Swirls I just can't get rid of!

CarCareMike

New member
Hi all, I'm new to Autopia forums and have been reading these forums for quite a while - the advice from members has taught me a lot. I have been detailing for about 2 years now but have run into a problem which i just can't seem to solve. I have these nasty swirl marks on my motorcycle's tank that won't go away no matter what I do. I don't have a pc or polisher so do my stuff by hand. I use Adam's products and this pic from a couple days ago - roughly about 5 days after detailing it. I used swirl and haze remover, then revive, then spray glaze then buttery wax - it looked amazing after i was finished, but after about 5 days I started seeing these heavy swirls (and I only touch my paint with Adam's plush microfiber).



http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr153/mikehoneyman/IMG_3545.jpg

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr153/mikehoneyman/IMG_3555.jpg

http://i479.photobucket.com/albums/rr153/mikehoneyman/IMG_3562.jpg



Any product or technical advice will be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,



Nomad
 
As the owner of a UDM I can say that there are some defects I could not remove by hand that are easily done with the UDM. You can hide swirls by hand but they will come back.
 
:welcome to Autopia Nomad!



The swirls come back because the products you're using are filling (hiding) them more than actually correcting them. After you polish if you wipe down with some 91% ISO (rubbing alcohol from a drugstore) you'll remove the fillers and see the true condition of your correction.



Attacking swirls like that aren't going to be easy by hand, but you might want to try some Meg's 105:



M105 by hand vs 2500 grit wetsanding marks - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online



By hand-- - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online
 
Ain't that the damn truth! :D





Eliot Ness said:
:welcome to Autopia Nomad!



The swirls come back because the products you're using are filling (hiding) them more than actually correcting them.
After you polish if you wipe down with some 91% ISO (rubbing alcohol from a drugstore) you'll remove the fillers and see the true condition of your correction.



Attacking swirls like that aren't going to be easy by hand, but you might want to try some Meg's 105:



M105 by hand vs 2500 grit wetsanding marks - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online



By hand-- - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online
 
Thanks for the advice John, M105 is a bit pricey my side of the world but I'll definitely look into it - on the prod pic it looks like it's at the top of the abrasive scale - would this be too much for my swirls? I was looking at the M016 Medium Cut Cleaner which is about halfway up the abrasive scale, would it be better to start there or is the M105 better?



Thanks again,

Mike

AKA Nomad-WP
 
EisenHulk said:
Ain't that the damn truth! :D
That's an inside joke Mike. I was with Casey last night after a wash and ISO wipe revealed some marring that that had been filled (the infamous Menzerna filling). That's OK, Casey took care of it and once he has the Souveran on that red beast tonight it will look awesome.



NomadWP said:
Thanks for the advice John, M105 is a bit pricey my side of the world but I'll definitely look into it - on the prod pic it looks like it's at the top of the abrasive scale - would this be too much for my swirls? I was looking at the M016 Medium Cut Cleaner which is about halfway up the abrasive scale, would it be better to start there or is the M105 better?..........
I don't have any experience with 106, but if you're doing this by hand I'd grab some 105. I know it looks abrasive, but it is their new micro abrasives so it isn't like using the old "rocks in a bottle" stuff.



Bottom line, no matter what polish/compound you try, is you want to do an alcohol wipe to make sure you have actually removed the marring and not just filled it in. Otherwise it is only a matter of time before they show back up.



OK, let me note that I haven't used 105 by hand personally, but there have been many reports of it working very well in that manner. That's why I provided those two links so you could see how well it did by hand. Good luck!
 
I still can't believe that! I was so pissed after the IPA wipe down....The Ferrari looked PERFECT inside (Under metal halide lights AND the halogens) the garage.



I'll apply the Souveran once I've removed the 6" layer of OS that's on it! :shocked



Eliot Ness said:
That's an inside joke Mike. I was with Casey last night after a wash and ISO wipe revealed some marring that that had been filled (the infamous Menzerna filling). That's OK, Casey took care of it and once he has the Souveran on that red beast tonight it will look awesome.
 
Thanks a lot guys your advice has been very helpful. Just a quick question, CG products are more accessible to me, and I was wondering how CG's scratch and swirl buff compares to M105? The CG stuff says it will remove 1200 grit scratches (and it's a whole lot cheaper for me :)



Thanks again,



Mike
 
NomadWP, there are actually quite a few products that could do what you want. "Could" being the operative word...I agree with Eliot Ness, though. M105 is a break through product. Most polishes that are meant to be used by hand have diminishing abrasives in them; they start out large, then gradually break down as you rub them into your paint. This works ok, for the most part, but not nearly as well as the non-diminishing abrasives in m105. M105 will give you the most correction on the hardest paints than anything else will when used by hand. Yup, it's expensive, and it's worth every penny.



If the paint on your motorcycle's gas tank is hard, there is a very good chance that the majority of the products you can use by hand won't work. M105 would still do it, it just might take a bit more work.
 
The other end of the spectrum is if he's got very soft clear then he could be putting that marring into his clear. From looking at the pics it doesn't look like random marring to me. Looks circular/oval...



If "my side of the world" is the EU then why not look into Menzerna?
 
ABQDetailer said:
The other end of the spectrum is if he's got very soft clear then he could be putting that marring into his clear. From looking at the pics it doesn't look like random marring to me. Looks circular/oval...



If "my side of the world" is the EU then why not look into Menzerna?



With the other "hand approved" stuff, like ScratchX, you're right; it's easy to mar the heck out of soft clears with that stuff. But since M105 is non-diminishing, very small abrasives, I use it by hand on *all* clears. Even Hondas. It makes doing rear view mirrors, around door handles, and under door handles cake. The areas you do by hand don't even require a second step... there's no marring left to clean up. A four inch Red foam pad with M105 works wonders by hand.
 
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