Ok....

buy denatured alcohol (hardware or paint store), it is oil free, wipe down the paint and it will remove all the old wax, polish and almost any contaminent.

Pick up a 6" orbital polisher (typically around $20) at any of the big chain part stores, and a foam pad (not wool or cotton).

Use 3M hand Glaze (aka swirl mark remover), they make one for light and dark colored paints and it is clear coat safe. Apply it to the pad, not the paint, and work an area about 2 feet square at a time, keep the orbital moving slowly but steady, in a straigh line fashion (as compared to a round direction) and make sure that you keep the pad well supplied with product.

Applying in cool temps really works best....then just wipe it off or if the buffer cam with a 100% cotton pad you can use that as well. You ma have to apply it a couple of times but it is very user friendly and works well especially with a little orbital.......and it won't damage the paint or your pocket book! If you don't have any clean 100% cotton rags around....check out the local fabric supply store....100% cotton felt is very inexpensive (about $6 a yard) and is excellent for removing any product residuals (wax, etc.) and the paint has an incredible shine with no swirl marks.

Just a point of information about Clay Bar

Ford/GM/Chrysler/MB/Porsche all have service directives that specifically refer to paint correction/contamination procedures and clay bar is not a referred procedure and specifically identified as a method which only removes the surface level paint contaminants and as such, the "root' of the contaminant remains continues to destroy the paint from underneath the surface layer of the paint.

Some use Mequire's clay bar and it is rated at 3500 grit (and was sensored last year by the FTC for it's advertising claims). There much better clay bar products out there rated at much finer grits- so if you are comfortable and believe your paint needs to be wet-sanded, and that is the only and safest way to correct the flaw/issue, then do so but remember, for 90% for all paint contamination issues there are products designed to relieve/remove/neutralize the contaminants without reducing the mil thickness of the clear coat

These procedures date back to 1990 and are still published in current oem paint maintenance publications/service manuals. If you would like a copy of the this info, PM me and I will send you the docs.


With

 

^^^^

 

Beech .. post up some pictures of a few of your details, and walk us through the procedure. I'd like to know how to go from this:





To this:






Or from this:





to this:






Using a product designed to fill swirls, not remove them isn't the answer. Just because it has slight cleaning properties does not make it the right product to use, especially when recommended to correct defects you have never seen.

The whole idea here is to CORRECT the problem, not cover it up.

Using the wrong tools, the wrong products, the wrong procedures and the wrong advice is not the recommended recipe to follow for success.



But you probably know that, and just felt the need to troll again. Anyone can yap away on an internet forum. Try proving you know what you are talking about by posting some pics of your work, because what you type comes across like you know nothing.

 

No comment on the above quote. I will continue to use my OTC Meg's products as directed on the back of the product. I will use Meg's Pro Poducts if I need something a little stronger.

Great job Gipraw...

 

Excellent advice - 20 years ago. You gotta get with the program and use the newer technology for the newer paint systems.

If the old school products and methods work for you, fine. However, I wouldn't let a detailer that's stuck in the old school world touch my vehicle.

 

I'm with fivespeed, I want a simple solution to getting out my self-inflicted swirl marks. Women, children and men with weak constitutions may want to avert your eyes, but I used a brush to wash my truck and it looked like I washed with with 80 grit sandpaper.
What I want to know is: Can I use the SwirlX by hand? If so, what do I "need" to get the job done? Is there a cheap power drill attachment or something that would work, or is that a waste of time?

 

You simply did what many people do to wash their vehicles. Most folks have no idea how destructive a brush can be in the longer term though.

As for your particular situation, without pictures, it's hard to say. (Even with pics, it's hard over the internet.) Generally speaking, you can remove some of the swirls by hand, but you'll be one tired puppy and the results will be kind of spotty at best.

The only way to truly correct the surface is with a machine and the correct pads, products and patience. A good detailer (like Gipraw) could have you happy as a clam in short order. A bad detailer will just make a bad situation worse. Got any good detailers in your area?

