swirls on black stang

[dbrufus1234]

well i bought a used 05 gt with 12,000 miles on it and there are swirl marks all over it. i have used the mcguires 3 step on the hood, with one of those crappy $20 buffers you get at autozone, to see if the i could get some of the swirls out and after i applied the polish with the buffer i was expecting to see some results but you cant even tell i polished it, all the swirls are still there, what am i doin wrong?? should a buy a better polish?? am i using the wrong technique??

 

[DuRsT]

So you know how the swirl marks got there in the first place......from a buffer.
I like to hand polish my black car so there is no chance of swirls, they are a pain in the ass to get rid of.

 

[jboth]

if u are very carefull you can use a fine grit wet sand paper. like 2000 grit. and wet sant your entire car. and remember dont stay in 1 spot and dont do little strokes. nice even light pressured strokes and go over the entire car. afterwords go over the entie car BY HAND and wax it. it will look like it just came off the showroom floor. i have an 01 and i did this. it takes time, but it is worth it.

 

[Jim D.]

Did you clay it first?

If it's spiderwebbing (from poor washing/drying habits), you might try another coat of step 2. And for what it's worth, people I know who have used both, like the Mothers 3-step better.

But it sounds like you need a Porter-Cable, a cutting pad and a good polish to remove them (for the most part you're just hiding them with the 3-step).

If they're buffer-induced swirls, you definitely need machine removal.

If you have a trusted detailer that comes recommended, maybe have him "fix" it, and then you can easily maintain it from there with a one-step like FX SynWax.

 

[dbrufus1234]

well i thought about sending it to a detail shop but i dont really feel safe, because i dont know who is good and isnt good around here. its not swirls from a buffer. but i think i am gonna get a clay kit and some of that scratchX and if that doesnt get it out i am gonna get some mcguires #80. and the thing i just figured out is that the polish in the 3 step is a pure polish. which means it has no abrasives in it so that suck

 

[jboth]

im telling u, wet sand that bitch. it will take it out. all u are c-ing is the imperfections in the clear coat. if u wet sand it takes them out and u are left with a "new" clear coat. i worked in a body shop and we fixed probs. like yours useing wet sanding all of the time

 

[SXYXC]

OK on the wet sanding, please explain how to get it to work really well. i worked in a body shop for a while (sucked cause all i did was wet sand with 720) so i know how to wet sand, but how do you do it well to make your car look as close to new as possible with out little scratches from the wet sanding?? btw i have a 97 triple black gt vert.

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

if u are very carefull you can use a fine grit wet sand paper. like 2000 grit. and wet sant your entire car. and remember dont stay in 1 spot and dont do little strokes. nice even light pressured strokes and go over the entire car. afterwords go over the entie car BY HAND and wax it. it will look like it just came off the showroom floor. i have an 01 and i did this. it takes time, but it is worth it.

Are you kidding? You are recommending that someone with no experience takes 2000 grit to a new car? And if you wetsand and then just wax the car will look good for about 1 day... Did you actually do the wetsanding your self? or did you just watch others do it???

im telling u, wet sand that bitch. it will take it out. all u are c-ing is the imperfections in the clear coat. if u wet sand it takes them out and u are left with a "new" clear coat. i worked in a body shop and we fixed probs. like yours useing wet sanding all of the time

There are plenty of light polishes... like #80 or #83 from Meguiars that will take the swirls out without removing much paint at all. It is true that the swirls are damage to the clear... but there is no reason to tell him to wet sand. That is a quick way to ruin a very expensive paint job if you don't know what you are doing.

OK on the wet sanding, please explain how to get it to work really well. i worked in a body shop for a while (sucked cause all i did was wet sand with 720) so i know how to wet sand, but how do you do it well to make your car look as close to new as possible with out little scratches from the wet sanding?? btw i have a 97 triple black gt vert.

Don't do it. Modern Clear coat is very hard... but very scratch sensitive. If you put in sanding marks they are very hard to get out even by the most talented detailers. Read up on Autopia and Meguiars... there is a bunch to learn.

