Detailed Elegance - 2002 Black Mercedes S55 AMG

D

dngan

New member
Hi,



I have only washed my new car twice. After the first wash, I applied AIO x 1 and SG x 2. Today is the first sunny day since I bought my new car for 2 weeks. So I bring my car out under the direct bright sun. I saw there are some swirls on my car that is previously unnoticable under ambient garage light.



Will applying one more layer of SG help make the swirls/surface scratches less noticable ?



Or, swirls are unavoidable for a daily driver car ?
 
I have a non garaged daily driver and have very little swirling.



Using AIO on a new car is not needed in my opinion. As fine as they are you are marring the surface to some extent with the abrasives. More importantly is techniques, proper toweling, washing, drying, and proper towels to use on the car. This topic has been killed to death so check the archives first and then post any questions here.



From what I hear, SG coats will help hide the swirls.....try another coat and see what happens. I wouldn't use AIO again your car at this time.............



<img src=http://www.fototime.com/6F28E5174DC4AA4/standard.jpg>
 
Why is it that every time you post a pic of your car it is a different color?



Marring on a daily driver is pretty much unavoidable . . . there are always inconsiderate people walking by the car and all of that. I just found a fresh scratch on my car yesterday :mad:. I'm now parking WAY out in the boonies in a strategically selected spot :D
 
It is the true color of the paint. In the sun, the metallic comes out and tends to cause it to look lighter and less saturated. The sun was SUPER bright in that pic above.....SUPER bright.....
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by puterbum [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>I'm now parking WAY out in the boonies in a strategically selected spot :D [/b]</blockquote>
LOL, after someone slammed their door into my truck and left a mark I do the same thing.
 
I ALWAYS park out in the boonies...maybe because my doors are made of soda cans, they are so thin. :)



the price you pay for having a lightweight car, I guess..
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

I'm now parking WAY out in the boonies in a strategically selected spot</blockquote>

Hey Justin, wait until you park all the way out there and then when you come out some @$#&*#@ parked right next to you. Talk about getting ticked off, you'll go into an Autopian frenzy. :)
 
Pay more attention to washing the car. Since you do it very often make sure you have the right mitts/2 buckets/drying tools and a good soap.

IMO most swirls are caused during the wash; especially when you are in a hurry and try to rush throught it.

Patience and time makes an Autopian. Comparing our time invested into detailing the cost of product is nothing.
 
IMHO,, you can greatly reduce the amount of swirls with proper technique, but it is all but impossible not to get some. The older my Porsche gets the more it has. And I am very careful with washing and drying. Just today, I washed it, took it to its home away from home and parked it. There, I QD'd off the little dust that happened on the 5 mile drive over, and - what the heck - applied a quick coat of souveran to the upper surfaces.



while buffing it out, I managed to introduce some scratches (very fine, won't show to most people, but I see them) in the spoiler. I was using a clean Mf towel. Not even sure what did it, but I could see it happen. somehow a piece of grit got into the towel.



It happens. It is unavoidable. Still, learn what you can learn here, and use the techniques well - your car will look WAY better than 99.9% of the cars out there.
 
Mine is a daily driver, 7 years old and I have to say that I am very limited as to swirls and light scratches. Plus my rig lives outside 99% of the year. Yes, I park waaaay out in the boonies where ever I go and get very tense when people get near the car....so I move it (if I am at work or the like)....



An old pic...but you get the jist of it...(I need to take some new ones)...



standard.jpg
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by puterbum [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>:) not possible.... I hope.

How's this for art? Perhaps I should stick to CS. [/b]</blockquote>

Someone will probably get next to you anyways. If the lot is really crowded and you take two spots, then they'll probably hop out of their car and key yours.

I think the best way is to get a 4X4 truck and jack it up on 32" wheels. Then their doors will just be hittin' tires! :D
 
Averagely, I walk a few KMs a day. I park really far away from classrooms and hostel. The place I choose is free of trees, lamp posts and crowds. This really reduce a lot of swirls and scratches.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by JeffBruce [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>REDVR6 ....what did you use on your tires?
jeff [/b]</blockquote>
Jeff,

I use Griot's Rubber and Vinyl Dressing. Probably one of my favorite tire products.
 
RedVr6 - Same here, but your tire appears much more oily/shinny than mine though. I usually do 2 passes.



Dngan, regarding to Swirls, in addition to techniques that's already mentioned in this thread, abrasive polish combined with the wrong towels (polyester) is literally a guarantee on swirls. I'm not sure what kind of towels you use, but IMO 100% Made in USA. Name Brand(Cannon or Fieldcrest Towels) is the safest. Or if you go MF route, the best is to use YOSTEVE.COM / NEATITEMS.COM
 
If I recall...I took that pic shortly after applying the dressing. Plus on these Bridgestones, the dressing does seem to be a touch more oily than on my winter tires or my girlfriend's Dunlops. But it usually flattens out after a few hours.
 
Yep, you will always have swirls, scratches, and marring, but at least you will only see them from powerful spotlights (like what Greg a.k.a. carguy did for his Z vs. Meg. Test) with your eyes (or camera) focusing directly on the paint, not the reflection. Also light and medium metallic colors hide swirls better than their non-metallic counterpart.



With my experience, the way to make the paint close to swirl-free under harsh lighting conditions is to borrow a friend’s random-orbit buffer and polish it with a very mild abrasive. Swirl fillers from IHG to Z5 to SG, IMO only do a good job of filling obvious swirls noticeable in regular light rather than minor ones we Autopians hate.



Just remember that it’s impossible to be swirl-free, but we strive for the level closest to perfection… and the orbital + polish way does it perfectly.



~bw
 
Yes, very light swirls and or scratches are UNAVOIDABLE in my opinion. Just park your car in the right light and you will see very very light swirls. So just learn to accept the fact that you're going to have them. Laters
 
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