Had Swirl Marks - Now Have Hazing?

[batesmarshall]

Hi folks,



I`ve been on a mission to remove the swirl marks from my `02 Passat for the past several weeks. I went and bought a PC and some SMR, and after experimenting on the wife`s Saab, used it on the Passat, and followed with IHG and Meguiar`s liquid carnauba.



The result was something I guess would be called hazing. It was definitely introduced by the PC. Although the swirl marks are greatly diminished (but by no means gone), I now have kind of a shimmering effect in the clear coat in direct sunlight.





[Sidebar: in the shade, the car looks fabulous. :-)]



So...is "hazing" the correct term for what I`ve got? It`s a very visible problem, and to be honest I was totally surprised that I was able to introduce it into the finish, given what I`ve read on the forums here. What might I try to remove the hazing?



BTW, I used the white pad from CMA to apply the SMR, the grey pad to apply the wax, and the microfiber bonnet to remove the wax.



Any ideas?



Thanks for your help!!



// Bates

[C. Charles Hahn]

SMR does this when it is not fully broken down...... what you should try to do is re-apply SMR but use it with the PC set at about 3 to spread the stuff out, then set it up to speed 6 and work the SMR into a powder substance and you can barely see it or anything on the surface. This way you will more effectively remove swirls, as well as eliminating the haze you are getting.



hope this helps. :D



oh, and also you should be using the yellow pad for SMR, IMHO. Works better and is a little more abrasive.

[batesmarshall]

SLPCar: Thanks for your response! A couple of more questions about your suggestions:



* How much pressure is a good amount to use with the PC/SMR combo? Just the weight of the machine?



* I was initially using too little SMR, so I took the suggestion of someone else on the forums and started making big X`s on the pad with the SMR, and applying it liberally to the panel I was working on. With this much SMR on the car, it didn`t seem to be working into any kind of powder as you mention, so I ended up wiping down the panels with a clean terry after working on it with the PC for a while.



* Yellow pad? Yikes, that scares me. Should it?



THANKS AGAIN! :)



// Bates

[laynlow]

Bates, I would only try the yellow pad if working the SMR properly with a white pad fails to give the desired resluts. The goal is always to correct the problem in the least intrusive way. In your case, you are using the SMR as your abrasive, not the pad.



If you try again, and completly work the SMR until it breaks down, and you still have swirl marks...then step to the yellow pad with SMR and try once again.

[C. Charles Hahn]

bates: I only said to use the yellow pad because it will make breaking down the SMR faster, in my opinion. It does take awhile, even at speed 6 - so you have to be patient...... and remember to work with SMR at the highest speed possible that you feel comfortable going (ideally 6 - makes better work of the job in the end)



as for pressure, I would say use just the machine pressure or you can add just a little pressure (don`t bear down hard, you don`t want the machine to bog down, which I have had happen to me a couple of times when working on larger-swirled areas.)



:up

[TortoiseAWD]

This is just my technique, and others may differ, but I do use quite a bit of pressure initially until the product begins to haze and break down. I put a circle of product on the pad, spread it around at about 3 on the PC, then jack it up to just over 5 and give it some pressure. I move the PC relatively slowly at this point, giving it time to work. As the product begins to dry out, I lessen the pressure with each pass until finally I`m just using the weight of the machine. Sometimes I`ll jump the PC up to 6 for the last couple of light-pressure passes, but the difference between 5 and 6 (on my PC at least) is pretty large, and 6 becomes almost difficult to control (ymmv).



At this point there should be almost no residue left on the car, and the thin film that`s left should buff off easily. My early experiences with the PC and SMR were disappointing, as I found the residue very difficult to buff off, and got some hazing. Once I figured out that you really need to let the product break down properly, I started to get the results that I`d seen others on the board have.



Good luck, and stick with it . . . the technique takes a few tries to get right, but once you get the "feel" for how the SMR is reacting, it`s very rewarding.



Tort

[Polere]

I`d like to practice using SMR on my wife`s 98 Volvo V70 this weekend. Don`t want to blow it on my new black Jetta. I don`t have a PC. Any advice on using SMR by hand? Thanks

[batesmarshall]

Guys:



Thanks for the helpful suggestions. After letting the PC work for a while, there was definitely more than just residue left on the panels. I think I was erring too much on the side of using too much SMR, and thus having a hard time in really getting it to break down. I`ll go after it again this weekend.



TortoiseAWD: absolutely love your car. I drove my uncle`s WRX in April in KY for a couple of days and man is it an amazing ride. Kudos on the nice choice!



02blackJetta1.8: Having dug through most of the archives of this site looking into SMR, I can tell you that the problems that I`m having getting the abrasives to properly break down (I believe it has what is known as diminishing abrasives) by hand will be even more difficult than with my PC. BTW, I got my PC at Lowe`s for $109.



Enjoy the weekend everybody, looks like a nice one out here on the left coast.



Regards,



// Bates