Do swirls really bother you guys?

M

Macruz19

New member
Hey there guys. Just wondering what everybody thinks about swirls and marring on your finish. About 6 months ago I didn't care about swirl marks that much. I only cared about "visible scratches" and dings on my finish. Basically, my paints finish is great. Just read my signature below....



It's a clean car, however...I do have swirls. It's my daily driver. After joining Autopia a few months ago and reading, I thought I was crazy until reading alot of posts here. I then started to look at my finish under the garage light at work and home to see how many swirls I have on the finish. I have quite a bit of swirls. Not too bad, but they are there only under the light.



When I do see it directly in sunlight it's better than I would say at least 97% of other peoples cars in town. I truly take care of my car, but everything changed when I joined this site.



I started reading about the porter cable, and different types of polishes and compounds. I thought Zaino starts and ends when protecting your paint. NOT! You got to properly PREP your paint before you apply an LSP. So....... I did a lot of reading and slacked off at work :chuckle: doing research about the PC and accessories. After reading and looking at before and after pics I got one about a month later. Usually it doesn't take me long to pull the trigger, but I did lots of reading and research before buying the PC.



I bought the PC last month and loving it. I have limited of time to use it, but so far I did my roof, and hood. I would say it's 80-90% better, but I have some deeper scratches on the hood and roof. When I have time I want to do some spot repairs on those swirls with a 4" pad. I'm glad you can't see them unless it's under a light. So far I've been using Menzerna IP, 3M rubbing compund, Z-PC, and my latest to my arsenal SFX-1. I'm still learning proper technique, but those deeper swirls are bothering me now. I'm becoming too much obsessed with removing these swirls and I don't think it's healthy.. LOL J/K.



Like I said, my TL is my daily driver and how much swirls is too much on your DD? I mean I'm a perfectionist and all but it's not like I have a weekend car. My cars paint is great looking but those swirls on my trunk and spoiler are killing me. Not to mention I have to rework parts of my hood and reapply Zaino on it.



You guys think I'm doing too much work? Now, I have minor swirls to worry about. DAMN you Autopia!! Haha. I'm more anal than ever!!
 
I don't know how everyone keeps their daily drivers (DD's) so clean. Mine's a mess. I keep my garaged non- DD's swirl free though!
 
My daily driver is white, but the "street lights" show whats going on with my paint every night when I leave work. So that makes me keep on top of it.
 
My DD is grey, I keep it about 90% swirl free most of the time. You cant really worry tooo much about swirls on a DD, they will always have them.
 
Brandon1 said:
My DD is grey, I keep it about 90% swirl free most of the time. You cant really worry tooo much about swirls on a DD, they will always have them.
Click to expand...





Yeah I know but it's my only car... :nervous:



it's all good, it looks hella lot better than most cars on the road.
 
My garage queen Ford Tickford Falcon has some baby swirls here and there and maybe light swirls on the roof but that's it. I have enhanced the paint to an insane level and try not to polish it anymore due to the age of the paint and wanting to keep the original paint as long as possible. Maybe 10 to 20 years



The boot has thin clear now as it got buffed a few too many times so just paint cleanser from now on, maintained with my new non abrasive/quick shot brightener spray by machine.



A daily driver is a different matter. I would probably polish it once the swirls got to about medium level.

My 94 hilux is half finished being machine polished and gets lackfinish, rinse and blot dry so swirls will take a fair while to come back.
 
Ive learned to live with them. In all honesty, theres too much pollen, too many birds, too much sap and leaves. I dont have the ability to turn my transportation into a GQ. Ive learned to compomise. Light swirls, and sufficient clear coat remaining. The poor thing (CC) suffers enough with every new product I try. I have two test beds in the name of Ford and Dodge and I dont need to submit them to a quarterly barage of polishing to remove swirls. I can guarantee you though, it doesnt have the swirl induced disgust seen on those who prefer a weekly trip to the corner sratch and dash. I keep it as clean as time permits, when Im not putting in 12 hr days 5 days a week.
 
i never cared about swirls untill i got into this site , now i am spotting swirled up cars eveywhere i go. my girlfriend thinks i am crazy
 
Yea , its pretty bad. I sometimes will park next to a car at the store or something and see its swirls and think (I bet you some OP with an Orange pad will take care of that, maybe some Menz IP followed by FPII, with some #26 on top, yea that would look great!)



its a sickness but i love it, they say cleanliness is next to Godliness!



Jim
 
i have the same year/color TL as you...from what i can tell it is 99%+ defect free on the paint. i haven't even done correction on it! i guess the autopian gods were looking over the car before i bought it and kept it safe. :)



i have been slowly improving my winter/beater car's finish (92 accord) as i practice wetsanding and rotary work on it. it takes a lot of time (for me) to do serious corrections...especially while learning. today i wetsanded the trunk and polished out with new rotary pads. i'm sure i'm doing MUCH more work on it than is "needed"...but that's why it's a hobby and not a necessity. woohoo!!!:waxing:
 
One time I parked in the middle of a street and got out because the lighting in that area was the most revealing to see swirls. Ppl were just starin at me but I didn't care because what's gotta be done has to got to be done.
 
I tried to achieve a near perfect finish on my outside 24/7 TA but since it has etching and scratches reality has set in. I use a mild polish once or twice a year to minimize swirls and bring up the gloss.
 
I can't wait for my vacation in May. I'll have time to do more than 1 section at a time. I need time...



It's hard, but maybe i shouldnt park under a lit garage. then i will never now i have swirls!!



Now, this is my DD and my only car... you see any swirls????? Check it out...





paint2.jpg


TL14.jpg


tldirt4.jpg


TL2-1.jpg


tl4-1.jpg






That's my car. I have a clear bra on the hood and bumper and I have swirls, but you can't really see them unless you're under a garage light.
 
BMW335i said:
One time I parked in the middle of a street and got out because the lighting in that area was the most revealing to see swirls. Ppl were just starin at me but I didn't care because what's gotta be done has to got to be done.
Click to expand...



:LOLOL



I guess so man. I'm just glad I don't have a black car. If so, I'd quit cleaning it. It's funny when the light shows everything. I wonder why you can't see it from sunlight?
 
I try and be realistic. I've pretty much eliminated swirls with good wash techinques/product.



I do however have some straight line marring in places. The Autopian in me wants a perfect finish, the realist in me realizes that my car looks great and better than %99 of the cars I pass everyday. Plus straight line marring has a lot less effect on the look of a car than swirls. And I only see that marring under very specific lighting conditions, it helps that the car is a darker silver.



The only corrective product my car has had was Poliseal once, and I've owned the car since Dec 2005. I feel confident in saying that I've done a damn fine job keeping the soft subaru butter clearcoat relatively mar free.



Sometimes good enough is good enough, and that's why I'll never own a black car.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top