Swirls Back Already ***?

X

XPLORER9773

New member
Last weekend I spent a really really long time detailing my car (process below). Well i removed 98% of my swirls and scratches. It rained this week Tuesday-Friday. So I washed my car this afternoon. After i washed it and during the drying process I notice alot of swirl marks. I"m really pissed off because of all the hard work i did last weekend. I wash with the 2 bucket method with Meg's Gold Class Shampoo and a wash mit. Is my technique wrong or what. Am i washing my truck wrong :hairpull



Wash Dawn

Clay California Gold

Wash Dawn

Dry Waffle Weave Towels

Use PC with Optimum Compound 2 full passes on each panel with orange pad

Use PC Hyper Compound on Roof 3 passes with Yellow pad followed with three passes Optimum Polish with Black pad

Use PC Optimum Polish 2 Passes Black Pad each panel

Use PC with Poorboy's EX-P with blue pad 1 layer

Apply Poorboy's Nattys Paste Wax by hand 1 coat

Eagle One Tire Shine on Tires

Armor All Wheel Wells

Mother's Chrome Polish for Cobra R's

Eagle one 20/20 on windows and lights
 
One of two things could have happened.

1. The swirls were not actually removed, but filled in and appeared to be gone. This is the most likely scenario.

2. With the aplications that were done, more swirls were created.
 
joshtpa said:
One of two things could have happened.

1. The swirls were not actually removed, but filled in and appeared to be gone. This is the most likely scenario.

2. With the aplications that were done, more swirls were created.
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What do you mean applications all the produscts used on the paint were scratch and swirls removers???
 
Meaning your technique. It happens. Something could of been caught in the applicator, or just technique overall.
 
What type of wash mitt are you using? Did you check during the compounding and polishing stages to see if all the swirls were removed? If the swirls were removed then it has to be your wash technique. A wool mitt that is thoroughly rinsed out before going back in the soap bucket will not marr your paint. Also make sure you are not scrubbing the paint. Do small area's at a time lightly until clean, better to go over an area 2-3 times than scrubbing it once. A microfiber drying towel will not mar the paint either. I don't believe the swirls were hidden, as you didn't use any glazes and the lsp's used wouldn't fill swirls unless they were very fine micro marring. If all that was good then maybe something got stuck in your wash mitt or drying towel.
 
Yea i wash checking as i used OC and OP to see if the swirls were being removed. I used a sheepskin mitt. I washed it after every wash and let it air dry. I think it is my technique. I dont know but now ive really lost the drive to even care about this truck's paint.
 
Yea ive been there xplorer, just keep going at it. Improve your technique before you polish again though as you dont want to waste any more time.



Again,im sure all of us have questioned why we put so much time and money into this hobby. It will eventually fade (like when you look outside at your car :D)



Jim
 
xplorer, don't get down now! I'm on a quest to get my daughters badly swirled black Celica back in shape (and I'm new to detailing) so I need to read success stories! Learn from the people here and get 'er shining again!
 
Well I have no idea i read everything in the autopia guide stuff over at autogeek and have searched these boards for hours before i began "cleaning" my explorer. I got the items that I have because of the reading ive done i follow what the guides tell me and its all to no point its really frustrating. If it wasnt for the passion i have for my explorer and keeping it clean i would give up but i cant. The swirls arent nearly as bad as they were before I "polished" it last weekend so i've got that going for me. I threw away my washmit, drying towels, buckets, and I am going to buy new items next pay check. SO go ahead and give me some ideas on washing items.
 
Well, I'm still a newbie, but I do have a suggestion... You said you removed 98% of the swirls after your original process and they came back after washing. To insure that it was indeed the washing, perform the same procedure but keep it to one panel. Wait a few days and wash that same panel very lightly with your new mitt and check for the swirls. In other words, learn the right technique on a small area and then move on. I'm pulling for you.
 
When washing do small areas at a time and rinse mitt after each area. Do not put mitt back into wash bucket until it is thoroughly rinsed. You should have two buckets, one for the soap and one for the rinse. I also spray my mitt off, after I wash a section, before I even put it in the rinse bucket. After washing your vehicle you should wash your mitt as well before you use it again. Good luck.
 
I would try to appreciate yourself and the results you achieved, which I suspect were substantial given your process, and stop beating yourself up for what you DIDN'T achieve. If I focused on the fact that my black car is never "perfect", I would never bother to wash it, polish it, or seal it. I accept there will likely be SOME swirl marks regardless of how much care I take, and I'm prob'ly the only one who notices them (unless there are other Autopians viewing it). Life's too short...lighten up...blah blah blah.
 
a lot of these products have a lot of fillers in it that i dont like. for compounds, i use 3m diluted with something sun friendly like optimum compound, i like to use only 3M because it has no fill. i highly doubt 2 passes on the pc will get rid of any swirls.. it takes more than 2 passes on a rotary to do that. i gave up on actual paint correction using the pc, i only use the pc for polishing and finishing now. i was never a big fan of optimum product as i have had bad luck with them. there hyper compound is more like a polish! it takes forever to do any corrections where 3m compounds is like night and day.
 
