Hello Black G35 With Swirl Marks Advice

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imported_tonymontana

New member
Hello, just registered the other day but have been reading for a while now. Would like to say 'Thank you' to those who post pics, examples, and methods on how to keep your car detailed.



I have a black G35 coupe which I wash once a week a garage daily. I recetly used a one-step (polish/wax yikes!) to keep my car looking wet/shiny (So I thought). In the shade the car looks nice but at high noon the swirl marks come out....irritating! The swirl marks seem to be shallow (fingernail test)...I imagine they are in the clearcoat.



I have a few questions for everyone:



1. I noticed work done by Scottwax and was wondering which method would be overkill (meaning, using a more agressive polish than necessary) and which would be the better way to go? I am looking for a compromise between shine and durabailty.



Choice A- Optimum Polish using a Meguiars polishing pad, Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze using a Meguiars polishing pad, Clearkote's Vanilla Moose with a Meguiars polishing pad and Collinite 845 Insulator Wax by hand.



Choice B- Polished it out with Detailer's Pride Super Swirl Eliminator with a burgandy Meguiars cutting pad, then the hood two more times with Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze and a Meguiars polishing pad, then the whole car with Vanilla Moose with a Meg's polishing pad and topping with Poorboy's EX w/carnauba.





2. I plan on using a PC in a couple of weeks as I used to do everything by hand (maybe that was the cause of the swirl marks). Does everyone use the PC at 3 to 4.5? Or does it vary per car/job?



3. For tight corners, some people suggest using a 4" pad...before I invest in pads, How does a 4" pad fit on a PC with a 5" backing (such as the 7424)? Sorry, I have tried searching but could not find a "How to" on changing out pads, backings, etc with the PC.





Thanks for your time,

Manny
 
tonymontana said:
I am looking for a compromise between shine and durabailty.
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Manny, first off welcome to the world of detailing. You seem to be concerned with swirl marks which you wish to polish out of your paint. There is no durability factor when it comes to polishing. Durability is only a factor when choosing your LSP (a/k/a wax or sealant).



tonymontana said:
Choice A- Optimum Polish using a Meguiars polishing pad, Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze using a Meguiars polishing pad, Clearkote's Vanilla Moose with a Meguiars polishing pad and Collinite 845 Insulator Wax by hand.



Choice B- Polished it out with Detailer's Pride Super Swirl Eliminator with a burgandy Meguiars cutting pad, then the hood two more times with Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze and a Meguiars polishing pad, then the whole car with Vanilla Moose with a Meg's polishing pad and topping with Poorboy's EX w/carnauba.
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It's hard to say what you'll need to remove the swirls without seeing them. However, I think your steps may be a little off target. I would say you should get two polishes one with more cut than the other like Poorboys SSR 2.5 w/ SSR 1, Menzerna IP w/ FP2, or Optimum Compound w/ Optimum Polish. I've listed the more agressive polish in each brand first and of course there are many brands you could consider. I would say any combination of a more agressive and less agressive polish will have you covered. Try the lest agressive first on a small spot and if that gets out all the swirls then do the whole car. If not switch to the more agressive and then do the whole car. I would also buy a variety of pads. Polishing is all about combining the right pad with the right polish for the job. No one can really tell you exactly what you'll need to do for your specific situation. You'll need to experiment for yourself. Always start with the least abrasive method and move to move abrasive methods until you find what works.

tonymontana said:
2. I plan on using a PC in a couple of weeks as I used to do everything by hand (maybe that was the cause of the swirl marks). Does everyone use the PC at 3 to 4.5? Or does it vary per car/job?
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As you surmised it varies

tonymontana said:
3. For tight corners, some people suggest using a 4" pad...before I invest in pads, How does a 4" pad fit on a PC with a 5" backing (such as the 7424)? Sorry, I have tried searching but could not find a "How to" on changing out pads, backings, etc with the PC.
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You'll need to get a smaller backing plate to use with 4" pads. Otherwise, the backing plate will stick out over the edge of the pad and you could scratch the paint with it. It's very easy to change backing plates.
 
1. Choice A should be able to get out light to moderate defects. I would skip the #80 step though. Optimum polish leaves a LSP ready surface when used on a polishing pad. If you want better looks on your black car, instead of using insulator wax to top, try out natty's blue, souveran, s100, p21s or another beauty wax (unless you have snow/salt/sand up where u live, then stick with the IW).



