Swirls (DEALER MORONS)
 

i bought my car when i looked it at the dealer i noticed some swirls no biggie. I brought it home then went to work parked under a light ,came out of work saw swirls friggin everywhere. HOw DO I GET rid of them. They are very fine and u cant feel any indentation. I swear it was probably some teen age kid dry my car off with a non cotton material.

black paint i presume? what you can you is get your car clay-barred. its like a special wax thats takes a lot of effort and time. you can probably take it to your local carwash detailer and have em do it for a couple hundred bucks. it'll make youre paint shine like a friggin mirror and it'll add years to its life.

-just my opinion(i know a lot about waxes because i actually work at a car wash selling the products)

Clay bar does not remove swirls! It is for removing contaminants atop the surface of the clearcoat, prepping your CC surface for a polish and wax.

Look into the 3M Hand Glaze polish to remove swirls. You could also try any of the various Meguiar's or Mother's products out there to see how well they'll work for you. Using a clay bar should only be attempted by someone who 1) knows what they're doing, or 2) has money to burn on a new paint job.

How sad is it this......I picked my car up with 12 miles on it.

First thing I noticed and specifically asked was...
Dont you people detail the NEW cars??

The response I get from the sales manager, If you saw some of the work our detailers performed here, You would be wishing you detailed it yourself..

Zaino Z5 does wonders for swirls also.

meguairs wax works perfectly on those swirls... easy wax i think it's called

3M Imperial hand glaze - apply by hand and remove by hand. Follow up with a good wax.

checkout www.carcareonline.com - good tech articles on such topics.

the most that any glaze would do is HIDE swirls/imperfections due to the heavy oil content...while it may be a solution for some, once given a few car washes the swirls will appear once again...if it were me, i would use a polish like Meg's #9 for mild swirl removal by hand, then apply wax/sealant of choice...

Zaino is really awesome stuff. Just be prepared for:

1) the price (the entire system is around $80 if you get everything you need)
2) the work involved in the first application (took me 7 hours on my old car)
3) the addiction you will develop for Z7 car wash (good sheit!!)

Everytime you apply the Z6 after your first application, the shine just gets deeper and better. It's really awesome stuff.

I plan on doing a claybar in selected areas (bumpers, hood), 3M IHG, then the full Zaino treatment.

Also, MAKE SURE you invest in some NICE, 100% terry cloth towels. Pick em up at a department store, do NOT cheap out here! Otherwise you will be spreading lint and such all over your car. Fold them up so the seams don't touch the paint when you use them, and flip them frequently. Never wash with bleach or use fabric softeners/dryer sheets. Always wash them before using them the first time around.

True it's not a real polish in the traditional sense, but it'll do less damage if applied incorrectly by the inexperienced.

Hence why I plan to go the Zaino route afterwards... :)

formula113.com
I was at a car show and they all raved about this stuff... I have not tryed it yet but a lot of Custom Car owners who detail their car recomended their products. You cannot buy them in stores only online.

Very good points and just to add:

Don't bother shopping around for it--their prices are fixed. ;)

those using zaino...just keep in mind that Zaino is not a TRUE polish...yes it has the name "POLISH" in their title, but does not contain ANY abrasives for swirl removal...Z5 will fill in only the SLIGHTEST of swirls...with zaino being so "optically perfect", just keep in mind that the swirls can be more magnified and prevelant on your paint finish...

PS...i'm not knocking zaino...i use it on my cars...

after you use the 3M IHG on your vehicle, don't forget to do a dawn wash afterwards to have a proper bond of z to your paint surface...any oil residue will affect the bonding of z...just don't be suprised if your car is swirled again after the wash...

It is highly inlikely you will be able to rid your car of swirls. Most products sold, whether its a polish or a glaze, only hide the swirls by filling them in, however after a few car washes the swirls will be visible again. The only real way to rid the car of swirls is to have if professionally wet sanded with 1000 grit paper(at least), but in order to have this done your car must have a sufficently thick coat of clear coat. Any reputable body shop will have a device to check on how thick your paint and clear coat layers are.

3M Hand glaze works well on hiding the swirls, but if used incorrectly can cause damage to your paint. If your gonna use 3M hand glaze be sure the paint surface is totally cooled and clean. You can reapply this to further diminish the visiblilty of the swirls. You must apply a wax over the glaze because the glaze will not protect your paint. When removing the glaze be sure to continually turn to a clean portion of the towel, if not the grit from the dried glaze will put worse scratches in your clearcoat.

The best towels to use are Cannon/Fieldcrest white only terry towels, they are 100% cotton and do not contain any polyester like most others do. Don't be fooled by micro-fiber towels, they may be good at removing wax residue but they are also good at adding to your swirls.

Another way to reduce the visibilty of swirls is to be careful how you wax your car. On the vertical parts of the car you should apply and remove the wax in an up an down motion, and the horizontal parts of the car should be applied in back and forth (front to back) motion, not in a circular motion. Since swirls are fine scratches in your clear coat, if they are in a circular motion the light will reflect off of them from many angles as opposed to fine scratches that are visible only from a 90 degree angle.

