removing swirl marks
So i got some bad looking swirl marks on my trunk even though my car is only 1 year, so i tried to remove them by hand, using turtle polish and tried rubbing compound too but it seems like i got more swirl marks. i dont know why, i washed my car (just trunk part where need to be polished) and polished with micro fiber towel, so im trying to machine polish as long as this snow STOPS! but scared of ruining the paint finish even more. any advice please??
and if i polish or rubbing compund my car many times, is it going to messed up my paint finish??
if my finish is already messed up, is it okay to put coat on it by myself? like with one you can get from auto zone.
thank you :)
You have come to the right place. Removing swirl marks by hand is very difficult, and using rubbing compound will probably instill even more. Most swirl marks can be remove with a polish that is much less aggresive than rubbing compound. Rubbing compound is generally used for more serious defects and is always followed up with a less agressive polish, and even that may be followed up with even finer polish, or finishing polish.
Not seeing your car, there is no way I could tell you exactly what you need to do. John(VR8) is the resident professional detailer, so I will let him chime in. I will say, if you like to detail and are serious about it, invest in a quality power polisher(nothing you can get at Walmart or Kmart qualifies). If detailing is not your thing, find a good detailer. Let them take care of the swirls, then you can do just the maintenance with wax or a sealeant.
There are plenty of informative detailing sites out there to search and ask questions. My favorite is Autogeekonline. go here: http://www.autogeekonline.net/
You will be amazed at what a difference good product and good techinique can do for a car's appearance.
Good luck
Call Hill City Auto Detail ;-)
You can't remove them by hand and you'll need a rotary buffer. Best thing to do if you are not comfortable or sure you can do it yourself, call a detailer. I have a 09 and I just noticed some slight swirls on the trunk so I'll be getting a rotary this spring to get mine out.
You should use a polishing compound most likely, but we'd have to see it to be sure. As Fred said I'd talk to John as he's a professional and I'm just an amateur detailer atm.
hahaha i bought a orange foam pad from autogeeks few days ago, and i have meguiars ultimate compound, would it be good enough??? and my machine buffer costed me about 60 bucks, 7 inch with multi speed...
I'd say the above advice is spot on Jae. Swirls shouldn't be so bad that it has ruined your clearcoat. A good polishing will most likely do the trick. We'll be sure to take a look at the meet on the 20th to give you the best advice.
As for using any type of spray-on clear from Auto Zone ... definitely not!
