Swirl Marks On Gold Black Paint

[GM_182]

Hello,

I have a few minor swirl marks on the bonnet of my Clio. Its Gold Black which I know is a truly awful colour to keep clean & unmarked.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I might polish these out ?

Any product recommendations would be welcomed.

GM

 

[Rich]

Working by hand is very hard work, I gave up trying to de-swirl mine by hand and ended up buying a PC (Porter Cable) machine polisher.

You could try Meguiars Scratch X id working by hand, but is hard to do the whole car, and never 100% effective.

 

[GM_182]

Rich,

Thanks for the advice. I gave Meguires StratchX a whirl (rather than a swirl) last night.

Brilliant stuff. I think you are right that about the polisher, after the success of last night I think I'll make a purchase on the weekend.

Gene

 

[Rich]

It's not easy trying to do a whole car with it, but as hand useable products go ot works well.

The PC is a wise investment on Black Gold!

 

[Weeman]

Another victim joins Rich's P.C Cult, how long till the mothership arrives Rich, and you all start drinking the lemonade??? lol

 

[Rich]

It landed ages ago!

 

[Weeman]

I washed mine at the weekend, with a bucket and sponge, but i do hate to admit, that the only way to keep the thing clean is gonna be to polish it occasionally. Do you PC for cash?? I might be tempted to bring it by one day through summer, aslong as you aint in cornwall, LOL

 

[Rich]

I still can't believe you went for black!

Sure do, based in the South Midlands, Cheltenham.

 

[Brazo]

Weemans breaking lol!!!

 

[Rich]

Well he has brought a black car, it's enough to break anyone

Wait till the swirls start to appear

 

[Steve]

I still can't believe you went for black!

Sure do, based in the South Midlands, Cheltenham.

How far from solihull???????????????

As dropping some wheels off with Fred, got a few marks that only a PC will remove...............

 

[Rich]

How far from solihull???????????????

As dropping some wheels off with Fred, got a few marks that only a PC will remove...............

46 Miles according to the AA - 50 mins

I am just off junction 9 of the M5

 

[Weeman]

i needed you on emergancy fly over on Saturday, to remove the scratches that jon put on it, we were having a chuckle about how much you'd charge for a call out, LOL

 

[Rich]

LOL The cost of the flight and 3 laps of the ring would have been fine!

 

[_Kenny_]

lol @ weeman, it was only time!

 

[JBarber]

black gold is a pig. I found washing with a brush instead of sponge/wash mitt is better for avoiding scratches.

With PCs is there a limit as to how much you can use them? I guess you can go a bit mad and take too much paint off.

I saw that bit of 5th gear with the guy with the £5K car washes, and he uses some kind of scanner to check the paint thickness before polishing, to avoid taking too much off.

 

[GM_182]

The 5K car wash was a talking point over beers last night. I don't think a full respray on a clio would cost that much !!!!

Still if you can afford 5K for a car wash, the good news is you can afford a Supercar !

Your right about black gold being a pig, but it does look lush when its clean.

 

[Rich]

With a PC and a mild polish and pad combo you wont remove that much clearcoat. The PC will not remove bad defects then you are into Rotary polishers which easily can remove large amounts of clear. This is what 5K man was using. Brazo on here has a paint thickness gauge.

I would not use anything other than a very soft sheepskin washmitt on black.

 

[JBarber]

^^ actually I found that a Megs sheepskin mitt was hopeless, bits of grit and sand particles and the like (I guess) got stuck it in and marked the paint (lucky got the worst out with ScratchX). I've now switched to the soft brush (from a Karcher power washer) and the results are better. I think it's because you can't rub too hard with a brush (cos the bristles just bend).

I don't know if it's just my car, but I found I marked the clearcoat with just my fingernails (I tried to scratch off a mark whilst washing it - doh - out with the ScratchX again).

I'm getting less precious about my car so don't really stress too much any more + we have the water ban down here in Kent so I don't like to wash it much anyway.

 

[Darren S]

Yup - the BG colour sucks the camel's length in trying to keep the damn thing clean. Washed mine today at some stupid hour before going to work because I was that pissed off with the crap up the side and didn't want to do it this weekend....

D.

 

[mouthyman]

what would u recommend for use with a PC, can scratch x still be used or is there anything better

 

[Rich]

For PC use depends on the severity of the swirls and marks.

Mild defects may be sortable with Meguiars 80 Speed Glaze, Poorboys SSR 2 or Optimum Polish.

Most will need a light cut pad with Poorboys SSR 2.5, Megs #83 or something like DP Super Swirl Eliminator.

My go to for swirl removal by PC is Poorboys SSR 2.5.

 

[bradfincham]

I gave up with mine,
Will go into bodyshop to have a full PC with some scothguard stuff as well

bonnet needs a respray through stone chips and my rear bumper has a crack in it that needs sorting as well!

 

[Thomss]

#80 did well on mine with a polish pad and #83 on a cutting pad took away pretty much all the swirls. A PC is an amazing bit of kit to have.

 

[Rich]

I gave up with mine,
Will go into bodyshop to have a full PC with some scothguard stuff as well

I doubt they will use a PC, be a rotary job, as long as they are good and don't leave you with holograms you will be fine.

 

[Turkish]

I doubt they will use a PC, be a rotary job, as long as they are good and don't leave you with holograms you will be fine.

Not often in my experience of seeing a bodyshops attempt at mopping a car.