Dealing with mild swirls on black car

[superstring]

I just got my car back from the detailer`s, where they spent an afternoon polishing out some fairly significant buffing swirls, sanding marks and overspray that were left there by the paint shop.



The car sure looks a lot better than when they started! However there are still some light swirl marks left by their efforts. They used a rotary buffer with some kind of synthetic bonnet (which resembled lamb`s wool, but wasn`t) and a polish which I`m not familiar with (can`t remember the name, but it wasn`t something that I recognized from reading this board).



Anyway they told me that some swirling was inevitable (especially noticable on black, of course) and I should use a sealant with fillers to hide them. I`m planning to use the Klasse twins, but I think I should be able to do something more about the remaining swirls before applying them.



They also told me not to touch the paint with a PC and foam pads otherwise I`d make a big mess! :eek:



I have some Griot`s Machine Polish 2 & 3 which I`ve used with relatively good results in the past (IMHO anyway, having not tried any other products with the PC). However I`m feeling a little paranoid about the whole thing at the moment! :scared



Would something like DACP or SFP be a better choice than the Griot`s stuff?



Thanks!

[wash-girl]

Originally posted by superstring

They also told me not to touch the paint with a PC and foam pads otherwise I`d make a big mess! :eek:





Hard to believe they`d say that. Is the paint job new? If not, and you`re PC-experienced, I doubt you`d mess anything up. Sounds like you`re at the point where SFP would do the trick. Try it first before moving up the ladder to DACP. Fillers are fine for a short time, but if you`re a perfectionist, there`s no reason not to try to finish the job right!

[rickindy]

I also find it pretty hard to believe that a supposedly "professional" shop would say that swirls are inevitable.

I agree with ZJ. Take a shot at them yourself. I`ve gotten swirls out manually with nothing more complicated the SMR.

[superstring]

Thanks, guys.




Is the paint job new? If not, and you`re PC-experienced, I doubt you`d mess anything up.



About 3/4 of the car is new paint, but it`s been curing for about 7 weeks.

[tguil]

Sounds like your detail shop folks don`t really know what`s up. I have a friend who owns a high end detail shop. All of his finished vehicles receive a polish treatment with a pc before they leave the shop.



I have a black Dodge Ram pickup that had some swirls left in it by a body shop. With my pc, I used both 3M Perfect - It II fine rubbing compound and DACP to get the swirls out. I used a Meguiar`s burgandy pad on the pc. The finishing touch was Meguiar`s #82 with a polishing pad.



Sometimes the advice for "less aggressive" is a waste of time. I seem to be getting impatient in my old age. :D



Tom :cool:

[MattZ28]

1Z Paint Polish! :bow

[shaf]

Hmm, there are only a few users of Griot`s polishes on this board, so I would hit the Search button and start reading about how good or equivalent to other products that these polishes are.



I`m also surprised that they said that you`d just have to live with the swirls and fill them. They definitely can be removed even if they are eventually "inevitable".



They probably have no idea what in the world a "PC" is so I would discount their opinion on that....