I've heard good things about the 3M swirl mark remover. Can anyone chime in with any pros or cons? How about ease of use? Are there any better products out there? I imagine I'll need to pick up a buffer - what makes a buffer better than another? I have a big project coming up - not sure if I want to attempt this one or if i should just buck up and take it in to the body shop.

My truck currently looks horrible. I quit washing is because the swirl marks in the paint are so horrid that it truely looks better with a light coating of winter road garbage! You see, recently my wife (who does not share the same enthusiasm towards automibiles as I do) took the truck out one morning to get it fueled up for a trip down to see some friends in Newnan, GA. I gave her a bunch of flack about driving it, but didn't think twice about handing over the keys. When she got back, she smiled and said that she even washed it for me. She really meant well..... honestly she really did! However, There are only a few places I have ever washed the truck - either by hand in my driveway or a few of those spray-em-off joints uptown. She didn't choose one of those usual hose-em-down places, though. She ran it though one of those automatic washes with the big brushes. There are swirl marks E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E! On the hood, both fenders, all doors, bed sides, roof, even the tailgate is ruined!

Anyone have any suggestions? I've decided to keep the wife, so that takes one option away. She just isn't allowed to drive the truck unsupervised, and has been taught about car washes. Good thing, too, because we just bought another black vehicle!

Sorry about the long post, I just had something to say for a change!

 

I wish I had more time or I'd type something up.

I use SMR but I apply it with a direct drive buffer.

I'll be back tomorrow to give you some more information.

Meguires also makes a swirl mark remover.

 

Did you try waxing your truck to see if the marks were only in the wax and not in the paint?

 

Goneloco
Those would be my two suggestions, 3M or Meguiar's #9 Swirl Remover followed by whatever wax you normally use. They're both very mild so there's little chance of doing any damage. Also, you might want to try polishing the truck by hand the first time; it'll take longer but you'll have more control over the application of the polish ... not to mention the $100 you'll save.

 

I'd say try 3M swirl mark remover to take the swirls out.

For striping the old wax off use Dawn. Yes Dawn kitchen soap. IT is ok to do it once in awhile to take wax off. It has a neutral PH level so it won't damage you paint. Your paint is also sealed in with a clear coat so it can't strip oils out of your paint.

Then use the Swirl mark remover. I apply it with a Direct Driver buffer with a foam finishing pad. I try to use a pretty slow speed too like around 700 RPMs.

I don't use a buffer to apply wax though. I do all my Glazing and Waxing by hand.

 

I used to have MAJOR problems with these dam swrils and did some reading....


What I did was use Megures 3 step system for clear coats, but only used the 1st 2 steps. That was a cleaner followed by a polish. then used zymol for the 3rd step as a wax(this stuff is amazing). BUT, the thing I changed was the application. All by hand and ALL SIDE TO SIDE!!!! by not using a swirlling motion when washing or applying wax the problem has COMPLETELLY gone away.

I suggest that and just use the side to side motion when washing.

Let us know how it turns out whatever u do.
Good luck

 

Did you get the expensive Zymol that you have to apply by hand?

The swirl marks are usually formed by the towel you are using or stuff caught in it. Cheap terry cloth towels and even expensive ones will leave swirl marks. Cotton isn't as soft as some people make it out to be. The only way to be sure is to get microfiber towels.

When you do touch your car you can make swirl marks less noticable by doing two things. On vertical surfaces like the fenders and doors use a up and down motion. On flat surfaces like the hood, and roof use a forward to rear motion. That will make any swirl you put in less noticable.

 

I used the cheap $12 zymol from pepboys, and it was still great. Good point with the towels, that was the other thing I didi with my truck was spent the money for all those products and towell to do a good job. I went with lint free terry for application and these lint free super soft cotton towells to wipe off.

 

Thanks for all the replys and suggestions. With the weather willing, I'm planning on doing a hand-wash this weekend. I'm going to use the dish soap idea to stip off the existing wax, then I'll try another coat or two - by hand. Hopefully, this will solve the problem! If not, I'm going to try the swirl remover.

Thanks again!

 

If you are going to layer wax make sure to leave atleast 2 hours cure time between coats.

What wax are you going to be using? If you are using a wax that has a polish in it, then layering the wax won't make a difference because you will be striping the layer of wax off that you applied earlier as you apply the second layer. Try a wax like Meguiars #24 or 3M's Show Car wax (Paste if you can find it. Paste is more pure and will give a deeper wetter shine.) Just make sure they don't have a polish in it. Even if the wax isn't labeled as a Cleaner wax it may still have polishes in it as most consumer waxes are labeled as just wax but are really cleaner waxes.

 

I gave the truck the "normal" treatment, in hopes that the swirl marks were just in the wax. No such luck. I washed the truck with dish soap to remove the wax, then I used Meguiars #7 show car glaze, followed by one coat of Meguiars #26 "Hi-Tech" Yellow wax. I wanted to plut another coat on, but I ran out of daylight. I think my arm would have fallen off if I tried another coat, anyway.

Although the truck hasn't looked this good in quite a while, the swirl marks are still there. I think I am going to wait for better weather, then I'm going to find the 3M swirl remover and attack the truck again.

Thanks again

 

I did a buff job on my truck last year, with a wool pad, and swirled the hell out of my poor truck. I have experience with buffing, but I thought I could get away with it. Wrong! I recently "fixed" it by using a foam buffer pad this time. It really made all the difference, NICE shine, and no pre-wax swirls. I used Meguiars No. 9 swirl remover for taking them out, then followed with the blue Zymol. If you have no experience working with high speed buffers, then you can have someone do it for you. Either way, your paint just needs a good buffing. I have almost killed myself trying to take out swirl marks by hand, machines make it a much easier job.,,,98

 

Dawn dish soap is a moderatly strong Base. Bases are the exact opposites of acids. A strong base can be just as destructive and corrosive as acids are. Most soaps are a base, which are characteristically slippery. It won't harm your paint, because the paint is resilient enough not to be affected. If you left dish soap on your car in its' full strength, it could just as effectively etch your paint as acid does. Dish soap does an excellent job of removing wax. Just don't use dish soap as your car wash because you'll just keep removing the wax you apply. To get back on topic, though, I use the meguiars swirl remover with a few coats of the Zaino Z5 which hides the swirl marks.

 

goneloco, If you are going to be doing it by hand use meguiars swirl mark remover. If you have a buffer then use the 3m SMR. You won't be able to move your arms after you are finished applying 3m SMR by hand.

98SCREAMER, akk I cringed when I saw you used a wool pad. Wool pads have some natural abrasiveness to them.

You should always use foam pads on paint with a clear coat.

 

I knew better, especially since I used to use a wool then foam combo when I was working in bodyshops. Clearcoats don't know the difference until the final buffing, at least on fresh paint,,,,,98