paint swirls

Swirls are acually very fine scratches in the paint. To get rid of them, you'll need to polish them out of the paint. This involves uses an abrasive polish to smooth out the edges of the scratchs. You can do this by hand - at least I hear that you can - but it's a lot of work. It's easier if you use a machine polisher. You need a good one though - the little $30 deals at Walmart won't do the trick. I think nearly every one here will agree that a Porter Cable 7424 or 7336sp would be the machine to get.

You can however, minimize the swirls by using a wax or sealant with fillers that temporarily fill in the scratchs. But they swirls will reappear as the wax wears off. I hear that Clearkote Vanilla Moose is good for that but I have not used it on a swirly car myself. I'm sure some others here will have some suggestions.
 
Welcome to DC! Dalmore's right. To do any effective job of removing them, you should invest in a orbital buffer. The Porter Cable 7424 or the other model are used by many people (myself included) here to remove them without worrying about damaging the paint. If you have a little more money to spend, you may want to buy a Cyclo. This is a 2 headed orbital and some say works better than the PC. It's a bit more though. Read all the threads you can, and absorb the knowledge here, and you will be amazed with your car when its finished! If you don't want to invest in a orbital buffer, then you can try to fill in the swirls like Dalmore said. Meguiar's ColorX is one that can be found at like a Checker's or Autozone. I'm sure others will also have some suggestions for you.
 
i was looking at some of the orbital polishers you guys suggested and the 7424 ws about $120. i think it would definately be worth it to get rid of these ugly paint swirls. how would i use the polisher on my car once i get it though ? do i have to use some kind of lubricant or wax or something ?
 
In addition to the polisher itself, you will need a swirl remover. I would suggest Poorboy's SSR1 &SSR2.5. These two polishes will just about cover all of your swirl removing needs. Pick up some SSR3 for heavier scratches if you want. The trick is to work on smaller sections at one time and completely work the product in. I believe that there is a thread that shows the various break-down stages of a polish. This would be a good guide to use.
 
yep, you would use the polisher with a car polish or twos. There are a couple of popular lines of polish around here. Keep in mind that paints are different and there is a little bit of a learning curve (not much - just a little) so don't disspair if you don't get immediate results. There are a couple of threads archived here that will help a lot.

As far as polishes go, my personal favorite polishes are the Poorboys World Super Swirl Remover's. I would recommend SSR2.5 for starters - it's aggressive enough to remove a lot of swirls yet it still leaves a glossy finish.

Other popular poishes around here are the Menzerna polishes, you'll probably need Intensive polish to remove the swirls and Final Polish II to get the gloss back. Meguairs and Hi-Temp seem to get a lot of mention too but I have never used them so I can't offer much of an opinion.

You need to put a sealant or wax on top of the paint once you get the swirls out to keep it looking good. Ask and you'll get a hundred or so recommendations. :D
 
...not meant to confuse you, but also worthy of mention aside from the PB SSR 2.5/SSR1, are Sonus Paint Cleaner, and 1zPP.
I have used both of the Sonus and 1z with excellent results. If I need a more aggresive approach, I use a more aggressive pad (orange in the Sonus line).

Now I to have read the besides being able to chemically fill scratches, Clearkote Vanilla Moose when used with a polishing pad appeared to remove the scratches as opposed to fill them.
Do a search either here or at Autopia.com....I know it was covered at greater detail.
Have fun.
 
You need a strong polish to get out the swirls, and sometimes you need to follow up with a milder polish to get rid of the slight haze or micromarring that's left behind.

Megs #83 followed by #80 is a standard and popular combo.

I've found that 3MsPI-III Rubbing Compound works better than #83, SSR2.5 or Einzett Ultra for getting out tough swirls and scratches. It can then be followed with either 3M's Machine Glaze or Megs #80.

If you get really into it you can do a 3 step pre-sealant polish:

DACP or 3M RC followed by #80 followed by something like Megs #81 or Vanilla Moose, then your sealant and/or wax.

I've been working for weeks and weeks to get out the toughest swirls. I've polished and waxed the whole car, but I do a thorough prep of only a small part of the car each weekend because I don't have time to do it all at once.

I also don't like feeling rushed. And in the meantime, polishes with oils or fillers hide the small water spots and swirls I haven't eliminated yet.

Good luck.
 
High Temp Light Cut is a nice product to work with. You can work it for a long time on speed 5, then click to 6 and smoke the paint to a high gloss, wipes off pretty well, smells like crap though. But its cheap.

I bought it for my first polish as i figured i would be wasting product, not working effectively, and i was right.
 
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