Microfiber swirls

**Rossu** · 06-22-2018, 03:01 AM

Hey. Need a little help.
I've always had problems with swirling after wiping off waxes/polishes. So i did some tests. I compounded/polished a black metallic scrapyard front quarterpanel. Did an IPA wipedown after both steps. Shined a light on the panel and presto, tons of swirls. I ordered some 600gsm plush microfibers, as i think its a case of bad MF towels. Megs M21 made things better, but i'm not really interested in hiding my improper work, but want to improve to the stage of perfection. Any ideas or tips?

I'll add a pic too.

**Dan Tran** · 06-22-2018, 05:36 AM

Originally Posted by Rossu

Hey. Need a little help.
I've always had problems with swirling after wiping off waxes/polishes. So i did some tests. I compounded/polished a black metallic scrapyard front quarterpanel. Did an IPA wipedown after both steps. Shined a light on the panel and presto, tons of swirls. I ordered some 600gsm plush microfibers, as i think its a case of bad MF towels. Megs M21 made things better, but i'm not really interested in hiding my improper work, but want to improve to the stage of perfection. Any ideas or tips?

I'll add a pic too.

Not for anything, but what selection of tools, compound, polish, and pads do you typically use?

Dan Tran
The Buffing Moose Detailing

**Rossu** · 06-22-2018, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by Dan Tran

Not for anything, but what selection of tools, compound, polish, and pads do you typically use?

Dan Tran
The Buffing Moose Detailing

I use a short throw DA, compounded with rupes green foam pad and 3m Fast Cut Compound. Polished using rupes yellow pad and 3m ultrafine polish.

**dlc95** · 06-22-2018, 05:56 AM

What towels are you currently using?

Do you have any abrasives available that are not rotary specific?

**Rossu** · 06-22-2018, 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by dlc95

What towels are you currently using?

Do you have any abrasives available that are not rotary specific?

My towels are quite soft and plush, yet not the most expensive ones. Do you think the polishes i use are the problem? I've gotten good results with the 3m compounds/polishes. Just did a 2017 audi dark grey using a yellow pad/fine compound and white pad/ultrafine combo with good results. I really think its a matter of MF. Later i dry wiped the black test panel with my softest MF many many times, and the swirls got worse and worse by the wipe.

**DBAILEY** · 06-22-2018, 08:31 AM

The 3M polishes will definitely leave an oil residue. The residue will mask how well you polished. I think you may be removing that oil with the IPA and realizing that you did not correct as well as you thought. Your towels may be contributing to the problem also.

**Rossu** · 06-22-2018, 09:04 AM

Originally Posted by DBAILEY

The 3M polishes will definitely leave an oil residue. The residue will mask how well you polished. I think you may be removing that oil with the IPA and realizing that you did not correct as well as you thought. Your towels may be contributing to the problem also.

That may be the case. I'll try changing my MF towels, hopefully that's my problem.
And i got out all deeper scratches. So there shouldn't be any reason why the swirl marks should still be there.

**fightnews** · 06-22-2018, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by Rossu

I use a short throw DA, compounded with rupes green foam pad and 3m Fast Cut Compound. Polished using rupes yellow pad and 3m ultrafine polish.

Going from hard compound to ultrafine polish is to much of a leap. You need a medium polish in there with those products.

I do know your problem though it seems ups wipedowns reveal the fine tick marks that are hard to get rid of. Sometimes I think they are little potmarks/chips in the paint. I call them microchips

**Rossu** · 06-22-2018, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by fightnews

Going from hard compound to ultrafine polish is to much of a leap. You need a medium polish in there with those products.

I do know your problem though it seems ups wipedowns reveal the fine tick marks that are hard to get rid of. Sometimes I think they are little potmarks/chips in the paint. I call them microchips

The compound/ultrafine polish combo seems to work well. Takes care of all the haze left by the compound. And pretty surely these are swirls, not chips.

**DBAILEY** · 06-22-2018, 10:36 AM

Are the swirls that show after the IPA wipe down all over the panel or more visible in certain areas than others. If it was your towels it would show up over the whole panel since you are removing the compound/polishes and doing the IPA wipe down on the entire panel. However, if the swirls are gone in the areas where you went after deeper RIDS, like you said, but are visible in the areas where you did not go after the RIDS then that would suggest that you are not correcting as much as you think you are. It's just hard to tell due to the masking, but the IPA is showing you the true condition.

I agree also, jumping from 3M Fast Cut to Ultrafina is quite a jump.