Red89'-L98

I have a 1989 corvette coupe and since i have had it painted it has started to show swirl marks on it.

I was wondering what is the best and easiest way to remove all or most of them. I am no expert car cleaner but i am smart enough to wash it and not cause them, they just happened due to a cheap paint job.

I don't have any fancy buffers or anything like that, it will all be by hand.

Attached below are some pictures showing the swirl marks. Hopefully you can see them. After washing and waxing the car they are considerably less noticeable but after a week or 2 they are back.




This first picture was the day after being washed as you can see it is dirty after 1 day, but there are no swirl marks to be seen.





In this second image which was taken about 10 days after the cleaning you can see the swirl marks somewhat under all the dirtiness.




Any help that anyone can give is appreciated. I want these swirl marks gone as it makes the car look not as show quality up close.

Thanks, Stephen

CheckeredFlag

http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-...art-master.htm


here's a great chart to use as reference


I recently had some pretty good scratches on my daily driver, and use Meguiar's Ultimate compound that got a lot of them out.


Other swirl removers that I have personally used in the past with nice results are: 3M Finesse II / Meguiar's scratch X / Pinnacle Advance finishing polish / Meguiar's Step 2 polish / amd Blackfire Scratch Resistant Clear Finishing Polish


Any one of those will do (Some companies will call it swirl removers, others will call it polish, and while there are heavier or lighter compounds, I just wanted to make you aware of what you will see on the label)


Probably would turn out best if you did have a buffer, but you can still see some nice results by hand.


I would also recommend using a microfiber applicator, and take your time, and try rubbing with the same pressure, I'd try to go over it in like no larger than 2" circular motions. Go over the entire area several times.


Don't forget to add your favorite wax back on after you are done, as polish and swirl removers are generally known for removing the existing wax.


Hope this helps.

Red89'-L98

Thanks for the chart and all the information.

Which would you recommend, the meguiars scratch x 2.0 or the meguiars ultimate compund? Or is there something i can buy locally that works better than those?

Both are readily available locally which i like a lot. Since you have used both and obviously even more than i listed, i figured you would be the expert on it.

Thanks, stephen

CheckeredFlag

Try the Meguiar Step 2 or Scratch X first


That might be just enough to get the swirls out


The Compound is for heavier duty swirls and scratches


You could probably find the those products at your local Walmart ....

Dave1

No, bad idea that will take him hours and possibly days with minimal results…

He needs a machine with decent pads and polishes to get the scratches out of his whole car. This isn't a scuff mark or a bird bomb, it's the whole car and that requires the right tools….

As far as a good polish, Menzerna SIP or Meguiars 105 will work well, followed up with a milder finishing polish like M205 or Menzerna PO 85RD. Different pads for each step. That's the way to do it right, followed up with your favorite wax or sealant….

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

You really need to consider a machine or professional detail with most modern day clearcoats. Hand polishing is best for possible spot repairs.

Street Rat

I tried to do it by hand for a short period of time. I stepped up to a Flex 3401 DA polisher and haven't looked back. It really isn't that hard and the results are fantastic.

Red89'-L98

What is an inexpensive easy to use polisher?

I am a low budget person which is why i am doing it myself or id take it up the road but it cost close to $250 to do the whole car and make it look perfect.

I am a beginner for using polishers as I have NEVER used one before. I remember seeing a drill one by i think meguiars at autozone once. Would that work or is there something cheaper and better or a little more money and better?

Thanks everyone for all the help. It is greatly appreciated.

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

http://www.autogeek.net/pc7424-menze...ramic-kit.html
or
http://www.autogeek.net/porter-cable-meguiars-kit.html

CheckeredFlag

I agree that machine polish is the way to go- since he said he didn't have one, I was just trying to offer some suggestions, with some products he could find locally.


Again -IMO- Red, I bet you would like the Porter Cable - it's a great dual action polisher, it has a clutch unit in the polisher, so if you push to hard, it won't burn into the paint ! = that's the one I use ....


watch this short video: LOTS of good info

pgp

Here is a review of Meguiar's DA Power system. It looks good if you have a drill and a smaller budget. It might be good as a step up from doing it by hand, I am looking to try it out too.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...er-system.html

Red89'-L98

I have read really good reviews on the Meguiars DA Power System.

Does anyone have any experience with it? Also how much pressure and and how fast should you move it when using say ultimate compund or a paste wax?

It is a really cheap alternative and something I can afford and would be easy to use.

Also seem to be a lot easier then doing any of it by hand.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for all the help, Stephen

pgp

From what I see with Meguiars products they are Ult. Polish, SwirlX, ScratchX, Ult. Compond. Least to most aggressive. Start with the least aggressive. I saw a chart recently, trying to locate it. The above chart is missing items, it probably is for the professional products .

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

Speed and power are not needed when applying and removing wax. You want them during the polish stage and low power for the wax step. I use 2-3 on most random orbitals when applying wax. You can also consider MF bonnets to help remove wax.

Red89'-L98

Has anyone tried this?

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-va...her-69924.html

It looks alright and is at a good price. but as we all know sometimes harbor freight sells crap when it comes to powered tools.



And thanks for the pressure tips that go with the applications. I figured that is what it would be but would rather ask an expert

Otherslost

I bought the Meguiars DA system with a full size bottle of Ultimate Compound, Polish and wax with the 3 pads and some microfiber towels for around $60 on Amazon.

when I first got my car I took it to a detailer and they swirled the paint. I figured I would try to correct this myself and had really good results with the DA system.

I washed, clayed, polished then waxed. it corrected 99% of the issues. I like the compact size for the Vette and I would recommend using a plug in drill and not a cordless so power stays consistent. The entire process took me most of the day but the results were worth it.

Someone gave me the Harbor Freight DA and I used it on a couple of spots that needed a little extra power and the only complaints I have about it is the backing plate chews up the pads. I will replace it with a better plate and get some good pads.

Red89'-L98

While researching the harbor freight DA i saw some people who just modified the backing plate to stop it from eating up the pads. When you used the harbor freight DA did it seem of good lasting quality or would i be better of buying the meguiars DA power system?

Thanks, Stephen

Otherslost

anything from Harbor Freight can last years or days, it's luck of the draw.

The Meguiars DA is pretty small and for me seems to be good for the Vette and it was surprisingly easy to control. You can probably pick up both the HF and the Megs for under $100 and have them both at your disposal. Keep looking for the HF one to go on sale then use a 20% off coupon.

Red89'-L98

I think i will wait for the harbor freight one to go on sale and then buy it.

From the reviews i read it is of decent to good quality.

Thanks for all the help, Stephen

Rgeezer

I bought the HF 6" one recently but haven't used it yet, as I've ordered some pads from Autogeek as the HF pads supposedly don't last long at all. After I do some experimenting with it, I might order a higher quality 5" backing plate because the supplied backing plate is often the weakest link in the reviews, and because the smaller pads are noticeably cheaper. My polisher runs fine upon testing it; it is kind of noisy but apparently a replacement of the grease (search online for how) quiets it down quite a bit. Almost all the reviews of the polisher that I saw suggest that it is quite durable and had stood up to professional usage, much to many people's surprise.

There are many HF coupons that you can find online for 20% off, making it by far the least expensive DA polisher option I've seen.