Dang these swirls!

[Wheelman916]

So after a weekend of detailing using the Mothers Ultimate Wax system, I still have swirl marks... and if anything, they`re worse now than they were before.

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/photo-8.jpg

Guess now i`m gonna be finding a pro who has a machine buffer... grrrrrr :wall

[black bart]

So after a weekend of detailing using the Mothers Ultimate Wax system, I still have swirl marks... and if anything, they`re worse now than they were before.

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv298/1hot281/photo-8.jpg

Guess now i`m gonna be finding a pro who has a machine buffer... grrrrrr :wallIf you are instilling swirls while waxing you need to take a close look at your technique something is causing it.
Was the car swirl free before waxing????
Was it clean if it was then it may be the towel that you used.

Most common cause of swirls is improper washing.

[Big Leegr]

One thing about the UWS is that it hasn`t anything very aggressive to remove swirls. The Pre-cleaner will remove oxidation, but not so much so for scratches, the glaze will help blend in minor marring and the wax might help fill a bit more marring. To remove swirls you need a polish (and a machine would be handy too).

[RTexasF]

Big Leegr hit it on the head. You expected a light cleaning/wax kit sold over the counter to remove swirls. With the correct products swirls can be removed by hand but the amount of work is beyond description. Even then it wouldn`t come out as well as when done by machine with the correct pads, polishes, and techniques. Consider buying what you need and learning how to do it yourself instead of paying someone to machine polish it.

[black bart]

Big Leegr hit it on the head. You expected a light cleaning/wax kit sold over the counter to remove swirls. With the correct products swirls can be removed by hand but the amount of work is beyond description. Even then it wouldn`t come out as well as when done by machine with the correct pads, polishes, and techniques. Consider buying what you need and learning how to do it yourself instead of paying someone to machine polish it.+1

[nyc_medic]

If you enjoyed cleaning your car by hand and would be interested in keeping it clean and shiney then I would also recommend buying some equipment that will be yours and practice with what you have and read alot of the posts here. They will guide you toward your dream of being swirl free. Hope this helps, but be warned it is addicting this hobby

[Wheelman916]

If you are instilling swirls while waxing you need to take a close look at your technique something is causing it.
Was the car swirl free before waxing????
Was it clean if it was then it may be the towel that you used.

Most common cause of swirls is improper washing.

I`m not too sure if my technique is to blame... I started by washing the wheels, tires, and wheel wells with a seperate wash mitt, then:
1. washed with Mother`s soap, using two buckets and two Meguiar`s Microfiber wash mitts
2. dried with 2 Meguiar`s microfiber drying towels
3. clayed with Mothers claybar kit using Mothers Showtime as a lubricant
4. did one application of the UWS step 1 pre-wax cleaner with microfiber applicator
5. applied 2 layers of UWS Step 2 Sealer & Glaze with foam applicator
6. applied 2 layers of UWS step 3 Carnauba wax, first layer with foam, second layer MUCH thicker with microfiber applicator

The swirls were the most noticeable right after the first layer of Carnauba wax...

The car was NOT swirl free before the process, but it may or may not have had slightly less swirls? I`m not sure, but i just notice them much more now.

The towels used were primarily Meguiar`s Supreme Shine microfiber, with a few Cobra microfiber tossed in when the meguiar`s were dirty and being washed.

I knew the swirls wouldn`t be removed by this system, but i was expecting the sealer/glaze to do a better job of filling/hiding them...

[Wheelman916]

as far as technique during application... THAT`S were there could be a problem... I wasn`t sure which layers should be applied overlapping, or circular or exactly how much to use per section/panel...

Also wasn`t sure how long to let things haze, or if layers should cure for certain amounts of time

[wallyStang]

Getting rid of swirls takes ALOT of patience!!!! I cannot stress this enough. You must break each panel into sections. For instance the hood will have 4 seperate sections. The fender will have 2 or 3 sections. Each section work the polish or light compound nice and slowly. Use microfiber towels and when applying your wax use a back and forth motion. I also recommend getting a porter cable. Check out youtube for some tips. I also have a 99-004 stang and I did a swirl removal this past week end and it took me a good 8 hours.

