Removing swirls from a 6 month old car

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randy98mtu

New member
Great site you've got/I've found here! So I've been reading here for a few days and trying to figure out a plan for my WRX. She's about 5 months old and I've done something wrong at some point on it and have a lot of swirl marks. How do I determine what is causing the swirl marks? What would do it in the washing/waxing procedure, as that's all I had done when I noticed it the first time. If you look in my gallery, the shot of the hood "PearlSwirl" is with 350 miles on the car and I had done nothing but Zymol. More background on what I have done/used:



- I wash at a coin wash, as it's about all that's available. I may start trying to do it at my office, but then I'll be in the sun.

- I use one of those yellow wash mits from AutoZone or something. Gonne switch to one of those soft tan guys now.

- I use a traditional leather chamois. I've already started using a CWB before that. Gonna switch to CWB and a good MF towel.

- Wax with the Zymol cleaner/wax (the teal stuff)



After seeing the swirls, I tried ScratchX and SMR 39009. Thought I had them gone, but now I'm seeing them again. So it's gotta be in my washing or waxing technique. I've used mostly Viking rags/applicators from Murrays (local auto chain)



After reading around here, I plan to order the Klasse AIO and SG, some MF's and some S100/PCW. Once I've got the new supplies, I want to hit it with SMR, then AIO/SG/S100 as described plenty of places here. Still seeing some debate about the Dawn wash, so I'll decide on that when I get closer. So are my conclusions on what to use good? Suggestions on what I may have done/what I can do to avoid it in the future? After washing it today the finish feels great, but still has the swirls in direct sunlight. :down Below is a shot from about a month ago after the swirls got to me. I ScratchXed a small area at a time and got what I thought were good results. The pic below is with the drivers door done, the rear door not. The difference is obvious!



I want mine to look like some of the pics I've seen here. :xyxthumbs And I'm going into winter with my daily driver (8500 miles in about 5.5 months) so I'd like to get her ready.



Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
 

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randy98mtu - Welcome to Autopia. For tips on washing/drying without causing swirls, check out the "LEARN" section. You gotta refine that process or the swirls will always come back (and you'll eventually wreck your clearcoat with all the swirl-removal). A comprehensive answer to your post would be too much for me, so do the "LEARN" thing and do a few searches. Some sorta quick thoughts:



-lose the cheap cloths from the parts store. Most of us use better cloths on our cars than MOST people use on themselves.



-Make sure your wash mitt is either 100% cotton (sorta rare) or GOOD, REAL, sheepskin. Search under "two bucket method" for washing tips.



-DON'T use the same stuff to clean your wheels as you use on your paint.



-SMR is NOT gonna really remove your swirls. The SMR contains fillers that make it LOOK like the swirls are gone, but when the fillers go away you see the (same old) swirls again. On *MY* WRX I have to use something at least as aggressive as 3M PI-III MG (pn 05937). ScratchX is OK but it's more for small, isolated areas. Your black is softer than my silver so the 05937 should work fine for you. Then be VERY careful when you wash it so you don't swirl it up again.



You probably won't need the Dawn, but it doesn't seem to hurt newish Subarus any. DO clay the vehicle, I got a LOT of crap off mine when it was new.
 
Thanks for the response Accumulator. I have been reading a lot under learn but I wasn't sure if you fine folks might notice a glaring problem in my process. The more I thought about it last night I decided it just about had to be my rags/towels. I found some Turtle Wax MF's today at AutoZone and got a few. They have tags on them though, so I will be buying some better ones online.



I'll look into the 05937 to actually remove the swirls. I am afraid I've already damaged my clear, so I've been doing as little as possible to it lately until I found a place like this to learn what I was doing wrong. I honsetly had no idea how many other types of towels (MF's) and things there were.



I actually did already clay the car. I had read that it would help a new car quite a bit, so I went for it. I think once I get my wash routine down I think it'll look perfect again. No door dings in 8500 miles so far (knocks on wood) so I've got a solid base still!



Thanks for your response. I'll go try some of your search terms and read some more. Thanks again!



Edit: Just found this article. For some reason I never thought to search the learn section. :rolleyes: Very informative! Hopefully I'll have some mind blowing pics like you guys have in a few weeks here, weather permitting in Michigan.
 
I SERIOUSLY doubt that you've damaged your clear. Its going to take way more than a couple applications of Scratch X and SMR to go through your clear. In fact, I myself dont think that you'd be able to damage the clear at all using any of these products by hand or with a PC. With a rotary, sure. But clearcoat failure from polishing by hand or with a PC? I dont buy it.



