View Full Version : Taking out Swirl Marks by hand
guest2299
02-06-2008, 01:12 PM
Best suggestions for doing this?
BigJimZ28
02-06-2008, 01:18 PM
try a search or listen to what you were told in your other post
scratch X or Z1
Setec Astronomy
02-06-2008, 01:30 PM
Have a bottle of Aleve ready?
Way2SSlow
02-06-2008, 01:31 PM
Polish and a rotary or dual action polisher...Just move them around on the paint with your hands. Seriously, swirl removal by hand is not something that is going to be fun.
If you`re new to it, I suggest the Poorboys SSR line and quality polishing pads from a good vendor. The SSR`s are pretty easy to master.
Macruz19
02-06-2008, 01:54 PM
If you look in stores such as autogeek.net, I believe they have foam polishing pads to use by hand... but I`m not sure.
guest2299
02-06-2008, 02:01 PM
I am determined to get it done by hand no matter if it takes all day. Suggestions?
holland_patrick
02-06-2008, 02:14 PM
you`ll have to take your time as it will take HOURS do to.
If i had to do a car buy hand I woudl start with the trunk(because if i start at the hood I`ll get lazy) and work in 1 foot blocks and get one of those polishing buddies with the different pads and SSR 2.5 ,2,and 1
I`d do the little blocks till i was happy then move on to the next block..
this is something you can`t rush.
I would expect to work the polish for at least 5 min in each step(try the ssr 1 first to see if that will get you to where you want to be)
Oh and get some bold and bright while your at it.. SO you can shine up your tires ;)
imported_weekendwarrior
02-06-2008, 02:28 PM
I will probably get in trouble for saying this here, but I advise guys that work by hand to use a glaze with fillers, instead of trying to remove swirls by hand (when we`re talking about an entire car). Before I got a PC, and eventually a rotary, I tried doing this by hand to an entire car. I spent a couple of DAYS (not hours), and I was worn out and sore afterwards - and probably only achieved about a 40% improvement...if that. The next weekend I bought my PC. I just don`t think the end product is worth all the effort when it comes to trying to actually remove swirls by hand.
guest2299
02-06-2008, 02:45 PM
The thing is if I use a rotary, I will not know what I am doing and rotarys are not cheap to begin with.
BigJimZ28
02-06-2008, 03:40 PM
I am determined to get it done by hand no matter if it takes all day. Suggestions?
it could take all day by machine
it will take all week by hand:sosad
imported_JoshVette
02-06-2008, 04:25 PM
it could take all day by machine
it will take all week by hand:sosad
I agree, especially if it`s a German car with very hard clear, then it may take even longer.
I can polish out a soft clear coated car with a rotary in about 4-6 hours (just polishing) but with a harder clear it may take as long as 8-10 hour by machine to get it 100% perfect.
I would venture to say you won`t remove them by hand and your best hope since it`s all by hand is to just glaze them over and cover them up once a month.:nixweiss
mattgg11
02-06-2008, 04:31 PM
I actually just purchased the hand polishing system from Autogeek. However, I don`t plan to remove defects from the entire vehicle. I just hope to get rid of a few isolated cases of wash-induced marring.
On a side note, what do the pros think of using this system Pinnacle Polishin’ Pal is an ergonomically shaped urethane handle that holds specially designed foam pads using tough hook & loop backing. (http://www.autogeek.net/pinpp.html) with Z-PC, Z-AIO, Z-2 to get rid of the marring and seal the car?
Secondly, if I decided to step up and buy a machine, how much total would I have to spend for a basic system for removing paint defects?
Could I get away with buying a PC/UDM and only a pad or two, then just use my Z-PC?
Or would I need to buy several pads & polishes?
Keep in mind, I`m not a professional detailer and won`t have the time to spend on learning how different pads/polishes interact. I`m just looking for a simple go-to solution for removing relatively minor marring that may occur.
Way2SSlow
02-06-2008, 04:35 PM
The thing is if I use a rotary, I will not know what I am doing and rotarys are not cheap to begin with.
Get a Porter Cable 7424, a UDM or a Flex DA polisher. You may be able to mess up paint with one, but you`d have to try pretty hard to do it. Your body will definitely thankyou for it.
Setec Astronomy
02-06-2008, 04:41 PM
it could take all day by machine
it will take all week by hand:sosad
+2 beat me to it!
...I don`t plan to remove defects from the entire vehicle. I just hope to get rid of a few isolated cases of wash-induced marring.
Wash-induced marring is rarely "isolated". I`m betting that neither of you two gentlemen are going to take our word for it that swirl removal by hand is ill-advised, so give it a go and let us know how it turns out. Rubbing on a specific defect by hand to obtain highly localized correction is waaaay different than trying to remove wash swirls on the whole car. Try to picture the difference of having one shingle on the side of your house that needs to be repainted vs. painting the whole house, with a brush.
imported_never gone
02-06-2008, 04:48 PM
The thing is if I use a rotary, I will not know what I am doing and rotarys are not cheap to begin with.
You can great deals on machines these days pretty easily. If you`re really wanting to correct/clean/fix spots on your paint, you mind as well do it the right way. You really have no idea what you`re in store for doing it by hand. TONS of work to maybe get 30% correction IF that. There is more than enough info on this site that will help you learn how to use a DA. I used one for the first time not too long ago and it was NOT difficult.
Here ya go, $169 for the machine, some cutting pads, polish and glaze. That`s a great deal.
Porter Cable 7424 Car Buffer, 7424 Polisher (http://www.autogeek.net/poca74pofcop.html)