Newbie - Swirls spoiling my car

S

speedsix

New member
Hi there, this is my first post. I'm from the UK and drive a black Seat Ibiza Cupra. pic here



I love my car but the swirl marks in direct sunlight really spoil it's appearence. It's one of those cars that look fantastic in the shade but poor in direct sunlight. I think the paint quality is poor, every other black Seat I've seen had the same swirls, even the practically new ones! Mine is 3yrs old.



I haven't had the car long, I'm sure it came with the swirls, I try my best to avoid swirls when washing.



I have tried various waxes which hide it a bit but I would like to improve the situation permanently. I'm not fussed about a 'perfect' finish as it's a daily driver and I'd be too paranoid! :) I don't mind how long it takes either.



Ok so I've tried Meguiars Scratch X by hand a couple of times on a small spot but with no discernable improvement. Not too sure if I'm using the product correctly, how much pressure, how many applications, how long to leave it to dry? I'm currently putting a small amount on with a terry towel, leaving for a few mins then buffing off. What could I be doing wrong?



I'm aprehensive to use any sort of buffer, if I can't achieve a good finish by hand I may have to get a pro to look at it.



Any advice would be greatly appreciated to stop me parking in the shade and getting out in the sun again :cool:



many thanks



Dom.
 
To remove swirls by hand will take a lot of time and effort. It is hard but can be done. I could get my previous cars swirl free, but gave up and bit the bullet and orderd a PC polisher for my Black car.



To use scratch X you need to work it till it is almost gone, keep rubbing till it almost disapears, any left over dont let dry and remove straight away and repeat till you are happy. It can take may applications and doing a whole car is a pain. By hand it will take a fair amount off pressure, Terry towel is a good choice as it is more abbrassive than foam so adds more bite.



Other wise a Glaze product can be used to hide them.



Dont be afraid off the PC a good guide in the UK section on here.



Where are you based a fellow UK member may be able to help you out?
 
Dom,



With any type of scratch removal, you're going to need a polish, and you'll need to work the product into the paint to "level" out the scratches. Merely applying, then removing, will not do the job.



Hand applications require a fair amount of "elbow grease" and are complicated by the fact that what you're basically trying to do is "rescratch" your paint in the most even way possible (I hope that makes sense). While spot repair may be possible, if you need to do this on the entire car, I would employ the services of a professional detailer - especially if the swirls are deep.



OR ...



... you can get yourself a PC. It's easy to learn ... the risk of paint damage is very, VERY low ... and you get the thrill of being able to maintain your finish yourself - as often as you need to. =)
 
Excellent, thanks for the quick response.



I think I will go for a PC sometime in the future, I'm still aprehensive of damaging the paint but I'm also not sure how to go about getting a good job done professionally (if you know what I mean)



What I'm going to do in the meantime is try a bit of scratch X on a particular panel, probably the bonnet over time to see if it yields any improvement.



I will then look into getting something to hide the siwrls as best as possible until I get a PC. You say a glaze can hide swirls, how well does this work and can you recommend a product (available to order in the uk) that would hide the marks as best as possible?



I get a little confused with detailing termanology, everything I read seems to use different names for the same product, the more I read the more conflicting info I find! The cleaner/polish/glaze part seems to confuse me the most.



Thanks for the advice chaps, much apreciated.



Dom
 
Try this with the scratch X. Use a terry towel folded into a small square. Apply some scratchx to it and start buffing it in a small area. you can get some really good pressure and friction with the folded up terry towel. After the polish has been worked in switch to a yellow foam wax applicator and go over the same area you just did with a little more polish. This will help remove the marring from the terry towel and should leave a nice finish for you.
 
Can anyone advice on the best thing to hide the swirls as best as possible.



I currently use either cheap Zymol wax or Megs Gold class which does hide them a bit. The problem I find with the meguiars is in cold, rainy old england it doesn't seem to 'cure' properly and I can't get it off, atall. Shows up really badly on a black car.



I had to switch to the zymol which dries instantly to a powder and is much easier to remove.



Would a 'glaze' be the best thing to hide the siwrls, not even sure what exactly a glaze is tbh.



Thanks again



Dom.
 
Let's see if we can't clear this up a bit...



Cleaners: Removes contaminants/oxidation from the paint/clearcoat.

Compounds: Very abrasive. Used for heavy defect removal.

Polishes: Medium to light abrasiveness: Depending on the abrasiveness, used for medium to light defect removal. Good polishing will add depth to your finish.

Glaze: Usually not abrasive. Contains any combination of paint conditioners, oils, fillers, etc. Used, after the polish step and before the final protectant, to hide any remaining slight defects in the finish.



The problem with products is they quite often deviate from the "standard" definitions by combining different attributes of products. Some examples are "cleaning waxes","filler polishes", or "polishing glaze". Sometimes, a manufacturer's description of the product may be misleading. This is why you want to stick with what people consider "professional" lines of product. They are usually made of VERY specific purposes and you will have a lot of knowledge about these products on the forums.



