In a couple weeks I am going to detail my black truck. So far I have megs nxt and #26. I was looking at swirl removing products and saw the #9 megs swirl remover. I also saw that meguiars carries a product called color x. Are the color x and #9 similar? Which one would be better for removing swirl marks?

 

How bad are the swirls? Pics would be best. I'm not familiar with 9 or ColorX but other over the counter options are SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0 and Ultimate Compound. Those are listed in order of least to most aggressive and should be used in that order until you figure out what's working. Now if you have a DA then we can talk other products but if you're going at it by hand those are good choices.

 

I didn't like M09 too much. ColorX is a decently strong cleaner wax. You may look at Meguiar's new Ultimate Compound and Swirl-X. I've found black Ford paint to be pretty hard so you need something with a little oomph.

 

The swirls arent real bad only can see them when the sun is directly hitting the truck. Kinda looks like I drove through a bush. Isn't Scratch X for spots of scratches only not for the entire truck. I will be doing this by hand.

 

I see no reason why it can't be used on the entire vehicle.

 

I used Scratch X and didn't like it much. Along with not removing the scratches/waterspots with a yellow foam polishing pad it also left powder residue all over the work area. With a black truck it just made more work that it was worth. Im going to try #205 and if that doesn't work I will go with some #105.
I prefer Mothers Safe Cut HD but im new to the game.

My truck hadn't been detailed since I bought it May 2004.

 

Use 3M hand glaze- it is specifically for swirl marks and compatible with the BC/CC oem paints- can be applied by machine (recommend) or hand

 

Is that available over the counter?

If it needs to be ordered then I'd go ahead and order some 205 and maybe some 105 incase you need it.

 

That 3M glaze seams like some pretty powerful stuff. I guess im looking for a mild swirl remover. Dont know much about detailing products, I normally just wax my vehicles. Do these stong swirl removers affect the clear coat at all?

 

Using SX on a larger pad like that really reduces it's effectiveness and makes it about equal with M09. Use it by hand on a small pad concentrating your effort on the scratch vs. on a large pad where you can only apply maybe 1/2 the pressure is going to be a big difference.

Hand Glaze won't remove the swirl marks, it fills them. Though, it would be great to use before a show or something just to cover up any little imperfections in the paint.

 

Actually the 3M glaze doesn't sounds like it's going to remove swirls at all. I don't think it's what you're looking for. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong stuff. http://www.autogeek.net/3mimhanglaz.html . It doesn't have any abrasive in it and you're going to something with abrasives to actually remove the swirls and not just fill them. There are a lot of ways to go about doing this but without a machine you really limit your options. I think you will be best off if you go with SwirlX or ScratchX 2.0. Ultimate Compound probably will be too much. Try SwirlX. If it doesn't work then move up to something stronger like ScratchX 2.0. Just realize it needs to be worked in to the paint. Think of it as liquid sandpaper in a way. If you were sanding down a piece of wood you would work it and not just rub the sandpaper over the rough area and be done. And if you're using a grit that is too fine, you'll need to step up to a more coarse grit. Same idea with polishes.

I guess it took me too long to type that. That's what I get for watching TV at the same time.

 

ESF I will go ahead and try scratch x or swirl x and see what the results are. Thanks for the replies. Ill try and get some before and after pics.

 

This isn't meant to scare you but have a look through this thread. It shows the importance of a test spot as well as this thread. It also gives you tips on how to improve your technique for the best possible outcome.

 

Thanks for the tips.
I was thinking and wondering that the tube it comes in was not going to go very far using the DA.

Where does SX rate between M04, M09, M105 and M205 on large areas?

I have acid rain etching/waterspots along with swirls and scratches and I want to use the DA versus hand polishing on 04 ford black paint.

 

NP. It depends how you are applying it, but before we get that far: M04 is for rotary use only on paint.

If you mean using it on the DA for a large area, you are looking at something like this: SX, M09, M205, M105. By hand: M09, SX, M205, M105.

One option to consider is getting SwirlX in place of M205 and Ultimate Compound in place of M105 as they are very similar in terms of defect removal, but the latter is cheaper as you don't have to buy them in larger quantities.