Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

[Saxon5]

To OP

Where in the UK are you?

I'm in Scottish Highlands but I don't mind touching base and offering some advice after seeing some larger pics.

I learned to polish using SONAX in Dubai and it's really given me a bug. I haven't tried many others yet but my biggest recommendation is definitely to start by coming away from the high street.

Forget Halfords. Forget TurtleWax, RainEx, all of them. They are the devil and cheap as **** giving similar results!

Sax

[Hemisfear]

The other issue was I have accidentally gotten Ultimate Compound on some of my rubber door seals. Tried everything to remove it but no luck?

Try a simple pink eraser, I usually follow this up with some silicone spray on a clean cloth for discoloured rubber...

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Sorry, should say anywhere.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Would you recommend Ultimate Wash and Wax everwhere? If I take thecare for a pressure wash first to remove loose dirt?

I could do the two bucket method, but I have no hose to wash it down and sadly the rinseless products mentioned aboge aren't available in the UK...

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

All by hand unfortunately.

[The Guz]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Are you trying to remove the swirls by hand? It takes more work to remove them by hand. You would get better results with a DA polisher with the correct foam pad.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Thanks for the responses. Now the sun is shining here the UK, I can finally see the swirl marks. They are worse than the picture shows but are still light. A few reasonably pressured applications of UC hasn't seem to make any difference to them what so ever!

They are a nightmare. Take the sun away and the car paint is perfectly polished and blemish free. Sun beaming down and the swirl marks are apparent at a short distance. Grr!

[The Guz]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

If the car has a heavy coat of dirt a traditional wash would be my recommendation. Another option is to take it to a car wash and rise off the initial dirt and follow up with a waterless or rinseless wash such as D114 or D115. AS far as those swirls they don't look to bad. UC would definitely be able to get rid of them. Will you be doing this by hand or machine?

To answer your question about cleaning the trim some M39 or APC would be my recommendation.

[Detailing by M]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

get a waterless wash or a rinsless. Your causing to much damage by not properly washing it correctly.
As far as compound on trim tape them off next time so this doesn't happen again. Use a dressing to get the proper oils in the trim (peanut butter isn't the right stuff).
I deal with screwed up trim all the time

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

I confess I'm not using a Meguiars polish. I use Mers or Autoglym usually and G3 as my main wax but do own most Meg's waxes.

Will give the peanut butter a try. Anything is worth a go as I don't think I've ever seen Ultimate Black in the UK.

[tiSS'er]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Thanks for the post. My issue with hand washing is I have no hose, so I can 'wash' but not rinse. I tried once with a microfiber towel and it was a bit messy. Unless I keep refillng a clean bucket and throwing it over the car? The handle is a great idea. I do have one which can be attached to any foam pad but have never used it. Will give it a try.

The other issue was I have accidently gotten Ultimate Compound on some of my rubber door seals. Tried everything to remove it but no luck?

My car's paint is in excellent condition for it's age, a few defects but you can very faintly see swirl marks. This is the pic I had in my original post (if allowed) - now typing on a mobile browser without issue.

Your car looks great. A few things to try on your plastic:

1. Creamy peanut butter - yep, does a great job of taking wax (even old wax) out of plastic trim. The peanut oil breaks down the wax quickly and easily, and cleans up easily. I wouldn't rub it against your paint though, it could be lightly abrasive.
2. I have used Meguiars Ultimate Black with excellent results.

After you compounded with UC, did you follow up with a polish like Ultimate Polish or M205? This would really make your car pop, and will remove light defects.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Thanks for the post. My issue with hand washing is I have no hose, so I can 'wash' but not rinse. I tried once with a microfiber towel and it was a bit messy. Unless I keep refillng a clean bucket and throwing it over the car? The handle is a great idea. I do have one which can be attached to any foam pad but have never used it. Will give it a try.

The other issue was I have accidently gotten Ultimate Compound on some of my rubber door seals. Tried everything to remove it but no luck?

My car's paint is in excellent condition for it's age, a few defects but you can very faintly see swirl marks. This is the pic I had in my original post (if allowed) - now typing on a mobile browser without issue.

[tiSS'er]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Hi mate, thanks for getting back to me. I'm using Firefox but it has not only duplicated my post, but also cut off half!

Whenever I compound or polish the car, the area is always clayed first and all work is done by hand.

I then use Ultimate Compound to remove any paint imperfections using the a Meguiars foam pad which are washed (by hand) after every use.

Sorry for your troubles posting, I had some issues yesterday.

As for working by hand, this could very well be the issue. When I tried working by hand, either with foam or microfiber, I found I would get micro-swirls, haloing, whatever you want to call it. I blame this on poor technique. It is very difficult to apply even pressure by hand when compounding or polishing. I found that I would be applying more pressure with my fingertips which I could almost see the path of my fingertip in the swirls.

I immediately purchased a Dual Action (DA) buffer which allows you to apply pressure evenly over the pad and the swirls were gone in seconds. Besides being much faster with less effort, a DA will always provide a better finish. If a DA is not an option for you, try picking up an applicator that has a handle which will allow you to apply more even pressure across the entire pad.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Again, it's only posted half of my post and I can't even post up the other half. Using Chrome now and no change!

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim