Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!

[K-Roll390]

Greetings everyone, my name is Karl, I own a 2017 Mustang Ecoboost in Grabber Blue (best Ford blue IMHO) that's my DD in Michigan, and I have swirl OCD.

As a result, I've tried and spent many $$$ on many different ways to keep my car clean and swirl free over the last year through detailers. Be it Jetseal 109, and a ceramic coating that I ended up disliking because it's like covering your car in iPhones in that you have to use only specific products that you cannot buy in stores. I just find that even though they're really hydrophobic, they're very finicky, frustrating, and expensive. As a result, I'd like to save money by doing such things myself from now on.

Over the last few months, I've incurred many swirls and scratches from myself, the time my car spent in a dealership body shop, and my attempts at fixing said swirls by hand. I assume modern Ford paint is really freaking soft because I was able to get some big scratches out by hand but was left with what I assume is micro marring or very fine swirls that I tried to remedy with a plethora of products (ScratchX 2.0, UC, UP, SwirlX) by hand with store bought cotton applicators (they're rubbish) and a online bought foam pad (better for waxing) with no real improvements to the swirls. I believe it's not the products, but myself and my methods causing the problems. I'm here to hopefully learn how to remedy these swirls to the best of my ability and not ruin my paint any further (that my OCD can tolerate) given that this car is a DD.

Right now I have the following products in my arsenal to use: UC, UP, SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0, and my wax of choice is Collinite 476s. I can wash, dry, clay, and wax without incurring much of the swirl wrath, it's the paint correction that I need help with. I don't have a DA because they're rather pricey to me, but also a bit scary having no experience with them.

I'll provide pictures of the car once I get some good lighting to show the swirls. Any and all help and knowledge is greatly appreciated!

[K-Roll390]

Re: Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!

Here's the car with Collinite 476s applied this afternoon. The sun had set and I need direct sunlight or streetlamps to get the swirls to pop...

[K-Roll390]

Re: Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!



I can't take any good pictures, but I'd best describe the damage I caused as a series of hazy micro scratches and some larger scratches.

[The Guz]

Re: Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!

Welcome to MOL.

Seems like you have run up against the limitation of what can be done by hand. You may want to consider a dual action polisher to remove the heavier defects. There are plenty of options and affordable polishers available.

Also by hand, a foam applicator is the way to go. A cotton towel is too aggressive and can leave marring.

[K-Roll390]

Re: Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!

This is a embarrassing to say, I may've found my mistake.

Aside from swearing off cotton anything for detailing in the future, I was scouring AutoGeek for some new materials for detailing, and I noticed that the foam applicator I was using, the CCS applicators, I was using a red ultra soft applicator meant for wax application to try and buff out scratches.....Which explains why my attempt at using foam to fix the damage caused by the cotton application was for naught.

I've ordered an orange and white CCS hand applicator to try going by hand one more time. I believe I might be able to rectify the damage properly to some degree. My question now is which polish/compound do I go with this time out of the ones I've got?

[Nick Winn]

Re: Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!

This is a embarrassing to say, I may've found my mistake.

Aside from swearing off cotton anything for detailing in the future, I was scouring AutoGeek for some new materials for detailing, and I noticed that the foam applicator I was using, the CCS applicators, I was using a red ultra soft applicator meant for wax application to try and buff out scratches.....Which explains why my attempt at using foam to fix the damage caused by the cotton application was for naught.

I've ordered an orange and white CCS hand applicator to try going by hand one more time. I believe I might be able to rectify the damage properly to some degree. My question now is which polish/compound do I go with this time out of the ones I've got?

Welcome to MOL! Upon looking at the above close up pictures of the defects, to me, these defects do not look like ones which you have inflicted yourself. To me they look like fine scratches which have not been removed yet. BUT, if you are positive you have inflicted these with the cotton applicator pad, I would recommend continuing like the below:

Attempt to see if Ultimate Polish applied with a foam applicator pad will work to remove the defects to your satisfaction. When working by hand, for defect removal, we typically recommend working in a small, one square foot area or so at a time. Ensure the surface is clean & cool the touch, ideally in the shade. Keeping your hand flat, apply the product in circular overlapping motions, using moderate pressure, working the product in for about a minute or so. The product should break down to a light wet film, which you will then want to wipe off while it is still wet with a high quality microfiber towel. Check your work area with high quality lighting prior to application, then check it again after to inspect your results. If this does not work to remove all the defects then I would recommend trying the below:

Attempt to see if Ultimate Compound applied with a foam applicator pad will work to remove the defects to your satisfaction. Use the same technique as above recommendation for applying Ultimate Polish. Ultimate Compound may be needed to remove all the defects. Ultimate Compound may also leave behind a haze & micro marring like you have mentioned. If Ultimate Compound leaves haze or any mild micro marring behind, you will want to use Ultimate Polish to remove the haze & refine the finish.

Like others have mentioned, it is easier to get great results with a dual action polisher machine once you learn some basic technique. It is a much more controlled process. The user is able to keep the pad flat, control the speed, the user has better control of how much pressure to apply, etc. Check out the pictures from our Saturday Detailing 101 Classes we have here in Irvine, CA below for more information on technique with a DA Polisher. I have taught hundreds of users introductory technique for using a DA Polisher and not one has ever contacted me stating they caused permanent damage. Anyways, it is something to consider.

Pictures from Meguiar's Saturday Detailing 101 Classes

Hope this helps

Nick

[twisty roads]

Re: Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!

agree with both what Guz and Nick has mentioned already. For the DA, the nice thing about the Meg MT300 and prior models is they are a 8mm throw and therefore are the most user friendly. It is almost impossible to damage the paint by using a 8mm throw DA. The slightest of angled pressure will stop the rotation of the pad. No rotation, no correction or damage. If price is an issue, try the harbor freight DA. it should be less then $100 after coupon. For a much better machine at a slightly larger price consider the Porter Cable 7424 DA. The Megs MT300 is better still, especially for balance of the machine and not having your hands feels like they cont to vibrate after correcting the whole car.

Working in the physical therapy/rehabilitation world as a licensed provider, I recommend a machine to do any correction for the sheer fact that your shoulders will thank you and prevent over-use injuries. The picture provided looks like RIDS (random isolated deep scratches) but because of the light color they could be micro-marring from prior attempts of correction.

Product wise, you already have a good base for starting in paint correction. You will be surprised at the improved correction and gloss that can be performed with less effort using the same products. Godspeed in whatever direction you decide to take to get your car looking better!

[K-Roll390]

Re: Help A NOOB repair his swirls!!

I'm going to attempt my corrections today! A good wash, clay shouldn't be necessary as I'd done it last week, and with a proper foam applicator for polishing/compound. I'll report back with my results!