swirl advice needed?

[amblin83]

Re: swirl advice needed?

And btw, on soft CC an aggressive cutting pad is usually not necessary to remove light to medium defects and MF pads in general pack more cutting power than foam pads so a medium cut MF pad is roughly equal in power to a medium-aggressive foam pad. Keep this in mind and cut back pressure / time .

i never quite get the point of using a 'wool mitt' to wash a car. Because the average fiber of wool is around 18-20 microns, while the average fiber diameter of a typical $2.99 MF mit is under 5 microns . It's cheaper, softer, cleans better , less likely to scratch and less likely to deteriorate when repeatedly exposed to chemicals.

[amblin83]

Re: swirl advice needed?

Next time try polishing just one small test area using the same method, then use a proper degreasing spray or alcohol wipe to remove ALL oil and residue BEFORE applying wax so you can be sure it's not because that the swirls were just temporarily filled in by oil from the polish or filler content in the wax. And remember to prime the pad, a light mist of #34 final inspection will do nicely.

I'm not familiar with Korean cars but I'd presume it's similar to Japanese CC, which is very soft and can be easily scratched. Avoid circular motion and use light, straight motion to spread the QD and buff to shine very gently.

Also it's best to avoid using waterless methods on a soft CC. Some say it will not scratch, but as far as I know many waterless products contain oil or some sort of polymer to enhance lubuication and shine which can temporarily fill in and mask minor swirls.

[Top Gear]

Re: swirl advice needed?

Swirls/spiderwebs are inevitable for a driven car. While you can reduce them by being very careful about washing, they will happen just from driving, weather, and other care. One bad wash is enough to totally swirl up the finish, which is why people who wash their car a lot often have the most spiderwebs.

Once you get the paint swirl-free (or close enough), and if the paint is properly protected (lots of polish and wax), the majority of spiderwebs you'll create are just happening in the waxy polish layers on top. Those will be easy to remove with a re-waxing, especially with a cleaner-wax. However, the longer you go without doing this to return to lush protection, the more likely the polish and wax will be gone and your washing will be marring the paint itself again.

Among the tricks I've learned on this site is to rely on waterless methods more than bucket washing, especially using UWWA/D115, followed by GCQW. These products clean and fill and finish so nicely, the paint can appear to be swirl-free longer, until there is an opportunity to re-wax properly (I just went 6 months like that).

So, you're right in all respects. Swirls and spiderwebs are either being removed or hidden with polishing oils, and they return or get created no matter how careful you are, due to washing and wiping - it's just a matter of how fast and how strongly. Whether they are exactly the same lines or not seems difficult to know for sure. I'd think both are the case, such that there are some lines we haven't removed that reappear from underneath the polish as it wears away, and others that are created that can be removed more easily with re-waxing or correction.

The only hope for sanity is to regularly re-wax and use waterless tricks in between, being very careful with fewer bucket washes. Also, make sure you take the golden opportunity to re-wax with QW after every bucket wash, too. Ideally, every month or so, you can re-wax with the hand/machine wax. I say ideally, because life can get in the way, but you don't want to just wait for the wax to wear away because someone said it would last X amount of months, etc.

[MicrofiberMan]

Hi everyone, i will try to explain this as clear and simple as possible, i have a black, 2014 kia sorento.....

The last time i polished it 2 months ago i used m101; on a Griots microfiber finishing pad. 2 section passes, with 5-6 passes per section. then i finished with m205 on a megs polishing pad and waxed it. It looked great, and i thought i got rid of the swirls, they were only minor anyway. I checked it out in direct sunlight a couple times. I thought for sure this time they were gone.

I've used less aggressive methods in the past. It always looks like they are gone but they come back after a couple months every time. They are faint and I only see them in direct sunlight.

They came back again this time after about 8 weeks or so. I know I'm using a strong enough method to get rid of light swirls? i figure it has to be 1 of 2 things?


1 - I'm just filling them in, even though i'm using aggressive methods, and the filler is wearing off after 6-8 washes? If this is the case I must have the hardest paint on earth?

2 - I'm getting rid of the swirls but im putting them back into the car after 6-8 washes by rubbing to hard, ect, ect.? Idk about this, I only use high quality microfiber towels, always fresh, top quality drying towels, 2 bucket wash method, merino wool mitt, everything. I do use a lot of quick detailer and spray wax but idk.

It kinda looks like the same swirls re appearing but i don't know for sure? Could my paint be that hard? Its always the back two 1/4 panels, I see them on on both sides. what do you think?