imported_Intermezzo
New member
I wanted to get rid of all visible micro-swirls on my (wife's) bimmer which were barely visible under direct sunlight and easily seen under correct angles under flourescent lights. After washing the car with Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo, I applied Finesse-It followed by PPCL followed by AIO and then SG.
I was a bit leery of using Finesse-It on a black car so I decided to try the whole procedure on a 1'x1' section on the hood first.
As expected, the FI left a haze full of micro-swirls. It was applied using a Viking foam applicator using light to medium pressure in straight back and forth motions and removed with a Viper MF. The residue from FI was difficult to remove. I had to spray the area with a light mist of QD to aid in removal.
Next came the PPCL which was applied with another Viking foam app using firm pressure and then a second application using medium to light pressure, both in straight back and forth motions. When I wiped it off (with a second Viper MF), the haze didn't change at all. At this point, I was starting to get a tad panicked and started to wonder how I was going to break the bad news to my wife.
I decided to do a third application, except this time I applied it perpendicular to what I was doing before (using medium pressure). This was done so I could get some clues as to what was going on. Much to my dismay, there were perpendicular micro-swirls when I wiped off the residue. At this point, there was a nasty looking 1'x1' section on my hood that looked completely swirled up under my garage's flourescent lights. I was starting to regret ever using the stuff. I was also pretty shocked at what was going on because of all the good results so many other people have had with it. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I rolled the car out into the sunlight to see if they were visible there. At first, it seemed as if the haze wasn't visible, but after looking at it again at different angles I was able to see it.
After parking the car back in the garage, I went on to applying the AIO. I really worked it in and rubbed until most of the product was gone. Sure enough, after wiping it off with a Koala Buffing towel, the haze was completely gone!. All that was left were my original swirls except they were much less visible. I applied AIO in the same manner (really worked it into the paint) to the rest of the hood. No haze....just a reduction in the visibility of all my swirls. A second appliction of AIO seemed to reduce the swirls even more...but I can't be sure. It might just be psychological.
After applying two coats of AIO to the rest of my car, I applied KSG using very light coats. I would put a few drops of KSG on a Viking applicator and dab it evenly all over a panel and then apply it as evenly and thinly as I could. I'm hoping that applying it very evenly and letting it dry for at least an hour will help prevent any hazing problems. As I remembered in the past, sometimes the KSG wasn't even visible if applied extremely thin. Just had to have faith that i was applying enough. After letting it dry for 90 minutes, I encountered another thing I remember from the past which is that KSG is a real PIA to remove....even with very thin coats. Perhaps I wasn't applying it thin enough. So although I had hoped to avoid this, I had to lightly spray the KSG before removing it. This allowed it to come off very easily.
Conclusions: I'm pretty happy with the AIO and KSG because it provided a deeper shine than what I had on it before and it also seemed to reduce my swirls better. Also, I plan to apply Souveran and some other waxes I've been dying to try out.
I'm not sure if AIO was filling in the swirls or if it was actually reducing them. But at this point, I really don't care. AIO provides good cleaning action (reduces swirl visibility) for your clearcoat and also provides protection. But most importantly, I can use it without worrying about leaving a haze.
As for PPCL and Finesse-It, I'm sure they are good products that I wasn't applying properly. Or maybe I was expecting too much when closely examining my paint under bright flourescent lights. My conclusion is that they would work much better when applied by machine. I will try these products again in the future after I buy a PC (as well as a house that has a garage with electrical outlets!). Any opinions or feedback would be greatly appreciated. I want to stress that I don't mean to diss these highly regarded products. I'm pretty sure they work very well when applied by machine.
I had planned to apply Meg's Swirl Mark Remover 2.0 and Show Car Glaze on my other black car, but after this experience, I think I'm going to scrap those plans. I don't think I'd be comfortable using any cleaner other than AIO <strong class='bbc'>BY HAND[/b] on my car again, so if anyone wants a full bottle of Finesse-It or PPCL, please let me know and I'll mail it to you.
I was a bit leery of using Finesse-It on a black car so I decided to try the whole procedure on a 1'x1' section on the hood first.
As expected, the FI left a haze full of micro-swirls. It was applied using a Viking foam applicator using light to medium pressure in straight back and forth motions and removed with a Viper MF. The residue from FI was difficult to remove. I had to spray the area with a light mist of QD to aid in removal.
Next came the PPCL which was applied with another Viking foam app using firm pressure and then a second application using medium to light pressure, both in straight back and forth motions. When I wiped it off (with a second Viper MF), the haze didn't change at all. At this point, I was starting to get a tad panicked and started to wonder how I was going to break the bad news to my wife.
I decided to do a third application, except this time I applied it perpendicular to what I was doing before (using medium pressure). This was done so I could get some clues as to what was going on. Much to my dismay, there were perpendicular micro-swirls when I wiped off the residue. At this point, there was a nasty looking 1'x1' section on my hood that looked completely swirled up under my garage's flourescent lights. I was starting to regret ever using the stuff. I was also pretty shocked at what was going on because of all the good results so many other people have had with it. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I rolled the car out into the sunlight to see if they were visible there. At first, it seemed as if the haze wasn't visible, but after looking at it again at different angles I was able to see it.
After parking the car back in the garage, I went on to applying the AIO. I really worked it in and rubbed until most of the product was gone. Sure enough, after wiping it off with a Koala Buffing towel, the haze was completely gone!. All that was left were my original swirls except they were much less visible. I applied AIO in the same manner (really worked it into the paint) to the rest of the hood. No haze....just a reduction in the visibility of all my swirls. A second appliction of AIO seemed to reduce the swirls even more...but I can't be sure. It might just be psychological.
After applying two coats of AIO to the rest of my car, I applied KSG using very light coats. I would put a few drops of KSG on a Viking applicator and dab it evenly all over a panel and then apply it as evenly and thinly as I could. I'm hoping that applying it very evenly and letting it dry for at least an hour will help prevent any hazing problems. As I remembered in the past, sometimes the KSG wasn't even visible if applied extremely thin. Just had to have faith that i was applying enough. After letting it dry for 90 minutes, I encountered another thing I remember from the past which is that KSG is a real PIA to remove....even with very thin coats. Perhaps I wasn't applying it thin enough. So although I had hoped to avoid this, I had to lightly spray the KSG before removing it. This allowed it to come off very easily.
Conclusions: I'm pretty happy with the AIO and KSG because it provided a deeper shine than what I had on it before and it also seemed to reduce my swirls better. Also, I plan to apply Souveran and some other waxes I've been dying to try out.
I'm not sure if AIO was filling in the swirls or if it was actually reducing them. But at this point, I really don't care. AIO provides good cleaning action (reduces swirl visibility) for your clearcoat and also provides protection. But most importantly, I can use it without worrying about leaving a haze.
As for PPCL and Finesse-It, I'm sure they are good products that I wasn't applying properly. Or maybe I was expecting too much when closely examining my paint under bright flourescent lights. My conclusion is that they would work much better when applied by machine. I will try these products again in the future after I buy a PC (as well as a house that has a garage with electrical outlets!). Any opinions or feedback would be greatly appreciated. I want to stress that I don't mean to diss these highly regarded products. I'm pretty sure they work very well when applied by machine.
I had planned to apply Meg's Swirl Mark Remover 2.0 and Show Car Glaze on my other black car, but after this experience, I think I'm going to scrap those plans. I don't think I'd be comfortable using any cleaner other than AIO <strong class='bbc'>BY HAND[/b] on my car again, so if anyone wants a full bottle of Finesse-It or PPCL, please let me know and I'll mail it to you.
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artaaay: