Gents, I am sure this topic has been beaten to death, but I was wondering what product is the best for removing light scratches and swirl marks on my Black Beauty ?

 

Search over on the 997 forum for OCBen posts. He had a VERY detailed writeup a couple months back. That guy knows his stuff about detailing, etc.

 

I use 3M Swirl Mark Remover with my DA. I then follow that up with 3M Final Glaze and then a final coat of 3M Paste Wax. I use all 3M stuff. It is not the cheapest or easiest to find, but it is top notch stuff.

 

RJM - Ditto on Dell's comment about OCBen's write up. All you need to do is find ANY post by OCBen because he has 3 "links" in his sig, one for washing, one for polishing/waxing, and the third one for repairing paint chips.

BTW, many of the 997 forum think the "OC" stands to Obsessive Compulsive. hee hee!

 

Also check these sites:

http://www.detailcity.org/

http://autopia.org/

 

You will have to use an orbital polisher. Try Clean Cut or Kleen Kut chemical polish from a auto paint store. And if it wont cut the deep marks, you will have to use a micro compound (3M) and buffer first. Then the orbital and polish. Then for black, I always use Maguires 26 and the orbital. It gives the most clear, non cloudy finish on black.

 

I personally wouldn't use an orbital, too easy to go too far. It's much better to use a gentle product and do it by hand and just take longer. Personally I like 3M imperial hand glaze for removing swirl marks. After that follow up with P21S gloss enhancing paintwork cleanser, and then a good wax (if you do the polymer stuff I can't help you there, since I'm not a fan of it I don't know much about which ones are good) like P21S or One Grand Blitz Wax (the former makes a better shine the latter is more durable).

 

I've tried everything.

If you want the safest product that actually works, that can be used by hand...then you want Menzerna. You can get it from properautocare.com

Most products just cover the swirls up, or are way too abrasive. This stuff actually gets rid of the swirls. Now here's the caveat. It works better with an orbital and it make take several passes. Better to take off too little and go over it a couple times than go right in there an start stripping your clear coat. Nothing wrong with using an orbital. They are too slow and too random to do any damage. You'd have to dwell on the same paint spot for an hour on high speed to cause marring with an orbital. Now a regular high speed buffer.....That's a whole different story.

I've been using it for about 2 years now. Couldn't be happier. I've only used their polishes though. You'll have decide what you want to use to protect the finish. I use rejex but that's all personal preference.

 

Got to love our black cars..... EVERYTHING shows.........

-Eli

 

After owning 6 black cars previous to my current dark blue car, I can tell you that your gonna have swirls/micro marring visible in the paint whenever your final topping product starts to wear off. You can polish them out with Menzerma or a like polish but after a couple months of washing and definetly after a winter in Jersey new ones will appear. I used to really work to remove them, now IMHO its better for the paint to just hide them with a glaze or light polish with fillers and then a good final topping product like P21S, just keeping the car washed weekly and waxed or sealed on roughly a monthly basis and your really shouldn't see any swirls. I second going to http://autopia.org if you want to learn too much about paint care.

 

BTW, I use Adam's Polishes on mine....... They work great!

-Eli

 

Swirls are not an inevitability. Here's what you do once you've got the swirls out
wait until the car is cool, then hose it down for 3 minutes or so (NOT with anything higher pressure than a garden hose)
wash the car with a good soap (P21S shampoo is the only good one I can still find in the US)
use a sheepskin mitt...real sheepskin, not a brush, not a sponge, not synthetic wool, get the real deal
wash you car one panel at a time (for a small car like a Porsche, for bigger cars 1/2 panel at a time) and shake the mitt in the bucket of soapy water (use 1/2 the amount of soap P21S says to use unless the car is really dirty) after each panel.
Whenever you touch the car with anything only do linear motions, not circular (this includes waxing)
dry the car with the P21S drying towel. It's like the absorber only 10 times better
every 2 months wax the car with a good wax. One Grand Blitz Wax, while not as good at shining as P21S, will protect the finish better. If the car is parked indoors, before eveyr 2nd wax (i.e. every 4 months) use P21S gloss enhancing paintwork cleanser before waxing. If it's parked outside use it every time before waxing.
Don't use a car cover unless you wash the car every time before you put the car cover on, and even then be careful

 

A couple of years agp it was rejex, rejex...now I don't hear anything about them.
I use the griots garage stuff, clay bar, best of show wax. All by hand!

 

I concurr with marlin about the car cover. Never use it unless the car is clean after a wash. I learned the hard way on my M3. I would use it to cover my car at work, well after several months doing so, the top of the car got damaged/oxidized real bad from the cover rubbing against it (top) when it was windy. Now i have to repaint the top of the car.

I personally use Klasse and menzerna products (all of this info came from autopia). I would was car to remove as much dirt and grime as possible. Then use a claybar to remove any other contaminents that are left (becarefull when using a claybar as you can damage the paint if not done properly). Afterwards i would use Klasse All-in-one cleaner/polisher and a porter cable orbital buffer to apply it with. Go over one panel at a time. Apply the product then wipe it off. If you don't have an orbital buffer you could use your hand, but i noticed that with an orbital buffer the product works even better.

Next i would use Menzerna final polish to clean up the paint. I highly suggest that you use a thin coat of this b/c it's a b i tch to remove it if you put a thick coat on. Use a microfiber towel with some detailing mist to remove it.

Then i would use the Klasse sealant glaze (applied by hand) to cover the entire car. Again apply a thin coat cause it's a pain in the **** to remove if you use too much. With klasse products, a little goes a long way. BTW, klasse sealant glaze should only be used on PAINTED surfaces. DO not let it touch your window moldings or plastic parts. If you want to do it properly, you should use painter's masking tape and tape up all the moldings, headlights, taillights, etc.. Let the glaze sit on the car for a while, I usually leave it on for about 1/2 an hour to really let the product set in. Then remove the glaze with a microfiber towel. If there are some spots that are hard to remove, just spray the towel with some detailing mist and wipe it off.

I would then use the porter cable with a microfiber bonnet over a soft wool buffing pad and go over the entire car to buff out the shine. Since Klasse products are an acrylic forumla, the protection will last for 6-8 months. It would not yellow out like wax, and i believe that it's a better protectant for your paint. Klasse has been around since the late 70's or 80's i believes. So they are doing something right to be able to be in this business for such a long time.

You could apply mulitple coats of the sealant glaze. I like to put on 2 coats. Afterwards i finish it off with a coat of souverign wax to make it shine!

 

Marlin I would go with two buckets one for rinsing the mitt before you put it in the other bucket with soapin it or swirls will definetly be inevitable.