Hand swirl correction products - Recommendations?

[Gaz.]

Both Soph's Pearl Black Clio and my Trophy Blue ZR are absolutely covered in swirl marks. Really they need a good machine polish, but I don't have £150+ to buy all that gear.

I usually clean the cars, dry them, then with Soph's I've applied Carlack 68 then Collinite 476 just to protect the paintwork. Mine's just got some SRP and EGP on it at the moment.

Can anybody recommend any products that would help remove swirl marks by hand. I've read good stuff about Sonus SFX-1 and SFX-3 used together, and also Meguiars 83 and 80 used together. Also, what pads do people recommend?

 

[Bluebeard]

Take it to a bodyshop and get them to mop it. They only charge about £40.

Then take it home and finish it off yourself?

 

[Gaz.]

Still comes to £80. Plus I don't know any bodyshops local that do it.

 

[alex-avfc]

Have a go with some Menzerna 106FA applied with a German applicator, use a good bit of pressure and really work it in, then go over that with some SRP if needs be should do the job

 

[will6]

I recently used some Meguiers Swirl X worked on my car.

 

[Gally]

It needs paint correction tbh mate, you'll only ever mask the swirls until the next wash.

 

[JD]

Difficult without a machine polish lad. Would happily offer my services, charge 85 quid for paint correction, but depends on whether you want to spend that sort of money.

As said above by that "man" Gally, most products that are good by hand will only mask swirls until it gets a good wash.

If you need any more advice be very happy to have a chat via PM/in this thread lad.

Jamie

 

[Gally]

Pmsl the "man" If I had a qui9d for everytime I copied Jamie's advice I would be loaded!

 

[Leeshez]

Difficult without a machine polish lad. Would happily offer my services, charge 85 quid for paint correction, but depends on whether you want to spend that sort of money.

As said above by that "man" Gally, most products that are good by hand will only mask swirls until it gets a good wash.

If you need any more advice be very happy to have a chat via PM/in this thread lad.

Jamie

I need mine doing if you would be kind enough to do it. Lee

 

[JD]

Not a problem Lee, have finished tennis over the weekends for a while, dad has booked next/weekend after. Need to sort out a couple of others as well. I will PM you soon with dates, you aren't that far away.

Jamie

 

[Leeshez]

Not a problem Lee, have finished tennis over the weekends for a while, dad has booked next/weekend after. Need to sort out a couple of others as well. I will PM you soon with dates, you aren't that far away.

Jamie

Ah bum cheeks. I work weekends. All my weekends are booked off for wedings and stuff .

 

[Daz.]

Not a problem Lee, have finished tennis over the weekends for a while, dad has booked next/weekend after. Need to sort out a couple of others as well. I will PM you soon with dates, you aren't that far away.

Jamie

Me too! Although I had a look at yours Lee it's worse than mine - god bless silver for hiding mucho marks!

 

[JD]

Ah bum cheeks. I work weekends. All my weekends are booked off for wedings and stuff .

May bank holiday? Quite happy to book in for then?

Me too! Although I had a look at yours Lee it's worse than mine - god bless silver for hiding mucho marks!

Not done a silver car for ages!

 

[Leeshez]

That would be great . My car needs some tlc .

 

[JD]

That would be great . My car needs some tlc .

NP lad, been a while! YHPM.

 

[Chris205]

clay bar then get some 3m hand glaze, go up and down, then side to side motion,

only go in straight lines as well, same idea as machine polishing but you wont get as good'a result as you would with a machine polisher, but will still elliminate the majority of the swirls

It is vital that you clay bar before hand though, then polish and wax after, use some super resin for your polish and top it up with either a zymol or dodo juice wax,

job done, shud seal it for a while

 

[Leeshez]

NP lad, been a while! YHPM.

All sorted thanks. .

 

[JD]

clay bar then get some 3m hand glaze, go up and down, then side to side motion,

only go in straight lines as well, same idea as machine polishing but you wont get as good'a result as you would with a machine polisher, but will still elliminate the majority of the swirls

It is vital that you clay bar before hand though, then polish and wax after, use some super resin for your polish and top it up with either a zymol or dodo juice wax,

job done, shud seal it for a while

Claying will add more marring to the paint work and SRP will only fill the scratches until the next wash, even with sealing it.

