Taking out Swirl Marks by hand
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Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
Have a bottle of Aleve ready?
Polish and a rotary or dual action polisher...Just move them around on the paint with your hands. Seriously, swirl removal by hand is not something that is going to be fun.
If you're new to it, I suggest the Poorboys SSR line and quality polishing pads from a good vendor. The SSR's are pretty easy to master.
If you're new to it, I suggest the Poorboys SSR line and quality polishing pads from a good vendor. The SSR's are pretty easy to master.
holland_patrick
New member
you'll have to take your time as it will take HOURS do to.
If i had to do a car buy hand I woudl start with the trunk(because if i start at the hood I'll get lazy) and work in 1 foot blocks and get one of those polishing buddies with the different pads and SSR 2.5 ,2,and 1
I'd do the little blocks till i was happy then move on to the next block..
this is something you can't rush.
I would expect to work the polish for at least 5 min in each step(try the ssr 1 first to see if that will get you to where you want to be)
Oh and get some bold and bright while your at it.. SO you can shine up your tires
If i had to do a car buy hand I woudl start with the trunk(because if i start at the hood I'll get lazy) and work in 1 foot blocks and get one of those polishing buddies with the different pads and SSR 2.5 ,2,and 1
I'd do the little blocks till i was happy then move on to the next block..
this is something you can't rush.
I would expect to work the polish for at least 5 min in each step(try the ssr 1 first to see if that will get you to where you want to be)
Oh and get some bold and bright while your at it.. SO you can shine up your tires
imported_weekendwarrior
New member
I will probably get in trouble for saying this here, but I advise guys that work by hand to use a glaze with fillers, instead of trying to remove swirls by hand (when we're talking about an entire car). Before I got a PC, and eventually a rotary, I tried doing this by hand to an entire car. I spent a couple of DAYS (not hours), and I was worn out and sore afterwards - and probably only achieved about a 40% improvement...if that. The next weekend I bought my PC. I just don't think the end product is worth all the effort when it comes to trying to actually remove swirls by hand.
imported_JoshVette
New member
BigJimZ28 said:
I agree, especially if it's a German car with very hard clear, then it may take even longer.
I can polish out a soft clear coated car with a rotary in about 4-6 hours (just polishing) but with a harder clear it may take as long as 8-10 hour by machine to get it 100% perfect.
I would venture to say you won't remove them by hand and your best hope since it's all by hand is to just glaze them over and cover them up once a month.:nixweiss
I actually just purchased the hand polishing system from Autogeek. However, I don't plan to remove defects from the entire vehicle. I just hope to get rid of a few isolated cases of wash-induced marring.
On a side note, what do the pros think of using this system Pinnacle Polishin’ Pal is an ergonomically shaped urethane handle that holds specially designed foam pads using tough hook & loop backing. with Z-PC, Z-AIO, Z-2 to get rid of the marring and seal the car?
Secondly, if I decided to step up and buy a machine, how much total would I have to spend for a basic system for removing paint defects?
Could I get away with buying a PC/UDM and only a pad or two, then just use my Z-PC?
Or would I need to buy several pads & polishes?
Keep in mind, I'm not a professional detailer and won't have the time to spend on learning how different pads/polishes interact. I'm just looking for a simple go-to solution for removing relatively minor marring that may occur.
On a side note, what do the pros think of using this system Pinnacle Polishin’ Pal is an ergonomically shaped urethane handle that holds specially designed foam pads using tough hook & loop backing. with Z-PC, Z-AIO, Z-2 to get rid of the marring and seal the car?
Secondly, if I decided to step up and buy a machine, how much total would I have to spend for a basic system for removing paint defects?
Could I get away with buying a PC/UDM and only a pad or two, then just use my Z-PC?
Or would I need to buy several pads & polishes?
Keep in mind, I'm not a professional detailer and won't have the time to spend on learning how different pads/polishes interact. I'm just looking for a simple go-to solution for removing relatively minor marring that may occur.
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
BigJimZ28 said:
+2 beat me to it!
mattgg11 said:
Wash-induced marring is rarely "isolated". I'm betting that neither of you two gentlemen are going to take our word for it that swirl removal by hand is ill-advised, so give it a go and let us know how it turns out. Rubbing on a specific defect by hand to obtain highly localized correction is waaaay different than trying to remove wash swirls on the whole car. Try to picture the difference of having one shingle on the side of your house that needs to be repainted vs. painting the whole house, with a brush.
imported_never gone
New member
guest2299 said:
You can great deals on machines these days pretty easily. If you're really wanting to correct/clean/fix spots on your paint, you mind as well do it the right way. You really have no idea what you're in store for doing it by hand. TONS of work to maybe get 30% correction IF that. There is more than enough info on this site that will help you learn how to use a DA. I used one for the first time not too long ago and it was NOT difficult.
Here ya go, $169 for the machine, some cutting pads, polish and glaze. That's a great deal.
Porter Cable 7424 Car Buffer, 7424 Polisher
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
guest2299 said:
That thing has a terry bonnet...you would need a bunch extra...I've never been real happy using a device like that besides the fact that it will probably be ineffective at removing swirls--it only draws half an amp.
Let's back up. I'm not sure you said how old or what condition your paint is in. You can probably make a huge difference by a thorough cleaning, claying, and using a paint cleaner or light polish by hand, following with a decent wax and some trim product. The car may not be swirl-free in the sun, but you might get a huge sense of satisfaction out of the improvement.
Setec Astronomy
Well-known member
guest2299 said:
If it's taken good care of, why does it have swirl marks? If it's swirled from the dealer or from improper wash techniques which you have learned to avoid, then find an Autopian to detail it for you and then you can keep it that way. Unfortunately there is no free lunch; unswirling it is going to be work and cost money one way or the other.
I don't think anyone has chimed in with the 1Z recommendations for hand-polishing/filling swirls. That will probably be your best bet as suggested early in the thread.