If you'd burned through the clear you'd know it, the paint would be chalky and dull.
 
Thanks GoodnClean. That's reassuring. The only reason I feared that is a few weeks ago when I washed it, the tailgate came out looking dull and very scratched. I hit it with a coat of Zymol and it came back to life. I did have a paintless dent repair done to the tailgate. He heated it up to perform the repair, so I don't know if that could have effected it.



Just ordered some more MF's, Klasse and P21S. Looking forward to next weekend! I sure hope the weather is nice!
 
GoodnClean said:
I SERIOUSLY doubt that you've damaged your clear. Its going to take way more than a couple applications of Scratch X and SMR to go through your clear. In fact, I myself dont think that you'd be able to damage the clear at all using any of these products by hand or with a PC. With a rotary, sure. But clearcoat failure from polishing by hand or with a PC? I dont buy it.



If you'd burned through the clear you'd know it, the paint would be chalky and dull.
Click to expand...



Yeah, it's VERY doubtful that randy98mtu has damaged his clear. Those products, especially by hand, just aren't that aggressive. Even with the 05937, he's gonna be OK.



BUT..one really SHOULD be careful with the PC. It's not a rotary, but it's not quite as foolproof as we sometimes make it sound, either. A very well-regarded and knowledgeable Autopian recently cut through the clear, WITH A PC, on a car that SHOULD'VE been able to stand lots of polishing.



I've never cut through CLEAR, but I HAVE cut through single-stage, right to the primer. This was with a PC and Griot's Machine Polish #2, a rather MILD polish to say the least.



This is just inteded as a word of caution. Sometimes we get so caught up in the "you CAN'T hurt a car the a PC unless you drop it on the hood" that someone REALLY goes at it and they DO damage their car. It's always tempting to do "just a little more", especially when trying to fix black.
 
Accumulator said:
It's always tempting to do "just a little more", especially when trying to fix black.
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That's why I basically stopped trying to fix it till I knew how to do it right. At this point I'm even tempted to just do the AIO and SG without trying to "repair" it at all and just see where I end up. The only places I see swirls are the hood, doors and tailgate, so any swirl removing product I use I'll only use on those panels. And I can only see the swirls when the sun is pretty much behind my eyes (high when I see them in the hood, low on the horizon when I see them in the doors) So they aren't really that bad I don't think.
 
randy98mtu said:
That's why I basically stopped trying to fix it till I knew how to do it right....So they aren't really that bad I don't think.
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You're smart to take it easy while you learn what you're doing :xyxthumbs



If they don't look too bad TO YOU, then *I* hope you don't worry too much about them. It's ALL about YOU and YOUR being happy with YOUR car. Everyone has a different opinion about what is acceptable, especially on daily drivers.



BTW, topping the SG with a "heavy" paste wax such as Blitz (careful around trim with that stuff!) or Meguiar's #16 can help hide swirls too.
 
randy98mtu, Welcome to the best detailing site on the net!:wavey



It seems that you are on the right track with all of the good advice given above. I just thought I could add a little based on your last post about going with AIO and SG. I have some minor swirls that I wasn't able to get out with polishing because I didn't have the time to do so. I also use AIO(2 coats) and SG(4 coats), but I top it with Poorboy's EX Sealant with Carnauba. This combination hides the swirls extremely well as well as bring out greater depth and shine. It is also very durable too.



Just my $.02 worth.



Good luck,



Jeremy
 
Which is more abbrassive, DACP or 05937? Maybe he should build up to what he needs for the job from the bottom?
 
Thanks for the additional comments (and the welcome!)



Accumulator, I'm not worrying about them much at all, that's why I'm thinking I won't do anything abrasive; just do the AIO and SG and call it good/see what it does.



Regarding wax, I already ordered some P21S. I wish I had the stuff today because it was a gorgeous day! I might have to call in sick one day after getting the supplies, because we aren't gonna have a lot more good days here! :)



Thanks again, I'll post a new pic when I get finished!
 
Accumulator said:


BUT..one really SHOULD be careful with the PC. It's not a rotary, but it's not quite as foolproof as we sometimes make it sound, either. A very well-regarded and knowledgeable Autopian recently cut through the clear, WITH A PC, on a car that SHOULD'VE been able to stand lots of polishing.
Click to expand...



Interesting...



Was the story posted on Autopia? I'd love to read it.
 
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