Help with swirls....

[tennisdad]

Like a dummy, i used a magic eraser on my car. It has left swirl marks and dulled the finish. I've tried waxing the heck out of it, with no effect. What product(s) can I use by hand to fix this?
Thanks!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Help with swirls....

It the paint is just dulled from rubbing the magic erasure over it you might be able to correct it with a cleaner/wax like ColorX, you won't know until you try though.

Another option would be to rub the paint down with a cleaner/polish like SwirlX to remove any marring and dulling and then afterwards apply a wax. This would be a two step approach.

Clear coats are scratch-sensitive and easily dulled but you can restore the clarity with the right products.

What are you working on?

[tennisdad]

Re: Help with swirls....

I bought some of the Ultimate Compound this morning....and it helped a bit, but I can still see the dull spots in the right light. Should I apply one or two more applications of this....will it continue to get better or do I need to try something else? Thanks

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Help with swirls....

How big of an area are you working?
How long are you working the area?

You should be working only a small section at at time, about a foot squared or smaller. You work the UC thoroughly for about a minute, then wipe off and inspect.

When you move onto a new area you overlap into the previous section.

What you're trying to do is remove a little paint and in the process restore smoothness, clarity and gloss. This is actually kind of a tricky process and part of your success depends upon your skill at working the product.

You should be using a clean, soft foam applicator pad like these,




And it should look like this when you're working the product.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Help with swirls....

While you're not trying to remove scratches per se, you're the principals that apply to removing a scratch would also apply to removing any kind of dullness or marring to the surface.

What it means to remove a scratch out of anything...


Also, after using the UC you might need to follow it with SwirlX depending upon how polishable your paint is and then of course, neither of these two products offer protection so you'll need to apply a coat of wax or a paint sealant afterwards.

[tennisdad]

Re: Help with swirls....

I see! I don't think I was using enough UC, as the picture you posted shows quite a bit of it working in as the guy is scrubbing it....and I only used about a pea-sized dot on the pad I was using (doing about 8 inches X 8 inches at a time). I wiped each of these sections off with terry and then once i was done with the entire area I waxed. I just checked it again and it seems to have worked pretty well. I can still see hints of the spots when the light hits it just right....but much better than previously. I'm going to go over it one more time, and use a little more UC on each section. Also, I didn't scrub very hard at all as I was afraid I'd cause more damage....but maybe I'll try scrubbing a bit harder too.
Thanks very much....let me know if you would adjust anything I am going to do next.

[Murr1525]

Re: Help with swirls....

These may help you as well:

How To Remove a Bird Dropping Etching by Hand using M105 Ultra Cut Compound

How to correctly apply ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Help with swirls....

Use about a teaspoon of product, spread it out over the area you're going to work and then start working it against the paint. When you try applying more pressure do a test spot first and then inspect and make sure with your increased pressure you're still getting great results.

There's a balance between firm pressure and too much pressure. With the right firm pressure and hand technique you can remove defects and leave a high gloss finish; with too much pressure and especially if you're mostly pushing down with your fingertips you can cause fingermarks.

Try to keep your fingers flat against the pad as you work the pad against the paint, avoid just applying pressure with your fingertips.

I can take a picture of what this looks like if you want?

The below is a Test Spot but it's also about the size of sections you should be working at a time, maybe just a little bigger. How large or small of a section you work depends upon,

• Depth of defects
• Hardness or softness of paint
• Your skill and ability

TEST SPOT

How to do a Test Spot

Before going over the entire car, see if you can make just one small section look good, that is apply the product you're planning on using over the entire car to just one small section about a foot squared or so. Work it in and then wipe it off, then apply the polish, work it in but not as much as the compound because now you're not trying to remove paint, just spread the product out, then immediately wipe it off, then apply the wax and let it fully dry and then wipe it off.

Now inspect our results. Make sure you can make one small section look GREAT before going over then entire car. If you can't make one small section look GREAT you won't be able to make the entire car look GREAT.

Make sense?

It should look like this,




And if you're having any problems, the post back here after the test section and we'll help you tweak your technique to insure you get it right.

[tennisdad]

Re: Help with swirls....

Thanks very much.....it's greatly appreciated!
To clarify...I should be using a polish after I use the UC and then lastly a wax, right?

[lazarc1204]

Re: Help with swirls....

When your using scratchX...should you only work on the areas with light scratches or the enitre car?

[Murr1525]

Re: Help with swirls....

Using a pure polish after the UC would be optional, but you can if you want.

As mentioned, it is possible that the UC may not leave the surface perfect, so a follow up with SwirlX may be needed. And SwirlX is a cleaner/polish.

You might UC the bad areas, then SwirlX everything.

Either way, once all is in good shape, then wax.

[Murr1525]

Re: Help with swirls....

When your using scratchX...should you only work on the areas with light scratches or the enitre car?

Well, you can use ScratchX wherever it is needed.

If your scratches are in one spot, I would just use ScratchX in that spot, then SwirlX everything.

But if your swirls/scratches are everywhere, then gotta use it everyhwere.

[Mudman]

Re: Help with swirls....

Well, you can use ScratchX wherever it is needed.

If your scratches are in one spot, I would just use ScratchX in that spot, then SwirlX everything.

But if your swirls/scratches are everywhere, then gotta use it everyhwere.

I was using Swirl X today with an orange foam cutting pad by Lake Country and a PC7424- it removed very little swirls.

I had wondered a few things, maybe not enough pressure on the pad? Maybe the wrong pad? or Maybe Scratch X would work better?