I hope this helps, just PM me if you have more questions.

It does not make sense to use the 3M hand glaze on your car then wash it with dawn, the dawn will wash the glaze right off your paint and you will have waisted your time. If your going to apply Zaino, just wash your car with dawn and go right to the Zaino products, forget about using the 3M hand glaze. The Zaino is another product that will fill the swirls, not remove them, that is why Zaino encourages the application of numerous coats.

i applied 3m swirl remover to the car in some portions. When doin so i noticed that some paint not like paint paint but paint was on the towel mixed in with the swirl remover. anyone have any idea why this would be. IS it overspray paint if the car wasnt buffed. I mean the car was sitting on the lot for a while. I can still see the swirls they are just faded so i know i didnt go through the clear coat. Anyone ever buff their EVO

cam2 makes a good point but wouldn't that really only apply to a situation where you would be hand glazing it and then doing the zaino treatment directly afterwards? I'd think you'd want to let it be for a day or two.

I will investigate the other 3M products. Light light swirls are removable, there's no doubt. I corrected my previous car's dealer pre-delivery swirlmania with just the zaino swirl remover (filler) and have faith that I can correct my current car's swirl epidemic. ;)

I do not, however, want to hit the thing with a buffer. Scary thoughts.

Also excellent points on the wax direction! I hate it when I see people going at their wax removal process with a foam pad, leaning on the car with all their weight, swirling the hell out of the surface. Makes me cringe.

batty...your evo wouldn't happen to be red would it?...

webguy330i...a very decent 3M product for light swirl removal would be 3M swirl mark remover (light or dark)....very similar to Meg's #9...you just have to really work in those products because they contain diminishing abrasives...

EVOwhat, I'll definitely check it out, thanks. :)

no prob...

for dark colors p/n: 39009
for light colors p/n: 30109

either can be bought at local PepBoys or Napa Auto...

Its pretty simple to get that out. A wax and polish machine can buff it right out. Just dont buy a crappy one.

Batty-

If when your removing your wax or glaze from the paint and it is coming off in the same color as your paint onto your towel, that generally means that portion has no clearcoat. You would be suprised at how many new cars do not come with a clearcoat.

EVOwhat,

Have you had a bad experience with Ziano z-5? Have you noticed the swirls getting MORe noticeable?

The reason i ask is b/c i just bought some Ziano products, in hopes that i can get the swirls out of my blue evo, but im a bit skeptical if you don't think it works....

Just for general purposes, here are some post-Zaino shots of my previous baby. Look at that shine! Note the lack of swirls (believe me, they were there):

http://www.330i.net/media/gallery/8-18-01/roundel1.jpg

http://www.330i.net/media/gallery/8-...eflection2.jpg

http://www.330i.net/media/gallery/8-...eflection3.jpg


(slightly out of focus)
http://www.330i.net/media/gallery/8-...reflection.jpg

very nice bimmer webguy330i !...


alex alex....no, i don't want to dissuade you from using zaino...i use it on my own cars and ->I<- think that it's the best thing since sliced bread...i guess what i am trying to say is that since Zaino is so "optically perfect" (and is the longest lasting protectanct), zaino will enhance your vehicle 10x better if your paint surface is flawless...on the same token, it will enhance/magnify your swirls and scratches if it is not...this is most noticeable on darker colors in the sun (i.e. black,red...)...then again that is when you see most swirls in the sun right?...that is how i try to gauge how badly a car is marred/swirled...

i guess what i am trying to say is...to get the most out of zaino, the paint should be as swirl free as possible before the first coat of Z...

i am not saying that i am a know-it-all with Z...i am just a general car enthusiast that enjoys detailing cars...i have used Z for the past 3 years and have tried many other products...so i am just advising from my own personal experience...heck i even have experimented with topping zaino with carnauba (fantastic IMO...more depth/warmth), and that is what i currently use...so take it for what it's worth...i'm not trying to preach, i am just giving some advice...everyone has their own technique/products...i am just sharing mine...

btw...here are some pics of my buddy's BEAST that i did after this past winter...anyone can make a car look nice in indirect-sunlight or shade...that is why i try to take my pics in direct sunlight to show some detail...p.s don't mind the dust...

http://www.clanbmf.net/uploads/m5_fsmall.jpg
http://www.clanbmf.net/uploads/m5_asmall.jpg
http://www.clanbmf.net/uploads/m5_bsmall.jpg

M5, yum. Looks damn good, flawless in fact. Jet black is a real ***** for swirls!!

thanks webguy330i...his jet black M5 is the biggest ***** to keep swirl free...or at least try to...swirls on any black car is inevitable...

BTW...i LOVE that first pic you posted...i can't stop staring at it...

hehe, yeah that was my favorite of all time, thanks :). The lighting/sky/sunset (being that I had been zainoing ALL damn day) and the angle was perfect that day. I tried to take a few more but that one came out the best. I only wish I had a larger (1600x1200) version for my desktop. =/

I like how your buddy is off to the side of the roundel on your first pic. :D