Is there proof of swirls in sealant and not the clearcoat?

03-14-02, 10:33

I have multiple layers of Klasse SG on the ML and have noticed that it hides swirls, but I noticed that I am getting swirls back now. I have used the 2 bucket method and never wipe the car when it is dirty etc. All the methods to avoid swirls. Many say that these swirls are in the sealant layers. Is this possible? When I started the process a few months ago i used 3M smr and got a good amount of swirls out. However I look at the responses to bigboyhf's post about the stains "in blackfire" and it got me wondering. So if he stripped say half of his hood and it dissapeared, then I would believe that a sealant can actually protect from scratches etc. But I dont believe that my swirls are in the sealant, it just seems so thin. I may do a test, strip half of my door with (alcohol?) and see if there is a difference in shine and swirls etc. Has anyone tried this. I know carguy is a firm believer that when you get swirls they aren't in the sealant but they are in the paint. I know this post is confusing, I'm a little tired. Please help me! :scared

03-14-02, 12:11

Come on DK, i know you have mentioned this. And FLONI?

DETAILKING · 03-14-02, 12:55

Read through it all....what do u think?

http://www.autopia-carport.com/forum...hlight=marring

joed1228 · 03-14-02, 01:13

I just read the first page of post's and it seems like it's all in the sealent. So I suppose you could layer more on to take care of it and just make sure your using minimal pressure when washing, applying a product, removing it etc.... even washing can induce swirls no matter how easy you are, you should see me, I am dunking my towel in soap water like 5-6 times to do one door and I still get swirls. It's just something that happens I guess. It isnt anything another layer of Glaze can't fix.

Intermezzo · 03-14-02, 01:59

AlBoston,

How long has it been since you last applied a coat of SG? Perhaps it's time for a fresh coat. Although SG will last quite a while, it slowly thins out (like all sealants). Perhaps your coats are no longer thick enough to hide the original imperfections (if you had any!) when you initially applied SG.

In addition, no matter how careful you are, there is no way you can expect to regularly detail your car (wash, dry, qd, etc) without causing a few scratches here and there. A fresh coat or two of SG should pretty much wipe out whatever swirls you put on your sealant layers.

As for carguy not believing that Klasse SG can act as a buffer against swirls in your clearcoat....no offense to him, but I prefer not to give too much clout to opinions based solely on guess work as opposed to opinions based on actual experience. But then again, no sealant in the world is going to protect your car from swirls if you're washing your car every 2-3 days like he does. According to a former member here (beau), washing your car is the number 1 source of light swirls on your car.

I've switches sealants before on my black car and the simple act of removing the sealant with a non-abrasive cleaner did a great job at removing some pretty ugly looking imperfections. So YES, a good percentage of your swirls are probably in your sealant!

SouthernBoy · 03-14-02, 02:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Intermezzo
...I've switches sealants before on my black car and the simple act of removing the sealant with a non-abrasive cleaner did a great job at removing some pretty ugly looking imperfections. So YES, a good percentage of your swirls are probably in your sealant!

My $0.02

I'm with Intermezzo on this one. When I switched from carnuba to BF, I went through a pretty painstaking process to strip all the wax off my car. When I was finished, I was frankly suprised at how few (relatively speaking) swirls, small scratches, etc. remained.

There was one particular place on the trunk lid that was very swirled before I stripped it... almost no swirls after.

03-14-02, 02:41

Quote:

Originally posted by DETAILKING
Read through it all....what do u think?

http://www.autopia-carport.com/forum...hlight=marring

That was why I mentioned your name because I saw this thread. So you honestly believe that my swirls or most of them should be in the klasse/#26 layers and not in the paint. I just thought that swirls go deeper than the klasse.

puterbum · 03-14-02, 06:46

We can only go by what you say, and it's wide open for interpetation.

I think you pretty much have the solution in your original post -- Grab a Q-tip with rubbing alcohol and dab it down across some swirls. If they are still there after you clean off the area, it's in the paint only or paint AND sealant.

All it takes is 1 drop of IPA across 1-2 swirls on diff areas of the car. You can then put wax over that spot when you are done.

03-14-02, 07:45

why dont YOOOOU do it justin

. just playin, we'll see this weekend.

C240 · 03-14-02, 11:41

AlBoston, keep me posted on the results of your test.

joed1228 · 03-15-02, 06:43

AlBoston, if your like me, then your Klasse is half on an inch thick and it'll take something sort of a cinder block dropped on my hood to create a swirl mark.

03-15-02, 07:22

lol, i may try it this weekend depending on how I feel. I dont really want to loose all my coats of klasse and carnuba... but for the sake of autopia i may take the plunge