Help me de-swirl the RB, pwetty please

[Owen]

Hi guys,
Gave the RB a once over a couple of weeks back with the PC, but didn’t get a lot of the swirls out (although it’s only my 2nd time using it) but did succeed in getting some gloss back. Just wondering if anyone could suggest any better techniques or perhaps a different product I could use:
My method
-Wash with 2BM
-While still wet, I clayed with the Meg’s clay kit using the supplied QD as a lube
-Went around with AG ITR to try and get rid of a few stubborn tar spots
-Washed again and dried with i4D drying towel
-Taped up and used my PC with a yellow Sonus pad and Menzerna Intensive Polish (I think it’s 3.02, but I can’t remember off the top of my head. Will check tonight)
I started by spreading on 1/1.5 speed and then turned up to 5 and did a couple of passes.
-Having finished the polishing, I then untapped, and using a clean MF cloth, went around with some QD to pick up a few little patches of polish dust
-Then I sealed with two coats of Jetseal 109 and finally gave it a quick layer of Dodo Juice Blue Velvet

I’m thinking that using a glaze could help hide some of the swirls (PB WD perhaps?) and if so – how would I now use this? Should I use some of the Meg’s Cleaner Wax to strip off the current LSP and then apply the glaze, or something completely different?

In retrospect, I think I preferred the colder finish of just the Jetseal before adding the Dodo Juice, but wasn’t sure about the durability of the sealant.

Any help appreciated. I have been reading up on DW, but it’s quite overwhelming and I get a bit lost in some of the acronyms tbh.

 

[Adamm.]

i would recomend cleaning the car after polishing or use a product to remove the residue left behind as sealing ontop will dramaticly reduce the lifespan and protection of the sealant.
a glaze would help but ofcourse you are only hiding the swirls and not removing them.
i am a bit of a newbie to detailing so as far as getting the swirls out with the polish is concerned i would just say make sure the polish is being fully broken down becuase if not you will be left with light swirling
try lightly misting some water or q.d on the paintwork while its being broken down.

 

[Gally]

You've got a good start and a decent set up mate, the PC will only do so much and requires a perfect technique to get it to work aswell as a rotary.

Have you read the DW guide mate? The passes you are doing don't sound quite right either, you should be working your way up and down the speeds to work the polish and let the polish do the work.

 

[JD]

Couldn't agree more Adam.

One thing to note in your write up - ITR should be used before claying, otherwise the clay will just get bogged down and dirty with all the tar remaining on the paint.

To further Adam's points, IP 3.02 has quite a long work time, especially with a DA as you just do not build up as much heat. Try going at the panel in question for a little longer. The polish should turn to a silvery shimmer on the paint once it has begun to break down.

How many passes did you do? I use to do around 14-24 movements so up down up down up down 1. Left right left right left right 2. etc...

 

[Adamm.]

yeah i have a d.a also and i spent about 10 hours polishing alone on my saxo was my first time and i was pleased with the results wasnt 100% correction ofcourse but make sure your not rushing when polishing as its very time consuming.
another thing to point is make sure your not applying too much polish otherwise your making more work for yourself and will take longer for it all to break down. i use 3 or 4max pea size drops on the pad dap it in the area you want to work then i started at 1 to get it spread went up to 3 to get it partially broken down then 5/6 to finish it off with

 

[JD]

NESW and centre for me

The zenith technique can be used on DAs as well, which is similar to what you've put, Adam, but goes as follows;

View attachment 51130

 

[Owen]

i would recomend cleaning the car after polishing or use a product to remove the residue left behind as sealing ontop will dramaticly reduce the lifespan and protection of the sealant.
a glaze would help but ofcourse you are only hiding the swirls and not removing them.
i am a bit of a newbie to detailing so as far as getting the swirls out with the polish is concerned i would just say make sure the polish is being fully broken down becuase if not you will be left with light swirling
try lightly misting some water or q.d on the paintwork while its being broken down.