I've been a long time fan of Meguiars professional line of products so I'm a little biased, here. I've found their #3 Speed Glaze to work great. However, I'm not sure if it will work as well with a hand application. Also, I believe it to contain more oils and replenishing agents than fillers.
 
Nitwit said:
I've found their #3 Speed Glaze to work great. However, I'm not sure if it will work as well with a hand application. Also, I believe it to contain more oils and replenishing agents than fillers.
Click to expand...



#3 is their (functionally) nonabrasive "Machine Glaze", #80 is their mildly abrasive "Speed Glaze". Both work fine by hand or machine. Don't mean to sound all pedantic or anything, just clarifying (got 'em both on the shelf).



Using the #80, then the #3 (or #5/#7/#81) will do some mechanical removing of the marring (via the #80) and also some filling/hiding. Top with a non-cleaner wax. Works petty well if the marring isn't severe.
 
Hi, thanks for the responses, much apreciated.



The current plan at the moment is to try working the Scratch X by hand on small areas at a time and see if I can get some improvement and then hiding/filling the swirls as best I can. I will then look into getting a PC sometime in the future.



My current kit contains;



Meguairs Clear Coat Scrub (Cleaner with some Polish?)

Scratch X (Polish?)

Gold Class Wax (non cleaner Wax?)



1. Should I add anything to this to best hide the swirls? I have seen this video on the meguiars site showing the NXT wax hiding alot of swirls... does it actually work THAT well?? Will the NXT hide more than my gold class?



2. Is there any reason to replace my Cleaner (used rarely) with a Clay bar, or just use up the remaing cleaner for now and get some clay when it runs out?



3. How often do I need to polish, I wouldn't use something like Scratch X on a regular basis, is it only necessary to correct problems with the paint as they arise? Could I do with adding a polish/glaze to my kit that I can use fairly regularly to improve gloss?



4. What can I put on the car after it's weekly wash to give it that just waxed look without waxing every week? 'Quick Detailer' or Wax top up sprays?





Thanks again



Dom.
 
Maybe try Clearkote Vanilla Moose or a Meguiars glaze ( 2, 5, & or there hand polish 81) before NXT to help hide more defects.



The bodyscrub is more a chemical cleaner, the clay will remove stuck on above the suface contaminants. I like to Paint Clean and Clay that way all avenues are covered.



Deep polishing should only be done as and when really needed to remove defects etc. There are plently of mild pre wax products you could use all the time. I likeClearkote Vannilla Moose or Klasse A10, P21s Paint Cleanser, even Autoglym Super Resin is mild enough to use often.



Any good quick deatail spray will add to the just waxed look after a wash, as will a good quality gloss shampoo. I like Sonax from Vauxhall dealers.
 
For all the money you would spend on products now , you might as well get a detailer to remove the swirls and apply a glaze and sealer for about the same price really .

Then just get some NXT wax and some good microfibers and a good wash mitt and car wash and be done .
 
speedsix said:
I currently use either cheap Zymol wax or Megs Gold class which does hide them a bit. The problem I find with the meguiars is in cold, rainy old england it doesn't seem to 'cure' properly and I can't get it off, atall.
Click to expand...



Sounds like you might have the "old" Meg Gold Class. There is a "new" formula that came out earlier this year that is MUCH easier to remove supposedly (haven't tried it myself). At least here in the US, the way to tell the difference is the "old" formula was sold in a plastic jar and the "new" formula is sold in a metal tin. Note that this only applies to recent purchases, because several years ago, the "old" formula used to be sold in metal tins also before they switched to plastic.



If you like the look of Gold Class, it might be worth trying the new formula. If not, there are many other choices available.
 
I don't know this for sure (maybe someone comment) but I believe the Gold Class Wax is the detailers choice because it's composed almost entirely of carnauba. This makes it more of a "detailers' choice/showcar" because it sacrifices durability for shine. If this IS the case, you'll end up needing to wax more frequently.



I hear some very good things about the Meguiars NXT line although, out of habit, I've been sticking to the tried and true #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax which has never let me down. I typically wax my car once a month (my car spends almost all of its time in the hot Hawaii sun) and the protection holds up well.



The #26 is a combination of carnauba with synthetic polymers/silicones as a sealant. Good durable protection, satisfactory depth and shine.



From what I can tell (they're not especially descriptive when it comes to consumer, as opposed to "professional", products ... the NXT Tech Wax is entirely synthetic and has additional fillers to hide swirls. This may be your best bet for durability and swirl hiding (from the description). Depends on your preference for depth, I believe.



I wash weekly and will go through 4-5 washes before reapplying the wax. Between washes, I like to use Meguiars Quik Detailer with a Ultra Plush MF from pakshak.com. Just make sure you wipe properly ... so you don't make even more swirls. =)
 
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