Poon

Guys,

I have noticed (since reading a few threads about removing swirl marks/water marks) that my paintwork also has these imperfections. Stone chips I can live with as these are a result of driving however the swirl marks are from careless washing (not me, PO), and are something that I want to erradicate.

What product or series of products is best for removing these marks and do I need to use a random orbital sander type of machine (DA?) or will good old elbow grease work.

I have been recommended 3M Finesse it and have looked at the UK website, which is not to helpful. Before that I would probably use a Zymol, Llem-klay to remove fallout etc.

Once done I would probably use Zymol HD Cleanse to finally clean and feed and then, Destiny or Concours wax.

Any help or confirmation of my ideas would be appreciated.

TIA

S3

Have the same problem. Would appreciate some good recommendations. Maybe clay would be the answer? Any points of view?

LAURIER

I have owned several black cars and have had very good results using 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (3 times at first) followed by HD cleanse and Zymol Carbon wax. I recommend you do it all by hand and with a little care you can have a concours perfect finish on your car. Good Luck!

Regards, Rich
My 993 Web Page

KeithR3

Zaino!

STLPCA

Poon
I'm not a concours guy, but when I have the motivation, time & patience, here's my regimen for removing the surface swirls & scratches that always seem to adorn my daily driver black coupe. I use a Porter Cable 7424 which makes this a tolerable ordeal.

Clay (if required), 3M Finesse-It II w/the PC & a yellow pad. Follow the Finesse-It w/3M Swirl Mark Remover (dark) w/a white pad, then Pinnacle Paint Conditioner (to remove haze) w/a gray pad, then Zaino (Z5 & Z2).

You might drop by http://www.autopia.org/ - the "Rennlist" of detailing.

SteveL1

I've seen Dan's car.....and actually worked on the paint before, and he speaks of wisdom. You can get rid of those nasty swirls by hand, but it will take a very long time to acomplish the same thing that can be done with a PC in one afternoon.

I recently went over my daily driver BMW using some Meguires products with really good results. First was the #83 on a firm pad, next #82 on a med. pad and then #80 on a soft pad. Follow up with your choice of wax......(zaino).......... and you're done. A lot of work but worth every minute invested! Learned everything I know from the autopia site!!!

3M's Finesse-It II usually leaves a haze on black cars that needs to be followed up with 3M Swirl Mark Remover for dark colored cars or Pinnacle Cleansing Lotion.

A.J. - 95 993

I agree with the above replies. I use 3M Finesse It by hand and by machine. I have the Porter Cable buffer from Griots. Finesse It is more aggressive than Griot's #1, so I use the FI when I want to get most aggressive, with Groit's orange pad. No concerns about burn through, I don't think you could unless you tried REALLY REALLY hard with a random orbital. Use the FI by hand with a soft towel to get rid of scratches and other localized imperfections. It works GREAT. If you have clay, do the car first before using the FI. It shouldn't take long to clay the car. A tip - I bought Griot's clay holder for the PC, but don't use it with the PC. The PC likes has a nasty habit of throwing the clay on the ground. Use the pad with your hand, so that way your hands don't warm up the clay and make a mess. First time I used clay I cursed and cursed because it was so messy. But the results were so good, I had to figure out a way to make it work. That was a good solution for me. Clay isn't critical, but it sure does make the paint smooth.

I haven't noticed that FI leaves swirl marks of it's own, but to be sure I do a coat of Griot's #2, their medium cut. With a clean orange pad. If I really want to be ****, I follow that with their fine cut, #3, with another clean orange pad. But #1 is so fine, it's not really value added. Then wash and dry the car again (only takes 10 min since it's so clean!) and apply Zaino with Groit's red pad (I used ZFX, so only one coat needed). Great combo, very easy to use (not a lot of elbow grease needed) and lasts a long time. There are cheaper places to get the PC, but I liked Groit's 100% lifetime guarantee. I use mine a LOT.

What I hate though, is the lambswool wash mitt. I go through them very quickly - the hair pulls out and gets all over the car, then eventually comes out in clumps. I've returned many of them, and am ready to try something different. Any suggestions? Should I just use a microfiber towel? Griot's microfiber towels are AWESOME!!! But expensive...

After lots of practice, I can wash, dry, clay, FI, #2, re-wash, re-dry, Zaino in about 2 to 3 hours.

By the way, no affiliations.

FlyYellow

the process is very straight forward for removing swirl marks.

1) use a clay to remove fall out. the last thing u want to do is buff in fall out to remove swirls.

2) use 3M finesse it to remove swirl marks with a PC. Otherwise get a hand glaze (Griot's has a reasonable one, 3M Impreial hand glaze...)

3) then wax with your favorite wax. all of the good waxes are good. I like griot's wax - but some like zaino other...

The important part here is don't take short cuts. There is logic to this ordering and it will serve you well.

CHeers,
Boris

Poon

thanks Guys,

Just need to find the above products in the UK! maybe Griots and Co will ship?

STLPCA

Steve is one of our local detailing gurus. His glistening daily driver bimmer is completely swirl free which has provided me with both inspiration & frustration.

Poon
Try Classic Motoring Accessories for detailing supplies. They'll ship to the UK, but I believe you'll need to email for international shipping costs.

Poon

Dan,

Thats an excellent site, thanks!

Benton

You are going to want to follow up the finesse-it with SMR, I guarantee it. You will be very happy you did once you do. Check out the thread with pics of my car and that is after the PC with finesse-it II and SMR with Zaino on top.

Poon

thanks mark,

shame about your scratch, some idiot keyed my front passenger wing recently, not as bad as yours though. It still p*ssed me off though.

24FPS

easiest products & system for me has been Griot's... from the clay to the polish(es) to the "best of show wax" has been the diet for my cars.... & i am sooooooo particular!
---it's all a bit of work... just take it one panel @ a time. have a pint(only one) @ the halfway mark (as a reward) & then when totally finished... step back... take a look... in the sun preferrably. & enjoy the finish!!!
bol rich