How Do I Get Rid Of The Swirls On My Car?

swirls are basically unavoidable. as i understand it, they are tiny scratches in the clear coat, that look to us humans like circular patterns.

there is some really great auto detailing forum site i've found before, but can't find now, that discusses this topic in great detail. this guy http://www.heumann.com/ wrote up some great articles for them (presumably you can find it through there).

the CW as i've experienced is that 3M Hand Glaze is your best bet to get those tiny scratches out, and thus get a mirror finish.

i've never had the cojones to try it myself.

good luck!

doody.

 

I have had great results with both Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover or Menzerma Final Polish, followed by wax of your choice. Use a foam pad with a random orbital buffer.

Both are available here: http://www.properautocare.com/polish.html

 

Put it on eBay. Those pesky swirls you used to see will instantly disappear.

 

What he said

 

See! This is why you don't not wash your car! . I told ya besides keeping your car clean, washing it keeps the paint healthy. It's not just b/c people want to look good, they also want to protect the paint. Too cold to detail it now eh?

 

http://www.fca-se.org/concours.htm

This guy has written the bible on car prep and care.

Lots to read, but he really covers it.

 

Indeed!!! Great link!

 

KEITH

USE 3M HAND GLAZE..ITS ABOUT 9 DOLLARS IN ANY CAR STORE...

IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM..................

 

Check out this thread, http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29907.

We saw Enzo's swirls dissapeared by the demo using Meguiar's product. You can contact Kieth for further product information.

Or maybe you should let the pro detailers do the work once a while.

 

3M swirl mark remover works well. They have two formulations, one is specifically for dark cars. You will probably have to go to a professional auto paint store to buy some though.

 

Thanks for the kind words! Readers WILL find more info about both avoiding swirl marks as much as possible and various ways to remove them.

Remember that using glazing compounds is only a temporary fix, since they use silicones or other chemical compounds to fill the micro-scratches... they look great but they'll evaporate or be removed when your car is washed and then the swirl marks are back again (since they were never really gone, just masked).

 

Permanent fixes (other than repaint) probably no. But Mike said a key word that was probably overlooked. "avoiding swirl marks" is the secret. Cure the cause, not the symptom.

By following Mike's articles and others' advice, you may not have to fix them, if the washing, waxing, polishing techniques change. I saw a car at the FCA concourse that was just gorgeous. The red stood out among the others, so I found the guy who detailed it and asked what wax he used. Plain old McGuires, but it was the technique that made it look so good without swirlmarks.

On swirlmarks, I had a friend describe them this way. Swirlmarks are the light reflected back to your eye by tiny curved scratches in the paint. More so on darker colors. Since light sources are round (sun, lightbulb), the marks in a circular pattern reflect the round light. If the scratches were straight lines, only small portions would be visible. Meaning, I wax, dry, polish in straight lines and don't see swirlmarks anymore. Same amount of scratches, but they are straight instead of curved and not as reflective.

 

I posted this same inquiry as many others did months and months ago...
I am a die hard, I never give up....after 25 coats of Zymol concours at about $135.00 per can and an additional 5 coats of a good paste wax, I used Collinite at $25.00 per can....I have minimalized 90% of all the cars angel hair scratches...it took months but they are gone, I have also found a micro fibre cloth with weave 100 times finer than the terry micro fibre clothes out there. they are sold for cleaning computer screens... that was the most helpful item I used by rubbing in one direction only....also you must apply wax with micro fibre cloth.All this was done after a double hand compounding.Whew, I get tired of thinking how much work I did on this paint.

Scratches! what scratches!

 

I think Doody was referring to www.autopia.org . It is a very informative site that everyone can learn from. Hope this helps.

 

Didn't realize you were a frequent contributor here too.

Nice to know, and you're welcome. I've read that stuff start to finish a couple of times now.

Dave

 

I guess I'll live with mine.
But wow, what a pic! I wish I could make myself work at it that hard! Gorgeous.

So, Original Poster, the answer to "how do I get rid of swirl marks?" is... hours and hours of hard work!

 

Wowzers! Looks like a beauty Michael. Post some more pictures of that bad boy. And how come you haven't joined the EC Crew for any recent runs?

 

Either still polishing OR now has repeditive strain injury (rsi) from all that work

Pete