For The Love Of God Nooooo!!!

[George M.]

Today i was detailing my truck. And when the sun hit the hood just right... ________________

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LINEAR SWIRLS! Not in swirl form. In Line form! HELP ME! I have some Scratch X. but i dont have a PC or anything. So any ideas on how to get it out? And how to prevent them from happening again.



PLEASE help me. :( :grrr

[Anthony O.]

I have never worked with ScratchX myself but from what I hear it sounds a little too abrasive to use by hand in this case.



What you can try is taking a mild cleaner, like GEPC or UPC, and doing a small area in a criss cross pattern. In other words apply the product by hand in an area with medium pressure, and if possible a MF applicator or towel folded to fit your palm, in an back and forth motion until dry and the add more product and this time rub out in the opposite direction, from top to bottom.



If the GEPC or similiar cleaner is to mild then go up to the next level. Then continue with a polish and sealant. I hope that helps you out.



Anthony

[imported_jgv]

You also have the Menzerna Intensive polish, very easy to work by hand.

[samiam513]

These are all sold at almost every auto parts store in the country. All can be used by hand.



Meg`s #9

3m SMR (dark and light are the smae product. Just diff colors)

#83 (dual action cleaner polish)



Make sure ALL yout towels are 100% MADE IN USA cotton or Microfiber. Make sure they are always cleaned with liquid detergent, and always dried almost all the way in the dryer, ,then air dried the rest of the way.



Make sure your washmitt is 100% cotton. Wash it frequently while washing your truck also. If you can see the dirt, your truck can feel it.

[jasonatv22]

Let me echo what Mr. Orosco said, and add, ScratchX is a terribly overabrasive compound. It`s made for peope who would tire of ribbing it. There are much better things with a lower price per oz out there.



I have a nearly unused tube of it. It only gets used when I`m doing my mother-in-law`s car. (That didn`t come out right, I like the old gal, but her car is just trashed.)



You probably got your scratches by having microgrit in your MF. Wash em` and wash em` again. I have a problem with cat hairs, which aren`t very abrasive, but just bug me when I see them on applicator pads or my MF. Take care of the MF if that`s what the problem was. If you buff with scratchies when you`re doing the smr, you`ll set yourself back even more.

[wizardofahs]

how severe do they look? From my expierence, most of the time linear swirls were not from light marring, but rather just from my detailing technique. ie i have a probelm with blackfire that after i buff it off i see `linear swirlls` in the direction i buffed. At first i thought i was somehow marring the paint. But it turned out not to be the case. It was just some extra bf left on the surface. One easy way to test, is to grab a qd and mf. Spray the mf and qd in one direction (with the lines), look at the swirlls. Then do the same but this time go perpindicular to the lines. If the lines shift and are always in the direction you qd, than most likely it`s just left over product that a simple wash will fix. I think this is the most common after-detailing swirls.

[YoSteve]

waxing must almost occur in a sterile invironment



your microfiber applicators and foam pads should be immaculate(assuming you`re not using cotton terry)



you should be constantly checking your applicator



lastly, you must be extra careful in during your wash to make sure no dirt is left that could hurt during the waxing.





If you`re doing your part then there`s nothing you could have done to prevent it. You just have to work a bit to fix it.

[George M.]

Well. I think where i got the scratches from. Was after my adventure at Mountain Mud Fest. My truck was covered in mud. I pressure washed it first, but alot of dirt was still on the truck. So what i did was did it by hand, in back and forth motions with 4 buckets of wash and 4 mitts. I was extremely careful not to swirl. But.. These came instead :-(



I have some #9. Should i apply in the oppose directions of the lines.. (if the lines go left to right, should i apply up and down)



I have only had my truck since October. So I havent had much light to see. They could have been there before i got it, because i am soo careful thats why it was so suprising.



I only use MFs on my truck, and i wash after every use. Air dry. And bag them in Ziplocks when storing.



Sigh... I will have to see what i can do next weekend.. This is upsetting.. Oh so Upsetting. Luckily it is overcast all week, supposidly. And they dont show up unless it is direct sunlight. This morning for about 30 minutes it was really nice and sunny.



Ok. Thanks for all the advice.

[JUNNIEIV]

Haha, oh man, you sound exactly like I did just earlier today when some nice weather finally hit and I could wash the car... finished washing and things looked fine, then the sunlight hit the hood and damn, swirls/lines jumping out like crazy. I about smashed my head into the driveway in frustration... used some S100 SEPC (same thing as GEPC) though and it decreased them dramatically, thankfully. That stuff is awesome.