[JohnHenry]

It is possible to achieve a swirl free finish by hand (with a lot of effort). Suggest you pick up a set of these:

CCS Euro Foam Hand Polish Applicators - Hand polish, hand detail, foam applicators, CCS foam pads, polishing pad (http://www.autogeek.net/ccs-foam-hand-applicators.html),

plus use a good polish, like Poorboy`s World Pro Polish.

[tuscarora dave]

No way you are going to remove those swirls by hand using Pro Polish. You would have to use something more abrasive than PP, maybe Megs Ultimate Compound would get it done by hand but by the time you get the rear wing de-swirled by hand you`ll be wishing you had at least a PC 7424XP.

A good percentage of the pro detailers in the detailing world will remove a majority of the swirls and leave some filler/glaze behind to give the illusion of a perfect finish. After a few washes the filler/glaze will wash away revealing some swirls.

If you do find a pro detailer who will do a complete swirl removal, it will likely cost you more than what a PC starter kit with polishes included would cost. I suggest getting a PC kit, that way you can do the swirl removal and also keep the car in that condition as needed.

[Beemerboy]

I`ve read all the posts here, and concur I don`t see a good polishing stage. Even if you did this by hand your steps do not include polishing. The cleaner wax is not a polish and will not remove any of the swirls

That said to remove paint marring effectively a machine is needed. You can achieve good results by hand but it takes a lot of work.

Once you got thew the clay then you start polishing that can be one to two steps in itself, that`s where the marring is reduced :D

[JohnHenry]

I hear you, Dave... not the ideal product. But PP2/PP is a great combination, I think, for someone who is not ready to buy a buffer or a full line of polishes.

I found myself in a situation this summer where I had limited detailing supplies, a swirled truck, and almost unlimited time. I had driven the guys out onto the longest fishing pier in the world, set up coolers, shades, chairs, rods, hibachi, etc. We planned to spend a minimum of 24 hours fishing. We caught exactly nothing! (I take that back... my son hooked a freakin` bottlenose dolphin... different forum!)

I`m a diehard fisherman, but after about six hours of no bites, I had to do something. Luckily, I had some PB`s S&W, PP, Natty`s Red, lots of MFs, and a set of Lake Country hand polishing pads.

The truck was absolutely trashed after the annual lobster trip to Marathon. I worked for three hours under the streetlights on the pier, ate breakfast at sunrise, and worked until about 9:00 am. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome... make that shocked!

Can you do a $250 three-step detail by hand? No. Can you do a really nice job on your own car, one panel at a time, spend around $75 and get a lot of satisfaction polishing and waxing by hand? You bet.

[Bunky]

I have noticed that if you have neglected paint sometimes and do a good paint cleaning (remove layer of crud on it) it seems to just make the existing swirls more obvious since they were need somewhat by the crud.

[tuscarora dave]

I hear you, Dave... not the ideal product. But PP2/PP is a great combination, I think, for someone who is not ready to buy a buffer or a full line of polishes.

I found myself in a situation this summer where I had limited detailing supplies, a swirled truck, and almost unlimited time. I had driven the guys out onto the longest fishing pier in the world, set up coolers, shades, chairs, rods, hibachi, etc. We planned to spend a minimum of 24 hours fishing. We caught exactly nothing! (I take that back... my son hooked a freakin` bottlenose dolphin... different forum!)

I`m a diehard fisherman, but after about six hours of no bites, I had to do something. Luckily, I had some PB`s S&W, PP, Natty`s Red, lots of MFs, and a set of Lake Country hand polishing pads.

The truck was absolutely trashed after the annual lobster trip to Marathon. I worked for three hours under the streetlights on the pier, ate breakfast at sunrise, and worked until about 9:00 am. I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome... make that shocked!

Can you do a $250 three-step detail by hand? No. Can you do a really nice job on your own car, one panel at a time, spend around $75 and get a lot of satisfaction polishing and waxing by hand? You bet.

Yes PP2 would have much more bite with it`s non diminishing abrasives.

One time I bought a can each of TW Rubbing compound and TW Polishing compound and rubbed out spray painted graffiti from the paint on my Hot Rod 4 door Granada. I was beside a dam on the Yellow Breeches creek, the waterfall sound was inviting and the birds and geese were doing there thing. It was pretty serene so I continued and did the entire car by hand. Though my arms were tired and sore my car had looked freshly painted.