Reflectionz said:
a lot of these products have a lot of fillers in it that i dont like. for compounds, i use 3m diluted with something sun friendly like optimum compound, i like to use only 3M because it has no fill. i highly doubt 2 passes on the pc will get rid of any swirls.. it takes more than 2 passes on a rotary to do that. i gave up on actual paint correction using the pc, i only use the pc for polishing and finishing now. i was never a big fan of optimum product as i have had bad luck with them. there hyper compound is more like a polish! it takes forever to do any corrections where 3m compounds is like night and day.
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Optimum products have no fillers in them. As far as swirl correction, Optimum compounds work very well. I have used more than half a dozen top brands for paint correction and would say Optimum is as good or better than any of them. I, and many others here, can correct medium to heavy swirling with one slow pass with OHC and a orange LC pad via rotary @ 1500 - 1800 rpms. I find the orange pad works muck better at correcting swirls than their yellow cutting pad, as the orange pad creates more heat and is firmer as well. For final finishing nothing compares to Menzerna FPII. Just my .02
 
XPLORER, when you removed the swirls, did you have a bright light or was that cncusion arrived at from standard garage incandescent lighting? Is it possible that you didn't have the best lighting and only saw the swirls after the weather cleared up and the sun came out in full force?
 
To insure they won't "come back" after a wash or rain, wipe each surface down with rubbing alcohol cut 50/50 with water. This will remove all polishing oils/silicone. I usually do this following my last pass with a finishing polish, check my work and move on or try again.
 
DSVWGLI said:
Optimum products have no fillers in them. As far as swirl correction, Optimum compounds work very well. I have used more than half a dozen top brands for paint correction and would say Optimum is as good or better than any of them. I, and many others here, can correct medium to heavy swirling with one slow pass with OHC and a orange LC pad via rotary @ 1500 - 1800 rpms. I find the orange pad works muck better at correcting swirls than their yellow cutting pad, as the orange pad creates more heat and is firmer as well. For final finishing nothing compares to Menzerna FPII. Just my .02
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but its HYPER compound. its suppose to be agressive enough to take our medium scratches, not just some swirls on the car. i dont know, i was expecting something more aggressive from it than just a swirl remover.:waxing:
 
Optimum are loaded with polish lubricants and under the wrong lighting they can fool you if they are not completly broken down. OP works better by rotory so they can be broken down properly.



Remember most of us use OP as a lube in some of our compounds. It's only 30% mixture and that's how lubed they are.
 
Yeah after i used OC I pulled the explorer out into the very bright sunlight and looked it over and if i saw swirls i went at it again. Same with OP. Being as this is only my 2nd time using the PC and 1st time with these products i will chalk this up to being a ROOKIE. In July ill do it again and use all the tips ive gotten thru this page to get the best results i can. Thanks everyone for the tips.
 
XPLORER9773 said:
...I used a sheepskin mitt. I washed it after every wash and let it air dry. I think it is my technique..
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Sorry to hear about this, must be frustrating!



IMO you oughta get a foamgun and try to be more gentle about your wash technique. IME it's incredibly hard to wash without inducing marring, especially when using a mitt (as opposed to a BHB for the first passes) and I find it simply impossible without the foamgun.



The foamgun isn't a magic tool, but with practice it *can* make all the difference.



I know plenty of people have other wash techniques that work great for them, but I was never able to go months on end without new marring until I got my foamgun-centric wash technique sorted out.



Remember the basic problem: the dirt on a vehicle is abrasive. If you press the dirt against the paint (e.g., by pressing a mitt against the paint) and then move the dirt with that pressure on it (say, by moving the mitt while it's pressed against the paint), then you're likely to get marring. The trick is to get the dirt off the paint without pressing it *against* the paint. And remember that any dirt that's caught in the mitt (no, IME it doesn't travel up away from the paint via capillary action or some other phenomenon) turns the mitt into sandpaper. If you get dirt on the mitt from the first inch of contact, and then move the mitt for another four inches, you'll get about four inches worth of marring.



To solve the above problem, I use a "dislodge and flush" approach where the foamgun's output washes the dirt off the paint the instant the BHB/mitt knocks the dirt loose from the paint. "Jiggling" the wash media across the panels (without applying significant pressure) instead of making long swipes will also help as any marring that *does* occur will be very short...and a half-inch scratch won't show like a four-inch long one will.



In the absence of a foamgun, you can fill the mitt with wash solution by holding it under in the wash bucket. Then hold the cuff shut and gently whisk it across the panels while the shampoo seeps out of the mitt. Not optimal, but better than wearing the mitt like a glove and pressing it against the paint.
 
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