 

2stroked is correct: you'll accomplish basically nothing without a machine. Get a D/A buffer (I recommend the Griots), proper pads (foam or the new microfiber ones from Meguiars), and proper compounds. From there, it's a process: claybar; compounding; polishing; protecting. I use the claybar; Megs #105 or Ultimate Compound; Megs #205 or Megs Ultimate Polish; Blackfire Wet Diamond topped by Wet Glaze 2.0.

Jim

 

so much for "reading"- fundamentals ya know.....Dupont, SW are still the suppliers to the OE's and specific "Paint Correction & Maintenance Procedures"......

It's a real shame the "Engineers & Scientists" at these company's aren't as knowledgable as you about their products.......not a one recommends (as of publications dated 2012) for using "Clay bar" to correct any paint issue including contamination- sorry guys, the laws of physics & chemistry apply here...unless you live in "sticker-land" where TBI spacers produce all sorts of HP & PR materials "Rule"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

woodman308 - if you are interested in tackling the issue yourself, do a lot of reading then come get any questions you need to have answered. Be careful who you pay attention to in any forum like this. Some of the people in here know exactly what they are talking about .. and others have earned the nickname "Captain Cut & Paste".

How does it feel to be the least credible regular poster in every detailing forum you frequent?

Actually had to take you off of ignore just to see what nugget of wisdom you dropped in this zombie thread.

Question beech .. when you make fun of other people posting PR materials are you worried about getting struck by lightening?

 

Yeah, beechkid is an idiot.

Jim

 

If you really want to learn about the aspects of detailing, go to a site like The Detailer's Cafe.

http://www.thedetailerscafe.com/

Thank you very much for your contribution to the site.

 

Of course not.
He has made up FTC cases and imaginary people that looked at his paint, and software that demonstrated beyond doubt on his side.

Least credible regular poster in every detailing forum you frequent

Think we can petition to have this title assigned under his name here ?

 

I just kind of do this stuff for myself and help to keep up my families 5 cars (three black at that). I have a Porter Cable 7424XP DA, 4 orange pads, 6 white pads, 2 blue pads, and 2 red pads. All pads are Lake Country.

For deep scratches (cats walking around, shopping cart from walmart rub, rocks, ect) I use the orange pads with Megs M105 to remove them on a spot basis. If the swirls are horrible I may do the entire vehicle with this to get them mostly out. I run the DA on the high setting with moderate pressure and move slowly in alternating patterns doing a 2' x 2' area at a time. You will want to do sections like this with all the compounds/ polishes and remove the residue of each section after it is done.

I follow this with the white pads and Megs M205 using the DA on 75% power applying less pressure and moving at a slightly higher speed and do the entire vehicle to get a good shine and remove almost all of the swirls and damage from the abrasion the previous compound created.

On our black vehicles I follow this with the blue pads and Megs Deep Crystal Polish on about 40% power on the DA moving at a moderately faster speed than before, all in alternating patterns.

Finally, I seal it with the red pads and Megs NXT 2.0 at about 30-40% power on the DA doing a panel at a time. Let it cure then hand remove using high quality microfibers.

This method has all of our vehicles in top shape IMO. Not as good as some of the professional detailers around here, but plenty to satisfy my needs/ wants and keep them in good shape.

You will want to do a little research on knowing when the compound/ polish is done and you should move to the next section. It is really a learning curve type of deal, but from what I used to do to what I do now is truly a much better deal. You will NOT regret the 2-300 dollar investment. It's something you will always have and the DA takes alot of the work out of it.

Here is a write up a fellow member Mblouir did awhile back that helped me get the basics down and basically reiterates much of what i've wrote here. I mainly detailed what I use and bought to help take some of the guesswork out of this for you and others who have absolutely no idea of what a beginner might need.

Link

Hope this helps!

 

Haven't tried it yet (waiting for a discount/free shipping), but the new Megs M101 looks to be a replacement for M105 (which is a PITA to use). M101 is really getting raves.

Jim