How do I avoid swirl marks in the paint?

[spikeone]

Using these

M105
M205
ClearKote Yellow Creme Wax

 

[TR930]

I bought the products; Porter Cable, Adams color coded pads, Meguiars 105 and 205, Zaino blonde microfiber cloths, Adam's waffle cloths, Meguiars Synthetic Sealant wax, Adam's superplush towels, Grit Guards and washing pads, Clay bar, detail spray.

Man, all I can tell you is that my paint was in pretty good condition to start, I clayed the whole car and there were hardly any contanimants in the paint.

I did the two bucket wash system, pooling techinique, dried with the superplush, clayed the car, left the detail spray on it, 105 then 205 on level 5 to spread, and 6 to finish. When all was said and done, my paint looked spectacular without the finishing wax. I could not believe how good it looked. There were a couple and I mean just of couple of scratches that were still visable after one go around.

All in all, JMan was right on the $ about these products and their effectiveness and capabilities.

Here are some observations:

Don't use the Porter Cable "Handle" that comes with the kit. You hand will go numb once on 6 and the handle limits the angles to some degree that you can hit.

Buy a gallon of the detail spray from Adam's, you will like it so much that you will quickly realize you need more.

Get 2 of the white polishing pads like JMan recommended (if you decide on Adam's products). These are finer pads and as such I think they will wear down quicker.

Always "spritz" the pad with Detail spray like JMan recommends before putting the pad on the car.

JMan was right on the $ about not using too much product. I used Adam's technique of making a very thin cross on the center of the pad making sure to use very little product. Again, spray the detail spray on the pad before putting in on your car.

I used the detail spray to help take the polish off the car along with the Zaino microfibers. These cloths are incredible by the way, supersoft and take the product off quickly.

The Adams detail spray was MVP along with the 105 and 205 polishes. The Porter Cable cannot hurt a fly (paint) but is effective at removing scratches and swirl marks.

There really is a difference when you focus on using the right tools and the right technique. I tossed all my other prodcuts in the garbage and laughed at the Randon "polisher" I had before, it was a joke.

Great write up here and awesome learning experience from JunkMan and Adam from Adam's polishes.

 

[Junkman2008]

Great write up TR930! It's nice to get someone elses perspective on this. Your feedback is a valuable tool in this thread for those seeking information. Thanks for taking the time to post your experience.

 

[GTLaser]

Just got my products in and plan to do my detail soon.... So you put the detail spray on the pad along with the product ( polish, wax, sealant, etc) you are using at the time and then use the detail spray again to remove?

I bought the products; Porter Cable, Adams color coded pads, Meguiars 105 and 205, Zaino blonde microfiber cloths, Adam's waffle cloths, Meguiars Synthetic Sealant wax, Adam's superplush towels, Grit Guards and washing pads, Clay bar, detail spray.

Man, all I can tell you is that my paint was in pretty good condition to start, I clayed the whole car and there were hardly any contanimants in the paint.

I did the two bucket wash system, pooling techinique, dried with the superplush, clayed the car, left the detail spray on it, 105 then 205 on level 5 to spread, and 6 to finish. When all was said and done, my paint looked spectacular without the finishing wax. I could not believe how good it looked. There were a couple and I mean just of couple of scratches that were still visable after one go around.

All in all, JMan was right on the $ about these products and their effectiveness and capabilities.

Here are some observations:

Don't use the Porter Cable "Handle" that comes with the kit. You hand will go numb once on 6 and the handle limits the angles to some degree that you can hit.

Buy a gallon of the detail spray from Adam's, you will like it so much that you will quickly realize you need more.

Get 2 of the white polishing pads like JMan recommended (if you decide on Adam's products). These are finer pads and as such I think they will wear down quicker.

Always "spritz" the pad with Detail spray like JMan recommends before putting the pad on the car.

JMan was right on the $ about not using too much product. I used Adam's technique of making a very thin cross on the center of the pad making sure to use very little product. Again, spray the detail spray on the pad before putting in on your car.

I used the detail spray to help take the polish off the car along with the Zaino microfibers. These cloths are incredible by the way, supersoft and take the product off quickly.

The Adams detail spray was MVP along with the 105 and 205 polishes. The Porter Cable cannot hurt a fly (paint) but is effective at removing scratches and swirl marks.

There really is a difference when you focus on using the right tools and the right technique. I tossed all my other prodcuts in the garbage and laughed at the Randon "polisher" I had before, it was a joke.

Great write up here and awesome learning experience from JunkMan and Adam from Adam's polishes.

