Looking for updated swirl removal products

**Paco** · 10-24-2021, 03:11 PM

I am looking to coat The Woman's Black 2017 Ford Explorer Sport and it needs the swirls polished out of it. Back in the day, I wouldn't have too man swirls, but the addition of kids, the hot Houston, TX weather and abundance of other hobbies and interests have caused my detailing to slack off. I've gone from a multi step detailing process to maybe a swirl remover before an all in one and matching topper. Much of the stuff in my "arsenal" is over a decade old and just sitting there. I recently coated my stealth gray (blue) metallic truck with Poorboy's and like how it turned out. I did my father's silver truck with Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Surface Coating. Now I feel like tackling the evil candidate, the black Explorer Sport. It has its share of swirls and sits outside 24/7. It usually has Poorboy's Polish with Carnauba Blue topped by EX and gets Beadmaker after every few washes.

With the weather turning more reasonable, I'd like to get the swirls out and get it coated. I have a PC 733SP and a Makita 7424 and a bunch of Lake Country pads. I have CCS, the short-lived Kompressor pads and the thin Pro ones (which I like a lot) in most of the flavors (orange through red). I typically do SSR25 followed by Pro Polish. But, I am curious if there is anything more recent that works with my equipment and pad selection. I don't need absolute perfection, but I'd like the swirls gone since the thing is going to be coated.

**The Guz** · 10-24-2021, 03:42 PM

Sonax Cut Max and EX 04-06 would be a good choice to have on hand. Don't forget some sort of surface prep to remove any residual polishing oils. Meguiar's M122, CarPro Eraser, Optimum Paint Prep are a few off the top of my head.

As far as pads I would look into thinner pads like the Meguiar's foam pads. I believe the new lake country flat pads are thinner these days. Also consider switching to a 5" backing plate.

**BlackCarBlues** · 10-24-2021, 06:00 PM

I had good luck recently on a black 2012 Silverado 1500 with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and an orange pad. I finished out with Ultimate Polish and a white pad. Standard products seemed to work well for this standard vehicle with standard swirls. I don't have a lot of experience, but just reporting what I recently did that worked well. I was using a PC 7424. Huge bonus that the Meg's Ultimate products have lots of working time, wipe off easily, are available virtually everywhere, and don't break the bank. I probably sound like a Meguiar's shill, but whatever... it worked for me!

Heck, while I'm at it, I've heard good things about the Meg's Hybrid Paint Coating... would probably be good to apply a coating rather than your usual carnauba since you said you don't spend as much time detailing these days.

**mbkite** · 10-24-2021, 06:35 PM

3D/HD one

**Paco** · 10-25-2021, 07:38 AM

Thanks everybody for the suggestions so far. I feel like such a newbie, despite buying the boutique products for over 20 years now. I've even been registered here for 10 years before even making my first post.

**Desertnate** · 10-25-2021, 07:50 AM

I'm a big fan of the Griots BOSS line of polishes. I have all three polishes, but the polish (Perfecting Cream) and their mid-level compoud/swirl remover (Correcting Cream) have been flexible enough, I've not had to resort to using the compound (Fast Correcting Cream) on any of my vehicles yet.

I've used DP's Polishes, Blackfire's Polishes (both the old SRC line and the new ones), the Meg's Ultimate Polish/Compound, and a couple others. The Griots line is better than all those from my perspective with the Blackfire line coming in a close second. Blackfire's main downfall is cost.

**BlackCarBlues** · 10-25-2021, 08:26 AM

Originally Posted by Desertnate

I've used DP's Polishes, Blackfire's Polishes (both the old SRC line and the new ones), the Meg's Ultimate Polish/Compound, and a couple others. The Griots line is better than all those from my perspective with the Blackfire line coming in a close second. Blackfire's main downfall is cost.

What are the pros of Griot’s BOSS polish/compound over the others you mentioned? Is it more to do with workability, final results, or both? Or something else?

**2wookies** · 10-25-2021, 08:35 AM

Originally Posted by Desertnate

I'm a big fan of the Griots BOSS line of polishes. I have all three polishes, but the polish (Perfecting Cream) and their mid-level compoud/swirl remover (Correcting Cream) have been flexible enough, I've not had to resort to using the compound (Fast Correcting Cream) on any of my vehicles yet.

I've used DP's Polishes, Blackfire's Polishes (both the old SRC line and the new ones), the Meg's Ultimate Polish/Compound, and a couple others. The Griots line is better than all those from my perspective with the Blackfire line coming in a close second. Blackfire's main downfall is cost.

Get you a bottle of FCC!! That stuff is the bee’s knees! Cuts so quick, wipes off like a polish and the smell is fantastic. Also it will finish down almost as good as the Correcting Cream.

**Desertnate** · 10-25-2021, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by BlackCarBlues

What are the pros of Griot’s BOSS polish/compound over the others you mentioned? Is it more to do with workability, final results, or both? Or something else?

First, I really like how easy they are to use. They are less oily than the vintage Blackfire SRC and Wolfgang polishes, which makes them easy to remove and do surface prep when applying a coating. They have a great working time which puts them well ahead of the DP polishes and the Meguiars's Ultimate products. I think they have a slightly longer working time than the current Blackfire products and a bit easier to remove, but they are close.

From a final results perspective, I find it far beyond the Meguiars Ultimate products which haven't impressed me after I discovered what else is on the market. While the DP products produce decent results as do the Blackfire and Wolfgang, the Griots is one of the fist one's I've used which lead me to step back in the middle of my work, mutter "whoa, that looks good" and take a couple pictures.

I've not used the Sonax Cutmax mentioned by Guz so I can't comment on it. I have used the 04-06 and still have some in my garage. It is nice to work with regarding worktime and ease of removal. My only complaint, if you can even call it that, is I don't find it very vestal due to the cut being very fine. It produces a great shine and works well on really soft paint (fantastic on our Toyota). For some light work on harder paint, I find I need a bit more cut than you can get out of 04-06.

Originally Posted by 2wookies

Get you a bottle of FCC!! That stuff is the bee’s knees! Cuts so quick, wipes off like a polish and the smell is fantastic. Also it will finish down almost as good as the Correcting Cream.

Oh, I have it already! I've just not encountered conditions where I needed to use it. Perfecting Cream and Correcting Cream have easily handled any situation since I bought them. My philosophy is to make sure I have all situations covered. However, I also use the least aggressive product first, which means on my well maintained cars, a compound is rarely needed.

**The Guz** · 10-25-2021, 10:19 AM

To the op. Forgot to mention that you will get many recommendations as each person has their personal preferences. Most polishes these days are good. Some better than others in the dusting aspect. Which is why I recommended Sonax.