I used swirlX and now my paint looks worse..Advice please?

[ZaksZ31]

Sounds good..i just really know what product is good to fix the further damage I have caused on this crappy black maaco paint..so more opinions are welcome

[Murr1525]

Probably wont be able to get a definate answer... might take a few test spots too see what works best.

Be sure to do test spots/areas.... dont do the whole car, then stand back and look.

[Michael Stoops]

In the first picture you have very definite tell tales of finger pressure from an aggressive applicator on delicate paint. Terry cloth can be very aggressive, and delicate black paint won't let you get away with that. Read through The Challenge of Delicate Paint for some pointers on how to best deal with this paint. The choice of SwirlX is probably fine, but you need a less aggressive applicator and probably a slight tweak in your application process as well. Delicate paint can be tricky at first, but once you get a process dialed in it's actually very easy to work with.

[ZaksZ31]

Ok I used a little colorX on the left side of the hood..It defiantly brought a shine but I can still see those little white smudge marks..Im using a foam pad this time..Should I use more swirl x first then color x? Let me know please.. Heres a pic..you can see the white smudges near the reflection of the house windows..

[Murr1525]

May need to do some test spots as mentioned.

It is possible you would SwirlX gently to remove the worst, and leave a little haze. Then ColorX to remove the haze... but have to experiment on what works best.

[ZaksZ31]

Well the sun was going down but it looked like I was getting somewhere..heres a pic using swirlX again followed by ColorX and hitting with yellow wax#26 for good measure..Using a foam applicator this time..

[ZaksZ31]

[Murr1525]

Sounds good... give it a good look in the sun tomorrow, and double check. Hopefully all will be well, and you can repeat over the whole car.

[Michael Stoops]

Ok I used a little colorX on the left side of the hood..It defiantly brought a shine but I can still see those little white smudge marks..Im using a foam pad this time..Should I use more swirl x first then color x? Let me know please.. Heres a pic..you can see the white smudges near the reflection of the house windows..

Well the sun was going down but it looked like I was getting somewhere..heres a pic using swirlX again followed by ColorX and hitting with yellow wax#26 for good measure..Using a foam applicator this time..

Looks like you're definitely on the right track, with maybe just a minor hiccup. Going straight to ColorX, as you discovered, only remedied the situation to a small degree. That's because the marks you left in the paint with SwirlX/terry applicator were just deep enough that the very mild cleaning ability of ColorX couldn't quite get rid of them. Plus, being a cleaner wax, ColorX was most likely doing a combination of diminishing the marks and hiding the remnants. By going back over the area with SwirlX but a less aggressive applicator, in this case foam, you're letting the cutting ability of SwirlX do the work without having the negative effects of the terry cloth. While this can still sometimes leave a bit of haze in really delicate paint, ColorX should take care of that. But even with SwirlX and a foam applicator, if you use your fingertips and bare down on the surface it's still possible to create the type of marks you did the first time around. But it looks like you're getting your technique dialed in and making real progress here, so keep it up!

[ZaksZ31]

Well I looked in the sun and theres still some marks but not in finger print form anymore lol..Am I applyimg to much palm pressure? Maybe I used to much product? Ill attach a picture