Swirl marks removal

[dealrocker]

I am pretty sure most of Crossfire owners have swirl marks on their cars. It’s really a challenging task to prevent swirl marks and keep them out. Does anyone know any effective and easiest way to remove them with my paint damage? Planning to hit JC Whitney store this weekend to pick some good stuff to perform this task.


Any recommendations....

[andrew]

after owning an auto detailing business for 10 years and trying many different products...i highly recommend..."plum crazy" by malco. i would do a key word search to find a distributor in your area. the product is applied by hand...very easy to work with.

imo - the real key to a swirl free dark car is...to wash and dry the car in the shade. never in the sun...the uv rays cause the swirls.

[patpur]

Andrew - question? I always thought swirl marks were caused by fine scratches in the clear coat? I was always told to never wash/wax the car using a circular motion and always use a good car shampoo like Meguiars and make sure the car is rinsed off thoroughly before you hit it with the wash mit. Dry it with 100% cotton towels (labels and ends cut off) or microfiber towels.
I know UV rays can damage paint, I wasn't aware they caused swirl marks.
Washing a dark car in direct sunlight causes water spots, big time. I always washed my black cars in the evening or in the shade. Makes a world of difference.
You learn something new everyday here!

[32krazy!]

im not seeing UV rays causing swirl. im also not seeing anything at jc whitney that i would use on my car to clean it.
try any of the meguirs sites, autogeek or detailers domain. these sites have the proper equipment and polishes waxes and cutters to do the job properly.
the main key is work in small areas keep the buffer moving and check check check your work!

personally i like meguiers as a cutter and poorboys black hole before final zaino 2 step hand wax.
if you havent done this i wouldnt recommend a high speed polisher as it can burn your paint very quickly. p/c 7424 or megs d/a polisher will cut most of swirl if you take your time.

[patpur]

Agree - Meguiars makes some excellent products that will get your swirl marks out. In fact there is a thread here that addresses a finish that Mike from Orange rescued. I'll see if I can find it for you, it lists the products and the pads used plus before and after pictures.

Check this thread on the first page by Mike from Orange "so just how bad can your paint be and still be salvageable" that should aim you in the right direction.

[andrew]

fine scratches will also cause swirl marks but the drying in the sun does have a direct effect with swirls. trust me on this one.

[apkano]

First tip: Avoid JC Whitney.
Second tip: Listen to Andrew and Mike-in-Orange
Third tip: Don't assume "most" of us have swirl marks because "most" of us don't.

[05roadsterguy]

because most of Us have already gleand the knoledge of the learned paint scholars that are present on this board!

[patpur]

that would be knowledge!

[onehundred80]

Originally Posted by andrew

fine scratches will also cause swirl marks but the drying in the sun does have a direct effect with swirls. trust me on this one.

If you can polish them out, how did the sun put them into the finish?
You can see the swirls better in the sun that's about it though.

I normally cover my parked car with aluminum foil so that the cosmic rays from those spiteful little green men I see with ray guns do not damage the car.
But I never thought the sun could make swirls.

[andrew]

Originally Posted by onehundred80

If you can polish them out, how did the sun put them into the finish?
You can see the swirls better in the sun that's about it though.
But I never thought the sun could make swirls.

~ let's experiment on your black car.

if you have no swirls - please wash and dry in the hot direct sun and let me know how it goes. i'll put 10 bux on it.

[onehundred80]

Originally Posted by andrew

~ let's experiment on your black car.

if you have no swirls - please wash and dry in the hot direct sun and let me know how it goes. i'll put 10 bux on it.

I still cannot see how UV rays make swirls, but circular motions make swirls. straight motions make straight lines.
I buffed the car out last fall and when it came back from an oil change I could see where the guy leaned over the hood and where he had attempted to wipe off a greasy paw print.

[apkano]

I think many people here are forgetting that direct sunlight causes the car's exterior surfaces to be much hotter than a car sitting in the shade. Heating up a clearcoat (and paint for that matter) will soften it to a certain degree I believe.

[Mike-in-Orange]

Swirls in paint are nothing more than a wildly random scattering of very shallow scratches. They are not necessarily caused by applying anything in a circular manner, and they only appear to be circular in nature because they are most noticeable when viewed in direct, harsh light - like direct sunlight. Don't believe me? Try this: stand so that the sun is directed right into your eyes off the paint and you'll see a definite circular pattern to the swirls. Now move laterally so that the sun appears to move across the paint. The circular pattern magically moves with the sun. No matter where you stand, the circular pattern is always around the sharp light source. These scratches are random, straight or curved, long and short, and scattered throughout the paint.

They are primarily caused by use of less than clean or less than soft towels and applicators. Terry cloth can be aggressive enough to do this, as can a dirty wash mitt or applicator pad. Unskilled use of a rotary buffer can instill a unique type of swirl mark, also called holograms - they appear to literally float in the paint in a 3D effect. You can actually follow the path of the buffer when holograms are severe enough. I'm not real sure about Andrew's assertion that they are, or even can be, caused simply by exposure to UV radiation. They are a physical defect in the paint - polish them out and then park the car in direct sunlight and they won't just form on their own. Sure, wash a car in direct sun and have the soapy water start drying on it, then try to wipe that mess off an you're bound to inflict some sort of damage - but I don't really think the UV rays themselves are the direct cause. You have to physically touch the paint for swirls to occur.

Getting rid of them can be simple, or fairly difficult depending on their severity, the hardness of the paint, the tools you have available, and your skill level. But you aren't going to find much of anything to accomplish the task at JC Whitney. Get a good D/A polisher, the right pads and chemicals and you can safely and effectively remove them. Then lean how to properly wash and dry the car, and how to properly apply and remove wax, and you'll avoid putting fresh ones in the paint later on.

meguiarsonline.com (my day job), autogeek.net, truthindetailing.com are good sources of information. autopia.org is sort of a detailing insane asylum where egos run rampant and if you're new and ask a question that's already been asked, they'll chew you up and spit you out. If you're new to detailing, that place will just confuse you more.

[onehundred80]

What I see in my car are scratches made by the oilman, the swirls are basically gone thanks to Meguiars and Mike. One more going over with the buffer and it will be 100%, thats when spring gets here of course.
Is it possible that our eyes somehow cause the swirl effect and are they visible through polarized lenses?

[Mike-in-Orange]

When you see a swirl mark what you're actually seeing is the very sharp edge of a very fine scratch. This scratch is in the clear coat, so the edges of the scratch are acting like a prism and the light is being reflected and refracted back at you. You see a pretty bright white light, and contrasted against a dark underlying color coat they really stand out. That's why you see them more readily on black cars than you do on white, or on non metallic cars more so than on metallic paint - the metal flakes give enough "background noise" so as to mask the appearance of the swirls. The act of using an abrasive suspended in a liquid that is rubbed against the paint with a pad (which is really all you're doing when you buff the paint) will round off these sharp edges and minimize or eliminate the appearance of the swirls. Taken to a higher degree you will literally grind down the clear coat and effectively level the paint to the bottom of the scratch. Sounds scary, yes, but your typical swirl marks are so fine that removing takes hardly any clear off the paint. Unless you go overboard, or start wet sanding, or just getting super aggressive with a rotary buffer, a wool pad and a heavy compound.