Please don't wet sand you car

 

[jboth]

if u wet sand with a very fine paper it will work. i have an 01 and i did this. i did it almost a year ago and all i do is wax my car useing mothers wax about 1 time every 2 months and my car looks like it came off the showroom floor. and i dont recomend it to someone that has never done any paint work b4. but if u have ever sanded anything and u feel comfortabe with it it works great. and i wouldnt go to this as a first resort. he said he has already tried compounds and 3 steps. i was just trying to help this guy save 500 bucks. fine tell him to take it to a detail shop and they will 3 step it. and it if doesnt work for some more $ they will do what i said.

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

if u wet sand with a very fine paper it will work. i have an 01 and i did this. i did it almost a year ago and all i do is wax my car useing mothers wax about 1 time every 2 months and my car looks like it came off the showroom floor. and i dont recomend it to someone that has never done any paint work b4. but if u have ever sanded anything and u feel comfortabe with it it works great. and i wouldnt go to this as a first resort. he said he has already tried compounds and 3 steps. i was just trying to help this guy save 500 bucks. fine tell him to take it to a detail shop and they will 3 step it. and it if doesnt work for some more $ they will do what i said.

Again I ask: Why would you wetsand when there are very good options out there for swirl removal?

He tried to use Over the counter products that aren't designed for swirl removal. With $150 or $200 you can get a Porter Cable polisher, pads and products to remove swirls that is almost guaranteed to not damage your paint. Taking sandpaper to a modern clear coat from the factory without knowing what you are doing is a recipe for disaster.

Paint correction should always start with the least abrasive process and progress from there. To the OP: the next step is to try a mild abrasive with a PC and see what happens. If that does not work you may want to take the car to a professional, but by no means should you jump to Wetsanding.

Again... for the OP... Go to Autopia or Meguiars and read up on their forums. You will get very good, sound advice from those who have done this before.

Good luck,

Matt

 

[ChingonStang]

Pics of before and after with Wet Sand? I'm gonna have to call BS on that one too.

 

[dbrufus1234]

yeah there is no way im gonna wetsand it, but i picked up a clay kit and some scratchX (heard it worked iight and i cant find mcguires #80 anywhere). i am gonna do it tomarrow, hopefully they will come out.

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

Where are you? You can go to Meguiars.com and they have a store locater for their Professional line of products. #80 requires a PC to work properly. If you are working by hand use Scratchx or Colorx and you will be amazed (and have a sore arm!!)

 

[dbrufus1234]

well i clayed the hood, roof, and trunk. and scratchXed the hood (yeah my arm is sore) haha, it didnt get all the marks out but helped alot. if i put a couple more coats on i could prob get most of them out. but whenever i wax my car it is hard as hell to get the residue off. its like the wax doesnt haze up, and it take forever to get off. anyone else have this problem?

 

[4point6]

What wax is it? How long did you let it haze? Was it by chance a humid day?

 

[dbrufus1234]

yeah it always humid down here, i guess i will just have to let it sit for a while

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

I hope it comes out great. It is a good idea to split the work up into a couple of sections... It will save your arm.

Feel free to use a lot of "Passion" with the ScratchX. It often takes 4 to 5 rounds to get most of the light swirls out. Just take it a section at a time and be sure you are washing the car correctly... so as to avoid putting more swirls back in.

Good luck,

Matt

 

[dbrufus1234]

yeah i clayed it and scratchxed the hood yesterday, and i scratchxed the hood again today, and yeah i been puttin alot of Passion in the scratchx haha

 

[MGD]

ANYONE that would wetsand a two year old car for some swirls...
Wetsanding should be your VERY LAST RESORT bc of heavy heavy oxidation usually found on a 10+ year old car, not a two year old car.

Jim D. and Matt's 03 GT are right, get a real polisher like a portercable and some stuff made to remove swirls and learn the technique, or find a good detailer and watch him work. Swirls happen, no matter how careful you are, but you can really minimize them with a good wash/dry technique in the future.

If you want tech opinions, go to stangnet. If you want clean/polish techniques, check out a detailing forum, they are out there. Too much misinformation in this thread

 

[Hunter-White]

I owned a black 03 and noticed the swirls everytime. I used every wax and nothing would take out the swirls. Meguiars next gen was the best I found. I went to an auto collision school and played with all kinds of stuff and then a new product came out by 3m. "Perfect it 3000" You use a blue foam pad and a black foam pad. There are detailed directions but if you follow them you will have zero swirls. It's an amazing product that you can pick up at any paint or collision store. This will work..much much better than wetsanding.