Yes, I read about an IPA wipedown but tbh didn't have any currently in the arsenal and wasn't sure how much of a difference it made. I found when I used the PC the first time, i was generating a lot of dust so did use a few spritz of QD as you suggested.

You've got a good start and a decent set up mate, the PC will only do so much and requires a perfect technique to get it to work aswell as a rotary.

Have you read the DW guide mate? The passes you are doing don't sound quite right either, you should be working your way up and down the speeds to work the polish and let the polish do the work.

I have, but tbh not all of it sunk in. The problem is that there are so many pics in the guides threads that my ipad keeps crashing safari, so I end up giving up due to getting frustated at having to reload the webpage! lol

Couldn't agree more Adam.

One thing to note in your write up - ITR should be used before claying, otherwise the clay will just get bogged down and dirty with all the tar remaining on the paint.

To further Adam's points, IP 3.02 has quite a long work time, especially with a DA as you just do not build up as much heat. Try going at the panel in question for a little longer. The polish should turn to a silvery shimmer on the paint once it has begun to break down.

How many passes did you do? I use to do around 14-24 movements so up down up down up down 1. Left right left right left right 2. etc...

Cheers JD, will swap the ITR stage. To be honest, the clay was very clean. I have some brown spots on the boot especially that clay didn't remove. the surface is smooth to touch, so i assume its residue of tar spots that I have waxed over, so I can't see to get down to them to remove (?).

I'm happy the polish was getting broken down (imo at least), like you said it went a light silvery colour and changed consistency. Passes wise, I tend to go up and down and then side to side until I think the polish has been worked (this is probably the flaw!)

yeah i have a d.a also and i spent about 10 hours polishing alone on my saxo was my first time and i was pleased with the results wasnt 100% correction ofcourse but make sure your not rushing when polishing as its very time consuming.
another thing to point is make sure your not applying too much polish otherwise your making more work for yourself and will take longer for it all to break down. i use 3 or 4max pea size drops on the pad dap it in the area you want to work then i started at 1 to get it spread went up to 3 to get it partially broken down then 5/6 to finish it off with

To be honest Adam, I thought I might not be using enough polish. I use about 3 pea sized amouonts to do a 12" square, but that tallies with your suggestion

 

[Adamm.]

yeah it does tally with what i do. hmmm try practicing on some pannels i practiced by wet sanding an old bootlid and bonnet polished them back up and just sort of got it right. i myself cant really suggest alot more because i am a noob to this myself. just keep trying at it take some suggestion on board and it might help. it could just be the swirls on your car are quite deep so maybe a high cut polish is needed.

even if you have nothing to remove residue after theres household products that can do the trick for example fairly liquid i know its not the most recomended stuff but you are only using it to remove contaminants left bihnd from the polish. i used an apc which at the end of the day isnt much different to fairly liquid.

 

[JD]

The issue here fella, is more down to where the swirls came from. If the swirls were still there, it's your polishing technique. If the swirls came after polishing, it could be down to polish residue in the swirls making it look like they had been corrected. If they came after waxing it's due to poor quality MFs.

The unfortunate thing is it's difficult to tell unless someone in the know is on hand to help you out

 

[Owen]

To be fair JD, i got a lot of the swirls out and was really impressed with myself, it was just that under the petrol forecourt lights, it showed up the shortfall in my technique. I don't think I added any during polishing or after, there was definately a net reduction of swirls! One of the reasons for the thread was to seek advice as to whether I could 'cheat' and use a glaze to fill some of the remaining swirls.

I use the plush i4D microfibres to buff off the sealant/wax.

Realise that giving advice remotely is hard, but I do appreciate your time.

And cheers too Adam, will practice on the other halfs car, which is a bit of a shed and can only get better!

 

[JD]

No, very happy to help fella, wasn't pulling out/giving up

A glaze would help massively, yes. Basic, you're talking your SRPs - better products are, well, lots of choice!