They only method is machine polishing, once car's get to a certain state.

 

[RichCup]

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=78109&highlight=bilt+hamber

 

[JD]

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=78109&highlight=bilt+hamber

Interesting find Rich, thanks mate!

Need to get back on DW, miss that place, but just don't have the time to be on it as much as I would like!

 

[renclio]

nice find rich, but this again will only last for a couple of washes, if you dont want to spend fortunes and you have a bit of time on your hands then i would buy the compounds you need and then apply them by hand, takes alot longer than machine polishing but the results are still the same. Also you save the chance of severly damaging your paintwork with the machine polisher. I repeat DO NOT use a machine polisher unless your really really have an understanding about heating up paints etc

 

[Jonny1*2]

wouldn't bother. buy a kestrel and do it that way. Your arm will be in serious pain if you try it properly.

 

[RichCup]

Obviously correction is the only 'long-lasting' solution, but this product would suffice for what the OP wants until they can afford to have the paint corrected. Durability reports of this product are actually pretty good tbh and it gives better results than SRP.

Interesting find Rich, thanks mate!

Need to get back on DW, miss that place, but just don't have the time to be on it as much as I would like!

No worries, I only tend to go on there if I've run out of something, just to look at the different products to replace it with! Some good info/reads on there though.

 

[renclio]

wouldn't bother. buy a kestrel and do it that way. Your arm will be in serious pain if you try it properly.

Its not just as easy as buy a kestrel, you can still do serious damage with that thing unless you have done proper machine polishing courses etc all it takes is run it over the one area too many times and you can be looking at getting a full panel resprayed. Just giving people a word of warning before using them on there car as i have seen machine polishing gone wrong and its normally very expensive to correct.

 

[JD]

You are very, very unlikely to burn paint with an orbital polisher, hence they have commanded the market for new users.

I would however agree that it is not just as easy as going out and buying one. The costs for one thing are quite high if you only need to do it once a year, if that.

 

[renclio]

Just dont want anybody to ruin there paint as the person who is teaching my valeting showed me the car he was working on at the moment and it was another detailing fanatic who thought it was as easy as go out and buy a machine polisher and use it on his car and it would all work out fine, the guy now needs a full respray as he scorched the paint because of his inexperience. I just want to stress that machine polishing should be left to professionals orbital polishers are alright but make sure you dont use it on the one area for too long as that then causes more swirls in turn.

 

[Paul.]

nice find rich, but this again will only last for a couple of washes, if you dont want to spend fortunes and you have a bit of time on your hands then i would buy the compounds you need and then apply them by hand, takes alot longer than machine polishing but the results are still the same. Also you save the chance of severly damaging your paintwork with the machine polisher. I repeat DO NOT use a machine polisher unless your really really have an understanding about heating up paints etc

Its not just as easy as buy a kestrel, you can still do serious damage with that thing unless you have done proper machine polishing courses etc all it takes is run it over the one area too many times and you can be looking at getting a full panel resprayed. Just giving people a word of warning before using them on there car as i have seen machine polishing gone wrong and its normally very expensive to correct.

Just dont want anybody to ruin there paint as the person who is teaching my valeting showed me the car he was working on at the moment and it was another detailing fanatic who thought it was as easy as go out and buy a machine polisher and use it on his car and it would all work out fine, the guy now needs a full respray as he scorched the paint because of his inexperience. I just want to stress that machine polishing should be left to professionals orbital polishers are alright but make sure you dont use it on the one area for too long as that then causes more swirls in turn.

mate . . without sounding cheeky hear i think your talking nonsense tbh. I have a kestral. i Have attended NO courses , only spoke to people in the know and done some reading. It DOESNT need to be a profesional using the machine -BELIEVE me. Ive had NO troubles so far in doing paint correction on a number of diff cars with diff paints.