 

[Junkman2008]

Just got my products in and plan to do my detail soon.... So you put the detail spray on the pad along with the product ( polish, wax, sealant, etc) you are using at the time and then use the detail spray again to remove?

NO!

There's a reason that you are using the detail spray on the pad and this is something that must be 100% clear to you BEFORE you do any polishing.

Detail Spray acts as a lubricant when claying, and as something to dilute or rejuvenate caked or dried polish on a pad. You don't have to use detail spray to remove polish from the car, however, if you buff the polish too dry or use too much polish on the car, it will assist you in removing the polish. You NEVER use detail spray in the application of any kind of wax or sealant, but you can use it to assist in removing said waxes or sealants if you apply them wrong (as in too thick).

The idea situation is to never have to use detail spray on your pad at all. However, heavier cutting compounds used in humid conditions will dictate that you do so. Knowing when to use and how much detail spray to use on a pad comes with practice and paying attention. You have to watch what the polish is doing in order to figure out what you need to do when cutting it with detail spray. Remember, detail spray will dilute the formula so you don't want to use it unless it is necessary. The ideal thing to do is to learn to use a polish in a controlled environment so that you can learn how a polish works. Once you know what to expect, you will quickly realize when things are not going as they should and thus require some type of interaction.

Trial and error will be your experience but you cannot compound the issue by using a lousy technique or poor quality products. I see some more video watching in your future as I cover and show this in some of my videos. Let me know if you need to be directed to the ones in question.

 

[bmw2nv2000]

Nice tips here. Thanks

 

[GTLaser]

Super clear now, thanks. I have watched a few of your videos but not the ones on using the PC. I plan to video tape my detail and post when I have a moment. Thanks again!

NO!

There's a reason that you are using the detail spray on the pad and this is something that must be 100% clear to you BEFORE you do any polishing.

Detail Spray acts as a lubricant when claying, and as something to dilute or rejuvenate caked or dried polish on a pad. You don't have to use detail spray to remove polish from the car, however, if you buff the polish too dry or use too much polish on the car, it will assist you in removing the polish. You NEVER use detail spray in the application of any kind of wax or sealant, but you can use it to assist in removing said waxes or sealants if you apply them wrong (as in too thick).

The idea situation is to never have to use detail spray on your pad at all. However, heavier cutting compounds used in humid conditions will dictate that you do so. Knowing when to use and how much detail spray to use on a pad comes with practice and paying attention. You have to watch what the polish is doing in order to figure out what you need to do when cutting it with detail spray. Remember, detail spray will dilute the formula so you don't want to use it unless it is necessary. The ideal thing to do is to learn to use a polish in a controlled environment so that you can learn how a polish works. Once you know what to expect, you will quickly realize when things are not going as they should and thus require some type of interaction.

Trial and error will be your experience but you cannot compound the issue by using a lousy technique or poor quality products. I see some more video watching in your future as I cover and show this in some of my videos. Let me know if you need to be directed to the ones in question.

 

[Dom426h]

More Great advice from junkman.
I was just going through this process("cutting" polish/compound with QD) last night about an hour before JM's post.
Working on cleaning up my snake from the NJMP ViperDays two-day track event. Never had this problem before with trackdays but since this one had several competitive race series running on the same track the amount of racerubber buildup on track was very annoying. Cars tires would pick it up and flying down the straightaway at 120+ sometimes it looked like black hail from all the rubber flying off the cars. This led to several black smear marks left on the front facia, doors, sidesills, and fenderlips. First step was to remove them with a bug&tar remover. When removing these rubber spots they scratch the paint since there is road grime embeded into them.
I started with my least agressive method to clean up the faint scratches: Meguires ScratchX on a terry applicator pad. It did the trick perfectly working in small spots. While i was on a roll i decided to polish the upper part of my doors and rear quarterpanel since some scratches had appeared since the last polish a year ago. The ScratchX didnt like working on a larger area as it would dry up fast (might be in part due to my applicator pad) so i simply misted the panel with 50/50 watered down AdamsWaterlessWash. Perfect results!

Also guess i'll mention that i always use a light mist of 50/50 watered down Adams WaterlessWash or QD to remove excess dry wax in my final buffing stage. No need to waste the full strength product IMO, and some people just use a water mist for the final buffing stage...

 

[Junkman2008]

Super clear now, thanks. I have watched a few of your videos but not the ones on using the PC. I plan to video tape my detail and post when I have a moment. Thanks again!

That would be the best way to get some solid detailing advice from me. If I can see you work, I can tell exactly what you're doing right or wrong.