Swirls??

[RocDoc]

How do you get swirls out of the clearcoat? What causes them?

[NeedleSharp]

swirls and scratchs are caused by things rubbing up against you car that shouldnt be... swirls are most commonly caused by either impropper washing method/routines or using cheap or wrong materials...

first things first, you have to make sure your CLEANING your car correctly. you have to clean the car before the swirl removal process and you dont want to continue makeing more swirls after all the hard work...
this is a previous post from Nick that desribed the process pretty well

If your interested in going the extra mile to wash your car and keep it swirl free, please read. If you don't care, then read anyways :D
If you live in an apartment, read the bottom. You can wash your car yourself

Basically, anything you touch your car with leaves the potential to instill swirls(scratches) into your paints finish. Most people just wash their car without any thought to this at all. When I go out to work on a customers car, I always try and talk them into washing as carefully as possible to avoid having to call me back out again to remove more swirls from their paint. As much as I like the money, I'd rather you take care of your paints finish and avoid calling me back out again.

Washing with the 2 bucket method helps to reduce your chances of scratching your paints finish. And adding a "Grit Gaurd" protects you even more. A Grit Gaurd will keep all of the dirt and damaging particals at the bottom of your bucket, preventing it from mixing in with the water and contaminating your wash mitt. The cleaner your mitt is, the less chance you'll intill swirls or scratches into your paint!

Here's the tools you'll need...

2- 3 or 5 gallon buckets. I buy mine from Lowes for about $3 each
2- Grit Gaurd's. You can get them from most detailing supply stores for about $9 each. They look like this...
http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/500/GritGuardBlue1_small1.jpg

Fill both buckets with clean water, and drop the Grit Gaurds down in them.
In 1 bucket, do not add anything to the water(rinse water), in the other bucket, add you wash solution(most dilution ratio's for soap are 1oz per gallon of water).
I like to use a lambs wool washing mitt. They seem to trap more dirt into them. But, if you don't use that, try and find something with thick fibers.

When you start to wash your car, place the mitt in the clean rinse water, then wring it out completely, then drop it into the soapy water, get it good and soapy and start washing your car. You shouldn't make more than 2-3 passes with the mitt on any section. Put the mitt back in the rinse water and get all of that dirt out of the mitt, wring it out and put it back in the soapy water, then back on the car.
The more you keep that mitt on your car without rinsing it out, the more chance you'll scratch your car. If you think about it, the mitt is collecting all of the dirt off your car. You want to rinse it out as often as possible to get that dirt out of there. Dirt will scratch and swirl your paints finish.

After your finished washing, take your nozzel of choice off the hose, and let a steady stream of water flow over your car. This doesn't do anything to help with scratches or swirls, but it does make it easier to dry. It makes the water just sheet off the vehicle.

To dry, I like to use 2 microfiber water magnets. It has kind of a microfiber weave to it, and absorbs a ton of water. I make a pass with the first one, then pick up any remaining water dropplets with the second one. Dries the car completely dry!


This is a good system, and I've been very happy with the results. It may take a few minutes longer to complete, but the end result will pay for itself. If you live in an apartment or anywhere that you don't have access to a hose to wash your car, there is a product called QEW(Quick Easy Wash) from a company called Protect All. It's a no rinse car wash, and it is VERY safe to use! Basically you take all of the steps that are above,the 2 bucket method(you can fill the buckets up in your apartment sink), but instead of using your hose to rise the soap off the car, you dry it with your microfiber towel. I use this product quite a bit, and I have never had any negative effects from using it. If you want more info about how to use it, send me a PM and I'll go over it with you.

A couple of tips about your mitt's and microfiber towels...
Always wash your mitt and towels after you use them. I use regular Tide, the kind that doesn't have anything like Downy or anything like that added to it. Toss them in the washer. When their finished, let your wash mitt air dry, do not put it in the dryer. The microfiber towels however, seem to do better in the dryer rather than air drying them, but do not add any kind of fabric softener sheets. If you get fabric softener on your drying towels, they will not pick up water very good at all.


after the cars all clean, you are ready to begin removing the swirls. as harsh as it sounds, you have to basically take part of the clearcoat off your car to get off the swirls... you do this using an abrassive product. theres alota stuff that people like. i've heard people swear by tropicare and zaino but Meguires seems to work great. here's a link from Meguires site that is very helpful and shows you how to remove swirls and polish and waxhow to remove swirls by hand (http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7011) all without using a buffer. if you got one, more power to you... just make sure u know what your doing

[Nick Chapman]

Pretty much everything NeedleSharp said. Swirls in your clear coat are just light scratches. To remove them you have to remove a little clear coat.
Basicaly, there is no way to get away from swirls. Anything you touch your car with has the potenial to instill swirls into your clear coat, even the softest of microfibers or terry towels can create swirls in your finish. To get them out by hand is extremely tough, lots of work and sweat! The best way to do it is to learn how to use a Dual Action polisher or for someone more experienced you could use a rotary buffer. Be careful with a buffer, you can burn through your clear coat VERY EASILY! A Dual Action Polisher is quite a bit safer though. You can still burn through your paint, but you almost have to deliberately try and do it :D

[NeedleSharp]

Pretty much everything NeedleSharp said. Swirls in your clear coat are just light scratches. To remove them you have to remove a little clear coat.
Basicaly, there is no way to get away from swirls. Anything you touch your car with has the potenial to instill swirls into your clear coat, even the softest of microfibers or terry towels can create swirls in your finish. To get them out by hand is extremely tough, lots of work and sweat! The best way to do it is to learn how to use a Dual Action polisher or for someone more experienced you could use a rotary buffer. Be careful with a buffer, you can burn through your clear coat VERY EASILY! A Dual Action Polisher is quite a bit safer though. You can still burn through your paint, but you almost have to deliberately try and do it :D

$180 for a meguires dual action buffer... shit... i'll sweat a little... lol

[Nick Chapman]

It makes a huge difference! Not only in the time it takes to do the job, but also the quality of the finish in the end. There are swirls that you can not get out by hand, but only take a few minutes with the Dual Action polisher.

[blue302stang]

I have the Porter Cable 7424 Dual Action and love the results. You can pick up the porter cable with pads and backing plate for a little under $150, check out www.tropi-care.com