As for swirls removal without a machine - i wouldnt bother

 

[Chris205]

Claying will add more marring to the paint work and SRP will only fill the scratches until the next wash, even with sealing it.

They only method is machine polishing, once car's get to a certain state.

hence why i clearly stated HANDGLAZING, which gets rid of the swirls, you could go straight to waxing after that if you wanted but the polish, like you say would fill any other scratches (probably quite harsh ones)

This would work a lot longer than a few washes as you would be waxing it which obviously forms a seal over it

Ive done many dark cars with handglaze and saw a visual difference, not as much as a machine polish but very good results all the same

 

[alex-avfc]

A friend of mine who buys Autosmart in Bulk reckons Mirror Image is what you want if you're tackling swirls by hand. Going by hand of course will never give you the same levels of gloss nor correction but that might be worth a go

 

[Jonny1*2]

Its not just as easy as buy a kestrel, you can still do serious damage with that thing unless you have done proper machine polishing courses etc all it takes is run it over the one area too many times and you can be looking at getting a full panel resprayed. Just giving people a word of warning before using them on there car as i have seen machine polishing gone wrong and its normally very expensive to correct.

True, but it's not that easy to burn through. You need to leave it in the same spot for hours. My 182 paint is solid. Vauxhauls and fords i've found are much softer so there is more chance of burning through. If you look at a good guide you can't really go wrong. Just steer clear of edges as they are an unpredictable thing.

 

[Jonny1*2]

mate . . without sounding cheeky hear i think your talking nonsense tbh. I have a kestral. i Have attended NO courses , only spoke to people in the know and done some reading. It DOESNT need to be a profesional using the machine -BELIEVE me. Ive had NO troubles so far in doing paint correction on a number of diff cars with diff paints.


As for swirls removal without a machine - i wouldnt bother

Amen!!!! :approve: This guys back catalogue is proof enough!! Well said Paul

 

[JD]

hence why i clearly stated HANDGLAZING, which gets rid of the swirls, you could go straight to waxing after that if you wanted but the polish, like you say would fill any other scratches (probably quite harsh ones)

This would work a lot longer than a few washes as you would be waxing it which obviously forms a seal over it

Ive done many dark cars with handglaze and saw a visual difference, not as much as a machine polish but very good results all the same

OK, let's just clear this up. You stated claying is a must. This is incorrect. You do all stages of polishing as needed, not just as an all in package, regardless of paint condition.

Hand glazing will not remove swirls. SRP will do a better job by hand, but will never be a touch on machine polishing, as it will also just fill a lot of the swirl marks. Even if you use a sealent and a wax, the swirl marks will be come clear again after one or two washes as sealents and waxes are designed to "seal in" the paint finish, not any potential fillers on top of the paintwork.

A friend of mine who buys Autosmart in Bulk reckons Mirror Image is what you want if you're tackling swirls by hand. Going by hand of course will never give you the same levels of gloss nor correction but that might be worth a go

Ali has had some dealings with these products, but I could not comment myself as I went pretty much straight to a PC at the age of 17/18.

mate . . without sounding cheeky hear i think your talking nonsense tbh. I have a kestral. i Have attended NO courses , only spoke to people in the know and done some reading. It DOESNT need to be a profesional using the machine -BELIEVE me. Ive had NO troubles so far in doing paint correction on a number of diff cars with diff paints.


As for swirls removal without a machine - i wouldnt bother

Didn't want to be as cheeky )) as Paul, but as stated, having read a few guides on here and DW, I went straight into using my PC on my car. It was only after about 18 months practice that I decided to go anywhere near family cars and then finally offering out my services on here.

I do not pretend to be a pro, but four/five years of experience does tend to count.

Simple fact is, if you want your paintwork back to a perfect finish, you need to get someone to either machine polish your car for you, or buy the kit and get used to it. There are plenty of guides and shows/meetings that you can attend to pick up the necessary skills.

Remember to always start out with the least aggressive method, upping the stages/products/techniques as you go.

