Swirl Solution? (Pic)

J

JayJayPG

New member
Hey guys,



I took the best picture I could of the swirl marks on the hood of my Eclipse. My GS-R never had this problem so I am new to the whole swirl removal process. I've done some searching, but I am still a little confused as to what products/procedure to follow.



So far I have dawn washed followed by Mothers clay, Vanilla Moose Glaze, and S100. Last week I test spotted with some Meguiar's Showcar Glaze (#9 I think), but they are still showing.



I'm wondering if I could get by with just a swirl mark remover, but I don't know if it is going to get the job done. Does this look like a job for DACP?



3621mvc-004f.jpg
 
Mmmm... Doesn't look healthy.



You can't go wrong with DACP, but I highly suggest Meguiar's Swirl Free Polish after the DACP pass. DACP leaves a level surface but it moves the paint and is to thick of a cut to finish up on. The Swirl Free realllly levels it out and makes it look amazing. Then proceed with your sealant or carnauba.



Are you planning on doing it with a machine? This would be a good time to invest in a Porter Cable or Makita Rotary...



Good Luck Jay.
 
He means you will need a finer polish after using DACP. DACP does not leave your finish shiny and polished enough before applying your favorite sealant or wax.
 
Yeah Jay, what RIC said is what I meant.





DACP is a medium to high cut (moves paint, removes more serious blemishes)

SFP is a fine cut (removes very light swirling, leaves a glistening finish)





3M SMR does more filling of swirls then removing. Check out the Finesse It Series from 3M instead.
 
Thanks for the help guys.



I have a Turtle Wax orbital buffer with foam, terry cloth, and lambs wool bonnets. Will that do the job or is it worth investing in the Porter Cable?
 
Scottwax could get them out by hand. ;)



It'd probably be worth the investment in a PC regardless, but if you are a little hesitant, give it a try with your current buffer. I'd guess that wool bonnets would dig deeper and maybe create more haze that you could remove with that, so I'd start with the terry bonnet. If that doesn't work, I suppose you could always try the wool in a test area though. Be prepared to spend some time, but less than by hand of course. ;)
 
GS-R Jay said:
No I am pretty sure it hasn't. The car sat on a dealer lot all summer long though.
Click to expand...



Damn dealer swirls. :mad: A Porter Cable or Rotary would do the trick with no problem. They look light enough that the PC should take them all away. It's when the blemishes get worse that you need the rotary.



Good Luck with everything.
 
I always love the free option of the "Dealer Installed Swirls." That sucks dude, but a PC with Lake Country yellow pad and SMR will take care of that.
 
Buy a PC - you will not regret it. I had a lot of the "fear factor" before I took my PC the my truck. Not to worry, because it would take a lot of deliberate abuse on you part to ruin your paint. Just remember that less is more, in terms of abrasiveness. Start with a pass or two of something less abrasive before moving up to something more abrasive. When you buy your PC, make sure you get at minimum, 2 of each pad kind. I got this advice from a "pro" on another forum when I bought a rotary



"In terms of pads, I believe it is better to have too many than not enough as you have no idea until you are into a detail which pad and product combination will do the desired job. Therefore, I would suggest:



1-2 Meguiar's Cutting Pads W-7006

2-3 Meguiar's Polishing Pads W-8006

2-3 Meguiar's Finishing Pads W-9006



and they can be used with your PC as well."





When I bought my PC, I ordered the DAP-KIT from these people





http://www.properautocare.com/index.html



either choice is a decent starting point. There are other choices as well, with these people being the choice of many here



http://www.lakecountrymfg.com/foampads.html



I think I read somewhere that LC makes the pads sold by CMA.
 
To me it looks like that spot has been worked on. I see some odd looking orange peel, and the swirl marks look more like stress fractures than just plane swirls, however i could be wrong. give it a good polishing with the products and tools the others have suggested and see what happens, it may come out looking real good.
 
That's a really excellent pic of swirl marks. If anyone ever wondered what swirls are, that's the perfect picture to demonstrate.



Dudes are freaking out way too much. I have a feeling that those of us in northern climates and/or without garages are used to seeing cars look like that. I'm doing better since joining here, but swirls like that happen...welcome to the real world. They are not bad and will not be tough to take out, but they will take a little work.



The turtle wax buffer may work...I've seen some decent pics over at Maxima.org, but is it worth buying a PC? If you have the money why not....it's a great machine. BTW rusty bumper, the PC _IS_ an orbital machine...and yes and orbital machine will take those out.



If it's not cold where you are and you have some time I would definitely start with the SMR. I never had much luck with it but my improving PC technique means I need to try it again. I would try the SMR and really go at it hard with the PC...use an alcohol/water spritzer to get the oils off the paint so you can see if they've been taken out or just covered up.



If that doesn't work or if you're running on borrowed time before the snow hits move to DACP. If you buff out the DACP the finish will be fine. I worked very hard to buff it out on my car this summer and the finish is excellent. I DO have a history of setting a level, then trying more insane tips from here and then changing to say that's the level though...so next summer you may see me railing about how you absolutely HAVE to follow up DACP with SMR or your car will just explode from the bad finish...but seriously...it seems fine to me now as long as you really buff it out to hit up the diminishing abrasive.



Those marks are no big deal and should come out with a little work...don't let these fiends with garages scare you... :D



EDIT: Actually that orange peel does look a bit odd, but I still don't think it's a big deal. I'm almost leaning towards going directly to DACP after another look, but it's up to you to decide. DACP will def be faster and, while the swirling isn't that bad, the SMR might take a few runs to get it out. I dunno...if it were my car last summer I would have done DACP, if it were my car this ummer with my newfound PC agressiveness I would do SMR...
 
I keep seeing reference to the use of a 50/50 alchohol/water mix and I understand the advantage to using this method but, and this may sound dumb, where can I get the alchohol bit or what would I need to ask for specifically as I'm assuming that I'd need to hit my local DIY store.
 
AndyC, I believe they are using regular rubbing alcholol? Or is it denatured alcohol?



Also, I looked on Lake COunty's site and didnt see any way to order pads directly?
 
The mist clears....did a Google search on denatured alchohol and it referred to methylayted spirits which I can get from any DIY store. It's a stong smelling purple liquid which you can also use for removing paint from paint brushes and I seem to remember a friend using it to clean the rails on his model railway a long time ago.



Are we talking about the same thing?



Try this link and let me know



http://www.rustins.co.uk/meth.gif
 
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