Swirl Removal: What am I doing wrong?

I

islandvic

New member
Sorry for no pics.



Today I wanted to test some products out and remove some swirl marks from my wife's car. It's a 2005 (old body style) silver Malibu. Besides the occasional waxing, it has never received a proper detailing.



The hood was washed with Meguiar's Gold Class, then clayed it with the green clay from Sonus and diluted Gold Class.



Then I used Sonus Orange pad with a Porter Cable 7336sp with Meguiars's #2 Fine Cut Cleaner. I did half the hood at a time. I did two applications of the #2.



Next, I proceeded with the Sonus Green Pad with Megs #9 Swirl Remover. I did 3 passes buffing with a MF between each pass.



I then followed with a Sonus Blue Pad an Megs # 5 Glaze. I did 2 passes with it, buffing out with MF each time.



This was performed all this in the shade using fresh MF's with each product.



I did notice a reduction in swirls and a few of the larger scratches from probably a cat were reduced a lot.



I was disappointed that more swirls were not removed. If it were a dark color, it would have been more noticeable.



I finished with two coats for Klasse AIO by hand a one coat of Klasse SG.



I figured that 3 passes with the #9 would take care of at least 80% of the swirls, but this is not the case.



Should I have used a more aggressive cut than the # 2 in the first step?



Was my pad choice wrong? Or just technique?



Any suggestions are appreciated!



Thanks.
 
Question is: are you happy with it now?



If yes, you are probably better off leaving it alone than chasing for the swirl free perfection.

If it's a daily driver it is better to leave as much clearcoat left as possible in order to be able to re-polish it later. Theres lots of older posts about the subject. :)



You could use more aggressive compound first, then move to lighter ones. With random orbital breaking down the compounds takes bit more time too. Theres excellent guides at detailing world. :cooleek:
 
The main problem I see if that you are using some reall really low cut products by Meguiar's. What I mean by that is that you will get much more cutting ability from Meguiar's #80, or the stronger #83 and still remain fairly safe. #83 is capable of leaving light marring, but a follow up pass by #80 should fix that no problem.



The Meguiar's "Swirl Remover" is really a VERY light cut and really won't cut swirls effectively unless you have a rotary.



Again, try some #80 and/or #83 and you should get the results you are seeking.
 
Lumadar said:
The main problem I see if that you are using some reall really low cut products by Meguiar's.
Click to expand...



I don't know if that's really true about #2, they've reformulated it so many times I'm not sure what it's like now, but it looks from their website that they are rating it as a 5.



islandvic said:
I figured that 3 passes with the #9 would take care of at least 80% of the swirls, but this is not the case.



Should I have used a more aggressive cut than the # 2 in the first step?



Was my pad choice wrong? Or just technique?
Click to expand...



GM clear just laughs at #9. Bear in mind that swirl removal, even with a PC, takes a lot of work. How much pressure are you applying? You will need to apply significant downforce on the PC to achieve swirl removal.
 
We know your process now, but we really need to know more about your technique.



It could be your not working it in long enough or you working it too long or not high enough speed, or not slow enough passes.....



Hard to say but with a PC you won't get a ton of swirls removed on a Chevy clearcoat.
 
I've used #9 and it's not that great. I would suggest #83 as an alternative.



Josh is right, you may not have broken the polish down correctly. It may be your technique.
 
JoshVette said:
We know your process now, but we really need to know more about your technique.



It could be your not working it in long enough or you working it too long or not high enough speed, or not slow enough passes.....



Hard to say but with a PC you won't get a ton of swirls removed on a Chevy clearcoat.
Click to expand...



I agree that you probably didn't work it long enough . . . if you had only 3 passes with a PC, and buffed after each pass. . . I'm guessing you didn't let the polish break down enough. PC should have a speed 6 or 7 and I go for 6 passes with it in order to have it work on a swirled up car. After the 6 passes, then i remove the residue.
 
gravedigaditch said:
PC should have a speed 6 or 7...
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Oh yeah...there was one other guy here who had a PC that went to 7 (mine only goes to 6) :laugh:



I was never able to get my dealer-installed swirls out of my GM paint with my PC, except a small spot I did with SSR3 and a 4" pad. I gave up before I tried the Menz PG I bought.
 
Ignition: The outcome was fine, it is a daily driver. I was just dissapointed that more swirls were not removed. I only did the hood though. Next time when I attack more panals, I'll adjust my technique.



Josh Vette: The highest speed setting was 4.5. I would say I only used "moderate" pressure.



When researching last night, some were posting to move the PC back and forth at a rate of 1-3 inches per second. I was probably doing passes at a rate of 4-6inches per second.



Does 1-3 inches per second of pass rate sound better?



Setec and Lumadar, I may have to try a product with more cut.



Any other suggestions would be helpful.



Would Menzerna SIP and Nano polish be more effective at cutting GM "hard" clearcoat?



Thanks.
 
grave and zax, your right, it may not have broken down,... When I say I "did 3 passes" I meant I worked the polish back and forth in the area I was doing until it hazed up and dry, then I buffed it out with a MF and repeated. Each time I probably swept back and forth a few times before the polish was hazing and drying.



When do I know that the polish has "broken down"?



Thanks!
 
There were some training videos on using a PC on the Autogeek website. I watched them back when I first got my PC and kinda went from there.
 
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