Swirl marks!!

clees · Post by **clees** » Fri May 04, 2007 12:06 pm

Can anyone tell me what is best to get rid of those damn swirls?

Cheers

Ollie_R · Post by **Ollie_R** » Fri May 04, 2007 12:49 pm

If you want to completely remove the swirls, the paint will need to be machine polished with an abrasive polish.

I recommend a Porter Cable 7424 random orbit polisher from either Autopia car care in the US, or there's a guy selling them on ebay. Now would be a good time to take advantage of the current dollar-pound exchange rate, and purchase one from Autopia.

If you want to wait, Meguiars are bringing out a random-orbit polisher this year. I'm not too sure of the pricing, but keep an eye out on their site.

You could take it to a bodyshop or professional detailer to have the swirls sorted, ask them whether they will do machine polishing.

Instead of removing the swirls by taking away the clearcoat, you could fill the swirl marks with a polish/glaze that uses fillers to fill the swirls. I recommend Autoglym super resin polish, about three coats of it should fill the swirls nicely. The polish is widely available, too. It is advisable to top the polish with a decent wax or sealant for extra protection.

Here's some info on the Porter Cable polisher:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-sfxpol-kit.html

They also have guides on how to use the PC.

Also, shoot Dino or Josh a PM, they're much more in the know about proper detailing, I'm more of a detailing n00b

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Fri May 04, 2007 1:18 pm

as the man says, this can be treated several ways. you can even do this by hand if you wanted to. it's all about getting the right grade of cutting compound. I imagine commercially available t-cut may also help a little, it's very mild compared to some cutting compounds but I'm not sure I'd recommend it that much.

al_kaholik · Post by **al_kaholik** » Sat May 05, 2007 12:39 am

My theory on Meguires - they make good products, however are they experienced in making electrical goods? No. Buy a good quality PC - have a look on detailing world for more information. My bro has a dual head 3" that he got from Sweeden for about Â£60 posted. It was fantastic at eating through the paint on my old Beetle and made it come up a treat. Light cutting compound and a good PC. Be aware that if you jump in and buy a Halfords polisher, then it will take you probably five times as long to get the same effect as a a good quality one. Also be aware that you can burn the paint and that you can cut down to the undercoat in extreme situations.

Mouse_GTI · Post by **Mouse_GTI** » Sat May 12, 2007 9:08 am

I'd wait for a few reviews to come out first on the Meguiars polisher.

You can always remove light swirls by hand using Megs Scratch-X and a foam applicator, but it takes a lot of time and effort

ModifiedMadness · Post by **ModifiedMadness** » Sat May 12, 2007 4:16 pm

A company like Meguiars will not just decide they will sell a PC, chances are they are/have been working closely with an electronics company that has experience in making things like that, as well as doing plenty of research into what makes a good Machine Polisher.

Ollie_R · Post by **Ollie_R** » Sat May 12, 2007 5:11 pm

Now this is being distributed in the UK, with prices rumoured to be around Â£100 for the base machine, I think the Megs polisher is going to be overshadowed by the UDC.

It's definitely going to be my next purchase, no more faffing around with transformers and the like with the PC.

Prestige Detailers · Post by **Prestige Detailers** » Tue May 15, 2007 7:02 pm

going by what ive heard the megauirs buffer is a porter cable with a megauirs stamp on it but it may be not i highly doubt it coming from megauirs

ive seen the megauirs buffer in action and i must say its al most identical to a pc in every way it operates

but hey if it comes to it when it is realsed in the uk i might invest in it for ease of use etc

JoeG07 · Post by **JoeG07** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:11 am

bloody tcut mate - Â£8 from any motor shop and does the job perfect!

dino · Post by **dino** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 8:19 am

JoeG07 wrote:bloody tcut mate - Â£8 from any motor shop and does the job perfect!

No really it wont

Ollie_R · Post by **Ollie_R** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:10 am

dino wrote:
JoeG07 wrote:bloody tcut mate - Â£8 from any motor shop and does the job perfect!
No really it wont

+1

It's alright for removing heavy oxidisation (when I did this on the old Mk2 that we had on ebay, I used Klasse AIO, Autoglym SRP and Poorboys blue polish; it worked the best, surprisingly they still didn't shift it though).

Just wondering, will anyone be getting the Ultimate Detailing Machine when it comes out in August? Maybe we could get a group buy going for some basic kits

JoeG07 · Post by **JoeG07** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:21 pm

nah i once baught an old punto for about Â£200, gave it a heavy tcutting with the proper rag took out all the swirl marks really braught up the colour, gave it polish and a wax and got the interior valeted and sold it for Â£800! whey! lol if you get the t cut thats the same colour as your car it works well original isnt too great