2. A variety of speeds should be used with the PC. For abrasive polishes, speed 6 should be used. For applying LSP's, cleaners, etc 3-4 should be used. For the initial spreading of the products I used speed 2.



3. There are small 2.5"-3" backing plates available for those that use 4" pads with the PC. excel detail offers the 4" propel turbo kit and it includes pads and a small backing plate that will tackle anything but the worst jobs. They also offer a 7" (or is it 6"? I can't remember) pad kit that includes pads and a backing plate. Together the two kits will cost just over 50 bucks combined. A great value considering the quality of the propel line.
 
Excel has several backing plates of various sizes. The 4" pads are used with the 2.75" backing plate. The 5" works best with the original Propels, because it makes it very easy to center the pads (there's a 5" diameter depression in the back of the pad).



The Propel2s don't have this depression, so the 5" or 6" should work well with those pads.



I'd go with choice A as well. Every car's condition varies, so you may not be able to remove all of your swirls with Optimum Polish and a polishing pad. You may need to try a yellow pad.



I only use the PC on lower speeds when applying paint cleaners or glazes. All polishing is done on 5 or 6.
 
A G35 Coupe is a great test bed to hone your PC skills. It has nice flat surfaces everywhere. It's what I learned on. I would go with OP or even OC with the PC (if you really want to go with Optimum... I personally prefer the SSRs) and use either a polishing or cutting pad, depending on how severe your swirls are. Start out with the least aggressive combination first, then work a section and check your progress and step up as needed. Optimum, Poorboys, and Menzerna polishes all polish out very nicely and leave an LSP ready finish if worked properly. You shouldn't have to follow any of these up (unless you go with SSR3, which you should not need) with a less aggressive polish.



Depending on what sealant you use, you may or may not want to throw a glaze in the mix. If you want to go polish/VM/EX or EX-P/carnauba that would be fine, but some sealants won't bond well over a glaze. Really the only popular ones that will be fussy are Zaino and Klasse Sealant/Glaze. Others should work fine, but do keep in mind that since they aren't bonding to a bare surface, durability may be negatively affected. Again, not much of a concern if you plan on keeping a fresh coat of carnauba on top of it all.
 
Personally, I'd make a Poorboys World (www.poorboysworld.com - you can also order from auto-geek.net and use coupon code Autopia for 10% off) order for products.



I'd skip the #80 all together, and instead of the polishs/compounds he listed, I'd go with the SSR line. SSR 3 is really, really abrasive, and will probably be too abrasive for your car unless you have SERIOUS paint defects. SSR 2 or SSR 2.5 with a mild cutting/polshing pad would probably be what you're looking for.



As far as the wax/sealent goes, I'd probably go with Vanilla Moose and top it with Poorboy's World Natty's Blue wax, or S100 wax.



If you want to just stick with Poorboy's world products for simplicity's sake when it comes to ordering, you could get the polish(s) that you need, and seal it with EX sealent w/ carnuba, then top that with Natty's blue.



If you were to post some pictures of the swirls in the sunlight, we can probably give you an idea of what product / pad combo would be in order. :)
 
choice a sounds good to me... Dont bother with poorboys it will get you no further then what you have listed above...



-Justin
 
[\QUOTE]If you were to post some pictures of the swirls in the sunlight, we can probably give you an idea of what product / pad combo would be in order. :)[/QUOTE]



Thanks Homicidal! I was going to follow-up with a pad choice question. I see some poeple recommend polishing pads and others cutting pads. How do you know when to use which? But I can answer that myself....by trial and error!



The thing is....aren't you cutting into the clearcoat everytime you polish? I dont want to polish too often that my car will start loosing paint before I part with it (at least two-three years...its a 2004).



I will post some pics today....



Thanks, Manny
 
Without seeing your car in person, it is hard to say what is and is not overkill.



Don't worry about cutting into the clearcoat with a PC, unless you drop it on the car or catch some grit under the pads. I would keep deep polishing to a once or twice a year thing though.



I sometimes use #80 after Optimum because #80 has more oils and gives somewhat better depth on black or red than just Optimum and an LSP alone. Plus it further refines the polishing.



