EX on dark blue Protege5/swirls

[rtbrick]

I cleaned up the wifes 2002 Protege5 this morning. The same one that the right front fender and bumper got smashed. I take it in Monday for the reparis, but I could not resist detailing it out anyways.

I washed, clayed, polished with PC, white pad and Hi-temp Light Cut, applied one coat of EX.


I`ve got some real problem swirls though. In one area on the roof I tried a white pad with the Hi-Temp, one of those orange pads wth Hi-Temp and a yellow pad with Menzerna intensive with little effect on the swirls (may have taken off some of the minor ones). What combination WILL remove the swirls?

[rtbrick]

hood shot...

[rtbrick]

side...

[Poorboy]

again your vehicles look great...sorry to hear about the swirls...Dwayne will have some SSR3 in stock by early next week if not already....it`s about the most agressive product I would use on a clearcoat....maybe one of us can get you a sample to try on the roof...
We really need to know what you see in person...pictures are nice but a good photographer can make pictures better or worse than they appear to us...
I wish i had the time to keep my vehicles looking like that:)

[rtbrick]

Thanks for the compliments, PB. I love a clean vehicle. Sometimes I`m just plain afraid to look inside my wifes car! I bet most of the serious guys could easily point out spots that I missed in person. I`m happy with it though.

The swirls are spider web-looking as is usual, I can`t feel them with my finger nail, I wouldn`t say they completely cover the surface and they are only visible in direct sunlight (i.e. the sun reflecting on the spot with swirls). The finish feels smooth. From 5 feet away the finish looks good. I`ve already checked to see if Dwayne had your other products up yet. I`d like to have them soon, as I am "babysitting" my Mothers 99 Camry (dark green) next week. I`ll detail it out for her while she is on vacation. I`m sure it`s going to need something more abrasive than what I have on hand.

I thought about trying the SSR3, but then what? Should I follow with SSR 2, 1 or the Pro Polish (or another brand for that matter)? What do you think about a pad?

[Poorboy]

It sounds a little like factory swirls and they all may not be able to come out....If you decided to go after them aggressively use the SSR3 followed by any of the less abrasive products you already have...there is not set system...I`ve gone from 3 to 1 , 3-2-1,
3 to Pro, and I`ve heard of many other product combinations use after it. It`s really up to you and the effort and products you want to try....if you can only see them in certain lighting and only from right on top of them...you just might want to leave it alone and let the car age a little and then as you polish it a few times a year they should, if they are coming out, become less and less noticable...
The pads are fine..you may want to check with others about that..I still like working problems out by hand and in the sun..where you see them:)

[ACE]

Just my opinion, but i`m not a fan of using aggressive products on new clearcoats. I would rather do a pass with Poorboys polish and then go with some 3M SWR for dark cars to hide the minute swirls. My rationale is that if you have a daily driver, that finish is going to get swirled again and you`re going to end up taking all the paint off trying to keep after every flaw with aggressive pads and products. Nothing wrong with doing a bit of hiding.

[Poorboy]

I overall agree with ACE....if this was a show car and being judged, I`d go after them realizing that a paint job would be coming prematurely to the car . If the only ones that bother you are on the roof...I would try to fill and cover them for the short run and later down the line if you still have the car...then give it a good shot...

[Cujo31]

I agree also but my personal opinion is stay away from that 3M for Darks/Lights. You want to talk about a pain in the ass to work with. I have yet to meet/talk to someone who has had nothing but an easy time with this stuff. Yes it may work but so does many other products that will give you the same results. I have had better results from Megs #9 over 3M. I would do SSR3 followed by PBs Polish with Carnauba.

Cujo

[ACE]

Cujo- I`ve never had a problem with 3M SWR. I applied it with a PC using a Megs yellow pad and removed it with a MF towel. I could definitely see someone having problems with cotton towels. No matter what I do, they always streak on me, but MFs work beautifully. I also made sure to work the 3M into the finish completely until the product was starting to powder, so that may have something to do with it as well. Also, before using the SWR, I polished with either Poorboys Pro or Griots #3, so the SWR had a clean surface to work on - may have made a difference as well. Learned that from Beemerboy - polish first, SWR second. I used to go the other way, but my results are much better now.

[LandofAloha]

You got it Ace. With 3m SMR less is better. I put too much on the pad once, I will never do that again. I work it in until it starts to powder and then take the excess off with the micro towel. It works well on older cars that the paint is getting thin and you don`t want to get too agressive.