I have waxed my car (and previous cars) countless times myself and never had a problem. I just waxed my car last week (by hand) and now I have swirl marks all over ithnoes:. My questions are..... 1. Could something have happened to the wax I had in my garage? 2. What is the best way to fix this problem? 3. What specific brands have you had good results with?
are they real swirl marks as in scratches in the clear coat or "fake" swirl marks that's caused by not buffing the wax enough?
Meguair's (sp?) makes a stage 1 scratch remover that works miracles if you need to clean up swirls (granted you'll have to wax again). I'd say switch up your wax. And imo, clay bars are over rated.
No I did not claybar the car before applying the wax. I'll try that. The clay bar should remove the old wax right? Or do I need some sort of wax remover? I hope they are "fake" swirl marks. Does this sound right? 1 Wash (should I use a wax remover or any special car wash stuff?) 2 Claybar 3 Wax (I used to use a foam type applicator, but I switched to a terry cloth style one, could this be the problem?) Has anyone seen the 3 stage Mcguires kit and have they used it?
swirl marks are swirl marks. you need to polish your paint, using an appropriate polish and wheel. this will depend on the depth and severity of the swirls/scratches. wash with something that will strip wax (like dish soap) claybar wash polish sealant (like klasse) wax anything that meguires makes other than washes and polishes (ie, their power ball or whatever the fuck it is) is gimmicky and usually junk. do yourself a favor and buy a porter cable, and get an assortment of polishing pads from lake country.
it's just easier to use soap to remove the clay. foam applicators are fine as long as they aren't rough. use a microfiber to polish it off
1) Wash with Dawn. 2) Claybar 3) Polish with a Porter Cable or better (hand will not cut it) 4) Sealant 5) Wax Don't use cheap off the shelf products like Meguiars. Step up to Menzerna, Klasse, Einszett, Optimum. I didn't want to spend the dough on that stuff but I did and it was amazing the difference it made. I got Einszett stuff and it's way better than Meguiars. Like stock WRX tires vs RE01R difference.
going from what i use on my show truck (which is black)...my paint is 5 yrs old and still looks like wet glass. 1) claybar is WAY OVER RATED. 2) NEVER NEVER NEVER machine buff black. i don't care who you are or how good you say you are...it is going to swirl. period. i have been in the car show scene for way to long. i use the 3 step Meguiars process every time. first step is the key...paint cleaner - removes all the old paint oxidation. no claybar, all done by hand. be sure to use microfiber cloths to remove it. i am sure that jake will vouch for the paint on my truck. i haven't tried the more expensive stuff before just because i have had such great success with the Meguiars. there just hasn't been a need to change. also, when waxing and polishing black...apply and remove in circles...i know...goes against everything i knew also. but for some reason it works with black. all other colors (my car and my wifes car along with other friends cars) i always use the circular motion.
If you use a Porter Cable or any other random orbital polisher it will not swirl. I've made a living detailing in the past so I do know. Those cheapo $20-60 machine you get a Walmart or where ever are NOT random orbital polishers. You can take the Porter Cable and keep it in one spot and it will not swirl or burn the paint. I have the Porter Cable 7424.
I have used Liquid Glass for the past 20 years and never had any problems with it. It is honestly the best over all product I have ever used. You use to only be able to buy it through Liquid Glass but I have seen it at Pep Boys and Advance lately. They also sell a pre-cleaner as well. www.liquidglass.com
Thanks for all the feedback (even though no one seems to agree on what to do). Tomorrow I think I'm going to try....... 1. Purchase all new microfiber towells and new applicators 2. Wash with dawn 3. Claybar 4. Rinse 5. Mcguires 3 step I'm in no position to spend $100+ dollars on a random orbital polisher. All the new product will cost enough and my car is not nearly show worthy.
Just in case anyone else runs into this problem. I pressure washed my car with Dawn and used the Mcguires 3 step process (paint cleaner, polish, and wax). It took for freakin ever to finish, but it worked!
use long back and forth motions not wax on wax off swirl movement... I would use some Mothers wax also
Uhm, you used a dirt wash mitt or you ground the mitt into your paint. OR you used a dirty chamois or other drying product OR a dirty applicator...well you get the idea Get out there and try again!
Or even better yet can someone recommend a great detailer or detail shop. The last ass hat did mine after I got some PDR work at the shop without asking me first and swirled the fuck out of my paint. Colmpiments of the house! Good PDR shop but needs to leave the detailing to the detailers.