New guy need a process to get rid or swirls

[TacomaWillis]

Hello there, I have been reading this forum for a while and I have a PC and know how to use it but, I am not well versed on how to come up with the right series of product to get rid of different levels of paint defects. I have a 2005 tacoma that with flawless paint except for the hood which has fine swirls. My question is could some of you with detailing experience recommend a process to get rid of these swirls. Please don`t addbreviate products so I know what they are and can order them. Here is a pic.

[bluzman]

I would try Meguires swirl remover 2.0 with a finishing pad first, if that doesnt work try a more aggresive pad. You can get the meguires at Pep Boys!! There are alot of products for removing swirls you will get many differnt answers.

[Accumulator]

TacomaWillis- Welcome to Autopia!



I wouldn`t expect the Meguiar`s #9 Swirl Remover v.2.0 to be aggressive enough to remove *anything* like that by PC. If the Tacoma is anything like the `05 Suburban I did, the paint will be too hard for that approach.



The standard answer for people just starting out is to try something like Meguiar`s #80 Speed Glaze. It has a bit more cut than the #9 but it`s still very mild. Probably too mild, but it`s a good product to use while you`re getting acquainted with the PC. Apply with a regular polishing pad like a Lake County white pad or a Meguiar`s #8006.



Learning which product/pad/process to use to remove various types of marring is a matter of experience. You need to learn how different paints respond and how to eyeball the general severity of the marring in question. Learning a few products is very helpful, you`ll soon learn that "if #80 doesn`t cut it, I`ll use [something else]" and so on. What`s *not* IMO helpful is to work with a scad of products that are very similar- better to learn an aggressive polish, a medium one, and a mild one. Pick a product line and see how it goes (I`m not a fan of products that you have to "master", I like user-friendly stuff).



Generally, I only use cutting pads with aggressive products- I usually do *not* recommend using a more aggessive pad as opposed to a more aggressive product. I use polishing pads most of the time and with *most* products, even pretty aggressive ones. I seldom use finishing pads to polish unless it`s a weird situtation (super-soft paint). Note that most polishing pads don`t contribute any functional abrasion of their own on most paints.



I used lots of qualifiers like "most" and "usually" in the above because there are always special cases. But the really weird, outside-the-box ones don`t come up all that often unless you work on a lot of different vehicles.