Links;

http://www.i4detailing.co.uk/acatalog/Valet_PRO_Achilles_Prep_1.html <- I think Gally is a fan

 

[Adamm.]

no worries mate happy to help.
i would also recomend the ag srp as the glaze i havent tried anything else myself but before i really got into detailing its what i used and was always pretty happy with the results and that was before i had a d.a to apply it with. best of luck bud.
+1 on the missus car my gf just got a mini cooper in black and its swirls galore cant wait to have ago at it been a while since i last had ago

 

[Owen]

Cool, need to do an i4D order this weekend, so will add some Achilles Prep.

Do i need to strip the current LSP combo of Jetseal and Blue Velvet, perhaps with a fairy liquid wash or can I get away with a 'normal' 2BM wash and then apply Archilles Prep?

Much love for the replys.

 

[JD]

You'll need to strip the LSP down, which is a shame really if you've only just applied it. I would be tempted to wait.

Actually I'm clearly lying, if I had swirls I wouldn't care if I had Crystal Rock on the paint work, it would be stripped and the swirls attended to!!!

Have a look around before just buying from I4D, have a look at Polished Bliss as there are quite a few glazes out there. PoorBoys BlackHole is another which is a fantastic filler. And Polished Bliss have free postage!

 

[Owen]

Actually I'm clearly lying, if I had swirls I wouldn't care if I had Crystal Rock on the paint work, it would be stripped and the swirls attended to!!!

FLOL!

Did have a quick squiz on PB, would my RB not be better with White Diamond as opposed to Black Hole? I'm not sure as it's neither light or dark coloured...:S

 

[JD]

Either or IMO fella. I've not had to fill an RB before, so might be tempted with the White Diamond now I give it some thought...

 

[Owen]

Cool, cheers JD. If all else fails I break out the polyfiller

What are you using tyre gloss wise? I have used blackfire and the i4D stuff. Would love something inbetween the glossiness (doubt that's even a word) of the Blackfire and the matte i4D.

 

[RS200Lew]

no worries mate happy to help.
i would also recomend the ag srp as the glaze i havent tried anything else myself but before i really got into detailing its what i used and was always pretty happy with the results and that was before i had a d.a to apply it with. best of luck bud.
+1 on the missus car my gf just got a mini cooper in black and its swirls galore cant wait to have ago at it been a while since i last had ago

Remember that SRP is basically an all in one product so some sealants dont like to sit on it very well. When i used SRP years ago, i only ever put wax on top but its no longer in my arsenal. Black hole is a very good filler but i always choose CG ez creme as it fills less but more result as i dont like the filling route. Im a sealant man myself so id say personally that jetseal is a great product without wax on top. It doesnt bead or sheet brilliantly but the durability will outlast a lot of waxes. On the other hand, if you top the finish up every week with a synthetic or pro detailing spray not watered down, you will have more of a boost in gloss, slick feeling finish and you will see some beeding and sheeting results going on too.

 

[Owen]

Cheers for the info Lew, I always use Megs Last Touch QD when washing to try and get rid of waterspots and get some gloss. I have actually just run out though, so would you recommend a diff alternative? Or shall I stick with what I know?

 

[RS200Lew]

I dont think its a case of stick with what you know mate as most detailing sprays are the same for application. CG synthetic detailer (pink in colour) is good stuff. You can dilute it aswell 3:1 as a clay lube. Either way, use it the same as you would with the megs stuff. Another option is the CG Pro detailer (blue in colour). You cant water it down or use it as a clay lube. It contains a form of wax so it adds a little protection on top of ANY existing finish and leaves a very nice shine and feels great. This will also give you some form of beading and sheeting too. It does however take a little longer to use. You spray, wipe and then leave it for 10 seconds or so till the area soaks it in, then turn your towel over for a quick buff. Results are better than the synthetic detailer but pro hasnt got as many uses.

 

[SimonR.]

And Polished Bliss have free postage!

+1 on this! I put in a tast order the other day.

Also try some of the samples on i4d, see what works for you.

I now have a surplus of autoglym shampoo that I hate because I didn't try before I bought.

 

[pritchard182]

could pop it down to me mate ill have a go for you for some beer tokens?