspect the entire paint job with my inspection light. Sure enough, there they are!
My approach to full correction jobs is to flatten the paint as much as safely possible...regardless of color. Swirls and scratches in the paint are reflective gloss robbers. I will guarantee gloss, pop and shine if they are removed before locking it in with an LSP.
Having said that, I can clearly understand living with what is very difficult to see on your personal vehicle. It comes down to what you are happy with in regard to appearance.
I agree with you 100% and will try turning out the lights!
Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mike Phillips
Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Try inspecting in the dark.
Pull the car into your garage.
Turn out all of the lights.
Shine a real swirl finder light on the paint.
:)
I will give this a go! Thanks.
Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Eric@CherryOnTop
Maybe I'm missing something. If you can't see the swirls then what's the problem? What are you looking for? My wife has a pearl white Mazda and I love it cos it's so easy to keep clean without having to worry about swirls.
1st i dont know what i am doing when looking for swirls on white paint, they are very obvious on black so i want to make sure i am not missing something before going through the whole process of getting the car ready, coated, then see issues.
Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mudhog79
1st i dont know what i am doing when looking for swirls on white paint, they are very obvious on black so i want to make sure i am not missing something before going through the whole process of getting the car ready, coated, then see issues.
It's kinda hard to put into words... Have you ever painted the walls inside your house? Do you remember how after painting for the 1st time you gained a whole new way to focus in on the paint and easily recognize the difference between 1 coat of paint vs. 2 coats of paint? Well it's nothing like that, but in a way it's similar because once you figure out how to spot swirls it just becomes sort of natural [easy] no matter what color the vehicle is. [even silver & white]
Here's an example of defects on white paint: The contamination is extreme here, and believe it or not so are the swirls, but they're still somewhat hard to see... Your car won't be anywhere near this bad.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...eadc80d4c4.jpg
And after decontamination & polishing away the swirls.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f50f06529c.jpg
Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
•For vehicles that have "lighter
colored" paint systems:
-I darken the area surrounding the
vehicle as much as possible, and use
my ol' faithful dropcord that contains
a 75W "Reveal" incandescent bulb:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...=108371&size=1
https://www.autogeekonline.net/galle.../IMG_31822.JPG
Bob
Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
2black1s
Here's my take... Whether the car has swirls or not, if you need to look that hard trying to find them and you can't seem to find any, then whatever minor swirls [may] exist aren't worth chasing for a daily driver.
I agree!
Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Just hit it with something medium cut and mckees coating, my ride is pearl white and I know there are some swirls but it's pretty hard to see them even in direct sun
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mike Phillips
Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Try inspecting in the dark.
Pull the car into your garage.
Turn out all of the lights.
Shine a real swirl finder light on the paint.
:)
This is the trick! I recently did "paint correction" on my Summit White Camaro. I tried all sorts of shop light combinations and in the sun but couldn't see scratches that I knew were there. Bought the Rupes Pen Light and used it in dark garage and was horrified of all the scratches I hadn't seen! Almost wish I hadn't used this light!
I turned off the lights in the garage and worked my way around the car. I tried to look at each area from various angels. I found holding the light a 45 degree angle worked best and hold the light away from me. Once I was ready to start compounding, I would find the spots again I wanted to correct and put a little dab of compound (used Meguiars Ultimate Compound which is slightly yellowish) on the spots. Then turn my work light on and start compounding using the dabs as my guide.
Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
What's next, a magnifying glass?
Re: Pearl White Paint, How Do I See Swirls?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Rsurfer
What's next, a magnifying glass?
I admit, that thought crossed my mind! I did put on some "reader" glasses for some areas because of my eyes are getting old.