Desperate-need Help!!!

[jonny01blaze]

Help guys i'm getting really agrevated here.

I have a 99 Subaru Impreza and For the last year I havn't been able to remove the UGLY swirl marks from the car. No other car has ever given me this much trouble just the subaru. I have tried alot of tricks from the forum and alot of known tricks, but heres a run down on my process and what happens.

I've tried Higher cutting compunds like 83 and a wool pad and it does absolutely NOTHING to the marks, it doesn't even remove them slightly. I find this very odd. Now when I use #9 swirl remover it takes some of the haze away from the swirls but they're still there.

Next procedure, last year I used the DC 3 step, by hand and it worked great swirls were gone paint deep and lustrious, water beeding etc.etc...

Then this year they're back so I tried the compounds again and nothing So I broke out the DC series again but this time with my Polishing pads and Rotary and I attacked the paint this way.

OMG it went better than the first time, But now after two, I repeat two washes It looks horrible again. the water does not even bead anymore it just lays there. Now the two washes have only been about a week apart and about a month since I did the Polishing. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!!!

I'm baffled as all can be. Please shed some light guys before I go crazy.... Here are some pics the first are what the paint looks like currently. and the second ones are what the paint looked like last year after the DC process. again HELP.

[Murr1525]

Well, the DC sytem isnt agressive enough to remove swirls.

What sort of machine are you working with?

[SiriusRIMZ]

Sounds like your inflicting swirls during your wash or drying process.

Try some Scratch-X on a discreet spot and see if that removes the swirls.

[jonny01blaze]

Actually I should have mentioned that I did try scratch X too, my friend had a bottle. I don't beleive I'm scratching while washing b/c none of my other vehichles have this problem and this is not my first endevor with Black. To note I do use the Two bucket method.


Machine I'm using is a Milwaukee Rotary Buffer I don't have the Model # with me currently. I didn't think the DC was strong enough to remove them but it sure as heck made them better. But as I stated why do none of the stronger Compounds work with this paint???

[Murr1525]

Those look a bit like buffer marks and random swirls... I wonder if you might be going too strong, as my Legacy's paint is fairly soft.

[jonny01blaze]

I will have to try again on a good day, I hope i wasn't pushing too hard. I'm just completely baffled, I have never had this much trouble with a car. any other combos I should try besides the 83 and a wool pad??

[Murr1525]

That is a fairly agressive combo, anything with a wool pad is... I think something milder might be at least worth trying. It seems like you might have tried a very mild combo and very agressive combo, but perhaps should try something in between.

You are either working by hand or rotary it seems, no PC?

Perhaps you can at least back down to something milder like #83 with foam pad, or #80 with a foam pad, like the #8006 pad Meguiars makes, or an equivalent.

[Mike Phillips]

You need to get away from the wool pad for your last machine cleaning/polishing process. It's too aggressive and will leave swirls or holograms in the paint just by itself as the fibers that make up the pad will cut the paint.

Try this, use some M83 with our polishing foam pad, either the W-8000 or the W-8006 foam pad. Buff a section about a foot or two square then wipe any residue off, then wipe the panel down with a mixture of 50/50 Isopropyl Alcohol/Water and then inspect.

Look to see if the previous swirls have been removed. Compare this paint to the paint next to it, perhaps even place some painters tape to one side and cover the adjacent paint for a standard to compare against.

You need to see if this combo is removing the current swirls or having no effect at all, this will help you to determine how hard the paint is and which direction to go to remove the swirls.

Just to note, I buffed out a truck last weekend where the clear coat was sprayed at a Maaco paint shop, there were sanding marks everywhere in the paint and I couldn't remove all of them using our M85, or our M84 with our Wool cutting pad on a rotary buffer at 1500 rpm

A started out testing a very light cleaner/polish to see if it would get the job done and the worked towards more aggressive products finally settling on the M84 with a wool pad and the goal was to only remove what one good pass over each panel would remove and live with the rest.

Paint hardness as well as depth of the scratches definitely played a major role in what I could do when it came to this particular paint job.

Buffing out a test spot using M83 with a foam polishing pad should give you a pretty good idea as to which direction you'll need to go.

[jonny01blaze]

Great Mike I will definatly give these tips a try. I have always used a wool pad I guess its a habbit, when using more agressive products. It never really gave me a problem till the Sub.

What should I follow the 83 with?? Assuming this does remedy my problem. Just a Glaze? Thanks again.

[Mike Phillips]

If I can get away with it, I go to M80 Speed Glaze with a clean, dedicated W-8006 foam polishing pad using a dual action polisher.

Like this,



but not like this...




Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

[Buellwinkle]

The shine on that man's head is outstanding, I have to try that on my head and that's just with #80, hmmm.