Gonna remove swirl marks from my car!

[PandaMonium]

hi,

Greetings to all! i've been reading this forum, and wished that i came across it earlier! i have been using Clay bar & Gold Class paste wax (which is incredible!!) on my car for the past 2 years, and i must have done something wrong, cos i notice a lot of swirl marks on the surface now.
it could be the way i maintain the foam applicators that i use to apply the wax or just that i did not clean the surface thoroughly before waxing.

anyhow, i've decided to try using ScratchX to minimise those swirl marks, and step up my care of the car using the NXT paste wax.
i've read a thread ("how to remove swirl marks by hand") which mentioned the use of ScratchX, followed by Deep Crystal Polish, and then NXT.

Q1: can scratchX be applied to the entire car, or will it take too long to make it inpractical?
Q2: is the Deep Crystal Polish a must, or can i skip that?
Q3: Heard that foam applicators can be washed but not entirely recommended, is that correct?

thanks a bunch for any help!!!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Gonna remove swirl marks from my car!

Originally posted by PandaMonium
Q1: can ScratchX be applied to the entire car, or will it take too long to make it impractical?

ScratchX can be used for spot repairs or small sections or it can be used over the entire car.

As for your second part of your question, it's not a matter of whether it will take too long to make it impracticable, but a matter of what are your goals or expectations for how your car will look and what are you willing to do to reach those goals.

If you want your car to look swirl free and flawless but you want to do all of your work by hand, then ScratchX is the right product for using over the entire car or only the needed areas and it's really not a matter of time but a matter of passion, as in passion on your part.

If you want your car to look swirl free and flawless but you don't want to work a hand applied paint cleaner to remove the defects, then you're going to have to either learn to use a dual action polisher and do it yourself, or you're going to have to locate a professional that knows what they're doing and pay them to do it for you. (Good luck with this option).

Does that help?

Keep in mind, the more flawless you create your finish the more time and energy it will require to maintain those result as nothing looks good forever and nothing actually lasts forever, especially a flawless finish without some attention.

(Just don't want anyone reading this thread to have any false ideas about what is and what isn't possible in reality.

Originally posted by PandaMonium
Q2: is the Deep Crystal Polish a must, or can i skip that?

Applying any pure polish is an optional step, you can skip it if you like.

Originally posted by PandaMonium
Q3: Heard that foam applicators can be washed but not entirely recommended, is that correct?

We wash foam applicator pads all the time here at Meguiar's and re-use them, if nothing else, even a clean pad that may be stained will still work perfectly fine for applying a lot of different products.

[PandaMonium]

thanks for the reply! it seems that i will be spending quite some time on the car then! cos i get a thrill out of seeing the car looking really good!!

am gonna try the ScratchX tomorrow morning!

[PandaMonium]

NXT and ScratchX

hey guys,

i finally had the energy to apply ScratchX and NXT paste on my car and i've gotta admit, i'm very happy with these products!! the scratchX removed/minimized some marks that had been there for the longest time, and the NXT is amazing when applying and wiping off!!! good job!!

got a couple of questions tho...

for scratchX, i applied onto a foam applicator and rubbed into the area i'm working on. i'd work it in for abt 1 min or so, when the paste becomes clear, is that right? in other words, how can i tell it's time to remove?

for NXT, i just read that the time to leave it to dry is about 15min, is that right? what will happen if i remove it too soon? i can only hazard a guess that the NXT may not have time to settle down or something like that...?

thanks again!!

P

[Michael Stoops]

It sounds like your technique with the ScratchX is right on - you worked it a good amount of time and wiped it off before it hand a chance to dry, just as you should. You may notice that stubborn marks may need a second or even third application to remove them.

As for drying time with the NXT, 15 minutes should be OK, but that depends on a lot of variables such as temperature and humidity. Give it 15 minutes and then quickly and firmly swipe a clean dry finger across it. The resulting clean area should be clean and clear, with no streaking. It the swiped area looks at all streaked or oily, then wait a few more minutes and try it again.

Your concern about how the swirls came to be in the first place is valid, but it may be more likely that they are occuring in the washing/drying process than while waxing. As Mike Phillips says, once you get a perfect finish the upkeep becomes a bit more involved because those pesky swirl marks will inevitably begin to back, slowly but surely.