Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

[RGP]

I'll be receiving my Scratch X 2.0 and also Swirl X supposedly next week. (I swear if you qualify for Amazon's free shipping they purposely hold your order just to annoy you. Will ship in 8, count 'em, 8 days!)

I have only random straight line scratches here and there and they, at least appear, to be extremely light.

Can I spot treat these swirl lines that in most cases appear nearly five or six inches apart from one another?

I guess being new to the swirl game, I'm just plain chicken to have at it with an entire panel. I've located my test spot already on the inside trunk paint.

Whatcha' think about doing my spot treatment only where needed? Obviously, I won't be removing much clear coat and I'll check for any minor finish fluctuations after each treatment before reapplying.

I guess I just waited sooo long to get my dream lil' red sports car that I'm feeling hesitant, feeling I may regret even having attempted the swirl removal. Again, I use the phrase "swirl" even though it's not really reflective of the situation I'm facing.

Thank you once again for your really super valuable insight.
A few weeks back I thought I was pretty good at this, but I pale in the knowledge of most of you guys. You're the best!

[Murr1525]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

Well, you can spot treat what you need to, but you will want to use some kind of cleaner over everything.

So you could spot treat, and then use a cleaner/wax over everything, or spot treat, then apply SwirlX gently over everything, etc.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

Can I spot treat these swirl lines that in most cases appear nearly five or six inches apart from one another?

Yep, that's basically what ScratchX is designed for. No reason why you couldn't use SwirlX the same way, it's just not quite as aggressive as ScratchX 2.0

I guess being new to the swirl game, I'm just plain chicken to have at it with an entire panel. I've located my test spot already on the inside trunk paint.

Test spot on the inside of the trunk? Quite often the paint under the hood and inside the trunk is not brought up to the same high gloss finish as the rest of the car. These areas are out of sight for the most part so there's no real need to bring up a high shine in these areas. Unless your car is unusual in this regard, you might want to rethink this approach. Testing products in an inconspicuous area is the norm for products that may alter the color of a surface (usually leather, vinyl and cloth care products) but this doesn't hold true for paint cleaners. If anything you want to try them in a very conspicuous area so you can clearly see if you're making headway or not. When we talk about a "test spot" with regard to paint cleaners we're looking for positive progress, not testing for color fastness. You want to be able to see, very clearly, whether or not your product, applicator, technique, etc are moving toward the result you want. You aren't going to hurt anything here...... don't be overly timid!

Whatcha' think about doing my spot treatment only where needed? Obviously, I won't be removing much clear coat and I'll check for any minor finish fluctuations after each treatment before reapplying.

Again, this is right in line with the intent of ScratchX 2.0 - use it as needed, where needed. When working by hand the amount of clear you'll remove is inconsequential.

[Nappers]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

And...when you use ScratchX to remove the scratch, don't rub with the scratch, go across it.

A test spot with your paint cleaner after your spot treatment will further gloss the paint and remove the swirls.

SwirlX is a great product as well as Ultimate Compound.

I may have missed it, but are you applying products by hand?

If so, Ultimate Compound is a great tool as well!

Just remember, start least aggressive approach first in your test spot (not in the trunk as Mike said).

A test spot is so you don't do your whole car with a product and not like the results especially if you use a too aggressive product and do more swirling than removing swirls.

keep us posted and post some pix once you get 'er done!

[RGP]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

"You aren't going to hurt anything here...... don't be overly timid!"

Yeppers, I think that's my problem. Just spent nearly three hours in the 92* Equatorial Florida sun detailing my wheels, so I'm a long ways away from the finale'.

By then I'm sure I'll have mustered up my courage to go ahead.

As always, thanks for everyone's help!!!

[Eddie6th]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

What happened RGP,you got a couple of scratches?

Your areas inside the trunk or under the hood probably won't have much clearcoat on them,if any.

[fzr confused]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

i ordered a bunch of stuff from amazon with free shipping 2 saturdays ago and got the products the next thursday (total of 5 days), idk why they are holding your stuff so long . my email said it would take 6-8 days before it shipped out, which got me mad, but it was here in 5 days including weekends. maybe you will get lucky too

[RGP]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

What happened RGP,you got a couple of scratches?

Your areas inside the trunk or under the hood probably won't have much clearcoat on them,if any.

Not really. I just looked at it super close and noticed a hair line here and there. Just another reason to tinker around. Even I gotta look for 'em...

[Eddie6th]

Re: Like Lt. Columbo! Oh, sorry sir...Just one more Swirl X Question...

Not really. I just looked at it super close and noticed a hair line here and there. Just another reason to tinker around. Even I gotta look for 'em...

Take your time and enjoy!

hope you found a good test spot.I was going to suggest a door jam,in a spot you don't see.