Attempt at attacking and/or covering swirls on non-metallic paint

O

opensob

New member
The problem: 2004 Ford SVT Focus, Infra-red non-metallic that lives outside. I've been pretty good about washing weekly, especially during the summer when the trees start spraying sap! The problem is, my last protection job (AIO + S100x2) wore out quicker than I expected. I haven't quite figured out when the paint protection has run out (I need to pay better attention to beading) so the last couple of months of washing has been on the clearcoat directly so I've added quite a few swirls. Here's a good picture of the swirls and the sap I am dealing with:



SVT_Focus_08_21_2005_003.jpg


SVT_Focus_08_21_2005_008.jpg


See the rest here



After some thought, I decided to give a PC a try to remove the swirls. I picked up a 7424, LC 6.5" pads (orange, white, black), PB SSR2.5 and FP II. I preped with NXT wash, Sonus clay w/PB SG then NXT again, then used the SSR2.5 w/ LC orange and followed it with the FP II on the white. Since it's still summertime (and I want to improve my skill at judging how much paint protection is left), I used some GEPC followed up with S100 (mostly because I was under the impression that AIO can enhance swirls):



SVT_Focus_08_28_2005_004.jpg


SVT_Focus_08_28_2005_013.jpg


See the rest here



Here's a 100% crop with the color removed that really shows the remaining swirls:



SVT_Focus_08_28_2005_003_crop.jpg


:angry



Based on the after pictures, I'm pretty sure that I still have more to learn when using a PC. I'm not even sure I needed to use the SSR2.5 and that proper application of FPII would have removed most if not all the swirls. I used the PC at 4.5, just enough pressure to let the PC do it's job and probably too much polish. No matter how long I let the PC work, the polish never dried. Then again, I was afraid that it wouldn't dust but would just completely disappear and I would end up rubbing a dry pad against unprotected paint.



Anyone have any tips? Thanks!



Edit: Fixed broken image links
 
only suggestion is bumping up the speed maybe, my question is what did u hit the glass with? it looks pretty crazy, some kind of wax?
 
tensors22288 said:
my question is what did u hit the glass with? it looks pretty crazy, some kind of wax?
Click to expand...

IG followed by PB SG. I usually clay as well, but I skipped it this time since it didn't seem necessary. I can handle a dirty car, but I can't handle dirty windows!
 
I dunno man, that looks pretty damn good to me... Something you'll only see in the right light from a short distance. If you're intent on removing these few swirls that are left, definitely bump up the speed of the PC to 5-6, try the FP2 with a polishing pad. If that doesn't cut it at that speed with that combo, kick up to the SSR2.5 on the same pad (should be no need to wash it out) and see how that works for you.



Good luck with it. The car looks great.
 
Looks good enough when you consider it's Ford clearcoat, which is likely to swirl easily again. You can probably just maintain a filler wax/glaze and it'll look good enough.
 
for me, i would usually work the SSR 2.5 until it pretty much disappeared. as the pad loaded up with polish, it would usually be after going over the area i am polishing 4-5 times.



another advise is to go slowly, take your time, and be sure to make multiple passes. also, you could try using a cutting pad, and seeing if that works. but i don't recommend using the cutting pad all the time, just this one time, and to see if it might help in removing the swirls. then again, sometimes the swirls are just too stubborn to remove and it may be best to just live with them and not compromise your clearcoat.



but your svt focus looks great :bigups and the swirls aren't *that* bad, as shown in Photo #2. yes, it is probably something only an autopian would notice, but for the general public, damn your car looks awesome!



good luck and happy detailing! :wavey
 
UPDATE!



The PC isn't completely foolproof and does have a bit of a learning curve. I have been practicing over the last few weekends and I'm starting to understand the balance between amount of product, pressure, speed (both of moving the PC and the PC itself), and time. I decided to do some more practice this weekend on the girlfriend's car. She doesn't mind because, as she would say, it's just a company car! ;)



Here is the area I decided to attack, with a closeup:



Impala+10_09_2005+007.jpg


Impala+10_09_2005+007_crop.jpg




And here is what it looks like after SSR 2.5 and a Propel Orange pad:



Impala+10_09_2005+009.jpg


Impala+10_09_2005+009_crop.jpg




Definitely an improvement and SSR 2.5 finishes so well, it was LSP ready!



:bigups
 
opensob said:
IG followed by PB SG. I usually clay as well, but I skipped it this time since it didn't seem necessary. I can handle a dirty car, but I can't handle dirty windows!
Click to expand...



I too am a big fan of your glass care technique. What is IG? PB SG is Poor Boy's Sealant/Glaze right?
 
opensob- If that were mine I'd probably top it with a heavier wax that would hide the remaining imperfections a little better, something like #16, Blitz, or Collinite.



Even though I try to keep some of my vehicles as marring-free as possible, in this case I really would say "good enough". Heh heh, nobody else is gonna be seeing the car in monochrome with a macro lens so unless you wanna be as nutty as I am with my S8 you should probably just enjoy how nice it looks and work on wash technique if you want to improve something.



As truzoom said, it's a real-world car with soft clear and it looks great.
 
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