In LA, since you don't have any real harsh winter weather, most carnaubas will provide adequate protection. I'd probably go with Carnauba Moose, Natty's Blue or even Pinnacle Souveran.
 
HomicidalSloth said:
Personally, I'd make a Poorboys World (www.poorboysworld.com - you can also order from auto-geek.net and use coupon code Autopia for 10% off) order for products.
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If you order today, you can get 20% off at Autogeek by using the coupon code "maxthescrooge".



The SSRs are my preferred polishes as well. I got a sample of Optimum and I didn't care for it.
 
Manny, what part of LA are you in? Perhaps I could help you out with some of the products that I have so you can decide what you want to purchase.
 
SpoiledMan said:
Manny, what part of LA are you in? Perhaps I could help you out with some of the products that I have so you can decide what you want to purchase.
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what's up spoiledman...I'm in pasadena. I jumped on the poorboy bandwagon...figuered I would give it a try....I just have to get some pads now and wait for the PC to arrive. Thanks for taking your time to write......



Manny



I have added pics for those that can recommend the right pad choice...excuse the water spots. it rained here the other day.
 

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SO far...picked up PB EX, PB EX-P, VM, RMG...in addition to my car I have to work on a silver 530 and a graphite FX35....my car is the problem child.



I am planning to buy the SSR 2.5 tonight but questioned whether I should get the 2.0 and 1.0 as well.



Then I plan to get propel pads from excel but wondered if I should get the 4" as well....we'll see...need to get glass cleaner too (stoner's)...



By the time I am finished I will have spent close to 4 bills...hopefully this stuff will last me a while!
 
I would get the larger pads and the 4" pads. They both have their purpose and can make certain situations a lot easier.

You might want to pick up some SSR2, but I've never needed SSR1. Usually I can get a great finish with just SSR2.5, with no need for a lesser polish afterward.
 
Are you damaging your clearcoat every time you use a polish such as SSR 2.5 because its abrasive?...Scottwax wrote earlier one to two deep polishes per year...just curious how the SSR 2.5 works on clearcoats....



Another question....do you use SSR 1 to maintain the look of the car when something like SSR 2.5 is not needed?



Thanks, Manny
 
tonymontana said:
Are you damaging your clearcoat every time you use a polish such as SSR 2.5 because its abrasive?...Scottwax wrote earlier one to two deep polishes per year...just curious how the SSR 2.5 works on clearcoats....



Another question....do you use SSR 1 to maintain the look of the car when something like SSR 2.5 is not needed?



Thanks, Manny
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You are not damaging your clearcoat if you polish correctly. You are removing a very slight bit (not even enough to measure with a paint thickness guage) to level the paint. The only way to remove swirls is to level the paint to the deepest part of the swirls.



Don't obsess about your clearcoat, unless you deep polish every single week, you aren't going to remove enough clearcoat to affect its lifespan.



Most cars that are properly washed and protected, normally shouldn't need deep polishing more than a couple times a year. You could probably do it 5-6 times a year if you had to, but if that is the case, you have other issues that are causing you to deep polish that frequently.



Once you polish your car out with 2.5, you should be able to maintain it with regular waxing and maybe a light polish like SSR1 or Polish w/carnauba every other time you wax.
 
Scottwax said:
You are not damaging your clearcoat if you polish correctly. You are removing a very slight bit (not even enough to measure with a paint thickness guage) to level the paint. The only way to remove swirls is to level the paint to the deepest part of the swirls.



Don't obsess about your clearcoat, unless you deep polish every single week, you aren't going to remove enough clearcoat to affect its lifespan.



Most cars that are properly washed and protected, normally shouldn't need deep polishing more than a couple times a year. You could probably do it 5-6 times a year if you had to, but if that is the case, you have other issues that are causing you to deep polish that frequently.



Once you polish your car out with 2.5, you should be able to maintain it with regular waxing and maybe a light polish like SSR1 or Polish w/carnauba every other time you wax.
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Thank guys for taking the time to reply....I have searched and searched through posts and have seen a fair number of messed up autos! Other than the pads, I am ready to go....have to kill this thread already! I'll post pics one day when I take on the job....again, thanks....
 
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