I'm sick of this crap (swirls)

Veri · 02-22-03, 12:43

First off, to the people that have silver cars or any other... "understated" color: can you even see swirls and stuff on your paint? How hard / easy to see them, if you can at all?

And to my rant. I'm fu*@ing sick of swirls. I just finished doing my 'Bring, and sure enough, swirls. Lots of them. Is it because of the way I wash or dry? Maybe. Even after my last SMR, I could still see quite a few (I don't have a PC), and I'm sick of this crap.

So, instead of doing the Klasse twins like I've been doing, I'm thinking I'm gonna start using glaze + wax (or a sealant that can go over glaze, if any...?) I need some suggestions.

What's a good glaze to hide this crap? Something I can use to hide that stuff... I mean, I have AIO and SG on there now, and I'd need something to strip it off. So, what I'm really asking is this:

What's the best way to strip off Klasse? After that, what is the best glaze (your opinions, of course) to use to hide swirls? What sealants, if any, can be used to top that glaze? (This will all be covered by P21S.)

Oh, and besides that, I had some amazingly stubborn water marks on my trunk only (which I've never had before), and there seems to be a little bit of mildew inside my driver's side door. Those aren't really big problems... easily taken care of... but the swirls are. Help.

Kaiz · 02-22-03, 01:28

For me, SMR is a REALLY REALLY tedious process. I had to work in atleast like 4 or 5 thin layers to get rid of just small swirlies I had. (And I didn't get rid of all of them). A majority, yes. I hated doing it, so everytime I even consider touching the car I make sure to use ULTRA-light pressure (washing, klassing..etc).

You just gotta work at it for a looong time.

Veri · 02-22-03, 01:30

But you have a silver car (sounds like a really nice one, btw). Aren't swirls MUCH harder to see on silver / white / ... ?

And I still need a good glaze =(

Bruce Peter · 02-22-03, 01:40

I fully understand your frustration. I experience the same thing all the time. My car is Carbon Black. No matter how careful I am I create swirls.

I have tried Mf towels, cotton towels, chenell mits, cotton mitts, cotton wash cloths, add infinitum. I'm so scared of creating swirls I refuse to QD the dust off. I won't get near a CD. I could go on and on. My next car WILL be silver.

Until then I am trying something out that shows promising results.

I now have three coats of Z2 on. As I applied it I am certain I created swirls, or "micro marring" as I like to call it. I then topped with PS.
Yesterday, I washed it and more MM's appeared. So I attempted to do the following.

IHG is totally non abrasive and will not strip wax or SG's. It will fill swirls however. So I applied 4 coats on a samll section of the car and topped with PS. I definetly saw an improvement. The mariing is dissapearing. I will look in direct sunlight ASAP. Then I will let you know how it looks.

Untill then DON"T GIVE UP!

Keep asking questions and reading threads. There is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom on this board.

Bruce

Veri · 02-22-03, 01:55

I know it's a great place, man. I was a "lurker" long before I registered. And I'm still going through the archives.

But, I'm glad you understand what I'm saying. It's terrible, isn't it?

I didn't know that IHG was a *glaze only*... it will just sit there? And it can be topped with P21S or another pure wax without smearing around and such? Didn't know that... then again, I've never tried IHG. I gotta try that.

Thanks. I'll have to try that next weekend.

(edit: yep, I'm definitely thinking that my next car will be silver, too...)

Bruce Peter · 02-22-03, 01:59

Quote:

Originally posted by Polaris
I know it's a great place, man. I was a "lurker" long before I registered. And I'm still going through the archives.

But, I'm glad you understand what I'm saying. It's terrible, isn't it?

I didn't know that IHG was a *glaze only*... it will just sit there? And it can be topped with P21S or another pure wax without smearing around and such? Didn't know that... then again, I've never tried IHG. I gotta try that.

Thanks. I'll have to try that next weekend.

(edit: yep, I'm definitely thinking that my next car will be silver, too...)

IHG can be topped with carnuba, but must be washed before an SG. Z6 will do fine when using an SG.

4DSC · 02-22-03, 02:00

Quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Peter
IHG is totally non abrasive and will not strip wax or SG's.

I'm pretty sure IHG will strip waxes and sealants alike.

Polaris, I don't know how severe your swirls are, but I've found trying to use SMR by hand to be quite hard and unrewarding. Have you considered stepping up to something stronger like DACP? If the swirls are so bad that they're easily noticable on silver paint and has you hopping mad, I don't think SMR is going to cut it.

I think no matter what you use, glaze or layered sealants like SG, only minor swirls will be hidden. The really small, shallow, and short ones. I glazed over a badly swirled car once and it looked much better, but at the same time you could really tell it wasn't filling the deep to moderate swirls.

On my car, the deeper swirls on my trunk are really only noticable when looking at the sun's reflection. Klasse SG wasn't able to hide these because of their depth. My hood is considerably better using the same trick. Other than looking right at the sun's reflection in some areas, the car appears swirl-free. Silver (and white) really is much better at hiding swirls than any darker colour. You'll notice that a reflection in silver paint doesn't look nearly as "mirror-like" as good black paint.

Like Bruce said, don't give up!

Bruce Peter · 02-22-03, 02:06

Quote:

Originally posted by 4DSC
I'm pretty sure IHG will strip waxes and sealants alike.

Like Bruce said, don't give up!

No, IHG has no abrasives, oils, or silicones. It will sit on top of anything without stripping it. Like you said though, it will fill only minor or "micro" swirls.

GO YANKS!

Veri · 02-22-03, 02:08

Well, my car's black. Which is why they (the swirls) are so damned terrible.

And I was thinking that IHG would strip waxes / sealants off, too. That's the experience I had with #7, but then again, #7 is claimed to be a "polish and glaze" anyway, so that's a little different.

DACP? Never really considered it. Honestly, I'd rather get a 7424, use my SMR, and be gone with those God forsaken things. Problem is, I don't have a PC. I was hoping that a good glaze would hide the crap and a good layer of wax over that would keep the glaze there.

jcattarulla · 02-22-03, 02:35

Polaris,
I hear you. My car is a black metallic BMW, which shows EVERYTHING. I have a PC, and have used DACP, 3M SMR, #9, and #7.

Here's my routine:
-DACP with PC and yellow pad
-#9 Swirl Remover with PC and white pad
-#7 Show Car Glaze with white pad, just for good measure
-P21S wax
-Pinnacle Crystal Mist QD with Carnauba

Everyone has somewhat different beliefs, and David B. has recently done a post about the "scale" of aggressiveness, but from what I've seen, IMHO, here's the order in terms of most to least aggressive of some comonly used products:
DACP, then 3M SMR, then #9.

MY $.02 would be to get a PC and try the 3m SMR again with a yellow CMA pad. If that doesn't do it, then you may want to move up the scale to DACP.

If you are set on doing it by hand, PM Scottwax, he's the master of the, eh, hand job. Cough cough.

Aurora40 · 02-22-03, 02:40

Polaris, try the #7 you already have. It is pretty good at filling swirls. Since you already own it, see if it gives you the results you want. Just make sure to top with something that won't remove it. I think BFII and maybe Zaino are the only polymers that would do this (you could certainly try SG, though). Or just use that P21S you have.

Veri · 02-22-03, 03:08

Quote:

Originally posted by jcattarulla
If you are set on doing it by hand, PM Scottwax, he's the master of the, eh, hand job. Cough cough.

lmao

Yeah... that #7 has been sitting there for quite a while, though. But in any case, can BF II and whatnot be applied OVER a glaze like that and still bond?