Used swirlX for the first time

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Used swirlX for the first time

However I still have this question. If what I was seeing was "damage" to the paint after using SwirlX, would the tech wax be able to simply hide all that after one application?

First, used correctly, SwirlX nor any of Meguiar's paint care products will damage paint, we've been doing this for over a hundred years so we have quite a bit of credibility built up on the matter.

It's more likely that you removed some of the lighter swirls and now the deeper swirls and scratches show up more easily to your eyes. This means they were always there, not put in by SwirlX

I posted about this on the first page of your thread.

Hard to tell from the pictures but usually when you correctly apply a swirl and scratch remover you'll remove the most shallow swirls and scratches first and what this does is makes the deeper swirls and scratches show up more easily to your eyes, it more or less makes the the deeper swirls and scratches that were already there stand out like a sore thumb because now there are less swirls overall to cloud or camouflage the deeper ones.

Looks better and looks normal to me. Also looks like you might want to try ScratchX 2.0 or Ultimate Compound.

Right now when I look at the car in direct sunlight, i dont see any of the "damage" that I saw right after applying the swirlx.

A paint cleaner is NOT the last step. Applying a wax or a paint sealant is the last step and the idea is as you work through the steps the paint get better and better looking, this implies that it doesn't look it's best till after the last step. I think I touched on this idea in this thread already also?

What should I do if I want to try another pass with the swirlX? I already waxed the car, so can I simply wash/dry it as normal, and apply the swirlX, or do I need to do anything to special to prep the surface since its just been waxed.

Follow me on this,

If a product has the ability to remove swirls and scratches, another way of thinking of this is the product has the ability to remove a little paint in an effort to level or flatten-out the surface.

If said product can remove paint it will certainly remove any micron thin layer of wax residing on the surface in the first few passes, it's really of no concern.

IF you want to try again, wash and dry the car or wipe the car clean, and then do a Test Spot.

Make sure you can apply and remove SwirlX to one small area and perfect your technique for working by hand and be sure you're getting good results before going over the entire car.

If SwirlX didn't remove all the swirls and scratches the first time regardless if it was because of bad technique or some other reason, then it could be,

You need to use a more aggressive product
The swirls and scratches are too deep to safely remove.


Again, if this is a daily driver then it's usually not a good idea to aim for 100% perfection as the wear-and-tear caused by daily driving will just instill more swirls and scratches into the future.

[Lagos]

Re: Used swirlX for the first time

Thanks for clearing that up.
I will admit, Im really impressed with the scratchX / tech wax combo. My car has never looked this good.
I might try a second pass with the scrachx in a few weeks to see if I can take care of the remainder of the scratches, but like you said, its a daily driver, so I'm not going for perfection.