Jamie

 

[Jonny1*2]

If you speak to any detailer on DW they would all recommend practice. Courses are a waste of time/money unless you're looking at opening a business and having some credentials to show off.

 

[Chris205]

OK, let's just clear this up. You stated claying is a must. This is incorrect. You do all stages of polishing as needed, not just as an all in package, regardless of paint condition.

Hand glazing will not remove swirls. SRP will do a better job by hand, but will never be a touch on machine polishing, as it will also just fill a lot of the swirl marks. Even if you use a sealent and a wax, the swirl marks will be come clear again after one or two washes as sealents and waxes are designed to "seal in" the paint finish, not any potential fillers on top of the paintwork.

so you're saying that you can go straight into cutting the paint without first claying it???

I would've thought the clay would have got a lot of the crap out of the paint first of all, before then attempting to remove swirls

Also saying the handglaze will not remove swirls is utter nonsense as Ive done it plenty on around 10 cars now and it has removed the majority of swirls, like I say not as good as a machine polisher but close enough

Ive used 3m handglaze on all of them which is a non-silicon based compound, using the straight line technique, passing each direction twice

This is my findings anyway and I'd be happy to demonstrate it, as this thread is about removing swirls by hand

Hopefully I will be able to get some pics of my dads laguna before and after with just using handglaze

Im not after an arguement just stating my findings, and the fact that the swirls have never re-appeared in the last 2 years suprisingly as the car has been looked after very well, hence why I stated to try it out

It will never be as good as a machine polisher but it will be a lot better than just using SRP and a wax

 

[JD]

so you're saying that you can go straight into cutting the paint without first claying it???

I would've thought the clay would have got a lot of the crap out of the paint first of all, before then attempting to remove swirls

Also saying the handglaze will not remove swirls is utter nonsense as Ive done it plenty on around 10 cars now and it has removed the majority of swirls, like I say not as good as a machine polisher but close enough

Ive used 3m handglaze on all of them which is a non-silicon based compound, using the straight line technique, passing each direction twice

This is my findings anyway and I'd be happy to demonstrate it, as this thread is about removing swirls by hand

Hopefully I will be able to get some pics of my dads laguna before and after with just using handglaze

Im not after an arguement just stating my findings, and the fact that the swirls have never re-appeared in the last 2 years suprisingly as the car has been looked after very well, hence why I stated to try it out

It will never be as good as a machine polisher but it will be a lot better than just using SRP and a wax

Claying is designed to remove surface contaminents. Mine doesn't build up due to protection and washing . . . so yes I go pretty much straight into polishing.

You cannot remove the vast majority of swirls using your hands mate, it is not worth the time and hassel to do so. If you could why would so many people have bought their own orbital/people make businesses out of the service?

Like you say, people use different products due to their previous experience and I appreciate your findings

 

[Jonny1*2]

You don't have to clay, but it is adviced as the contaminents can get stuck in the pad and cause more damage. Depends how often you polish and wax the car.

 

[Gally]

Handglaze? If this is a glaze and not a polish it couldn't possibly remove swirls as it will have none or very little abrasives in it.

I use farecla and 3m products daily.

 

[alex-avfc]

Claying is designed to remove surface contaminents. Mine doesn't build up due to protection and washing . . . so yes I go pretty much straight into polishing.

I personally think claying is a bit gimmicky

I only think claying is worthwhile if you're following it up with a machine polish as it has caused marring in my experience even when being careful, which is hard to remove by hand.

Even then once or twice a year, if the car is regularly washed should be the most you would need to clay as far as I can see.

Anyway to the OP, give Autosmart Mirror Image a go (available on ebay or from an Autosmart rep) I'm told its better than SRP

 

[JD]

Claying is wonderful at removing tar spots, over spray, tree sap and other such contaminents, so is far from gimmicky.

However, as stated, it is purely dependant on the car and paintwork. I haven't clayed mine properly for a long long time because it doesn't require it.

 

[alex-avfc]

Tardis/ AG tar remover does the job on tar spots...yes clay does all of the above but can leave behind marring which, if you dont have access to a machine polisher, is hard to get rid of was my point