Swirls On My Car

[imtheking]

I bought my black 98 gs300 a month ago and i just realized that there are white circular swirls all over my car. You could only see it from the side or when the sun shines on it. But its *BLEEP*ing me off. I think the detailer at the dealer used a dirty rag or buffer. Can these swirls come off? Detail shops in my area want between 100-130 to polish and buff it to get rid of swirls. What do you guys suggest?

Something I can do myself? What should I use?

Thx guys

[TWINTURBO619]

I bought my black 98 gs300 a month ago and i just realized that there are white circular swirls all over my car. You could only see it from the side or when the sun shines on it. But its *BLEEP*ing me off. I think the detailer at the dealer used a dirty rag or buffer. Can these swirls come off? Detail shops in my area want between 100-130 to polish and buff it to get rid of swirls. What do you guys suggest?

Something I can do myself? What should I use?

Thx guys

hey what's up, there is a special polish to remove that. it's by 3M (they make everything) and it's call something like polymer sealent. this is stage 2 after you paint a car.

1. rubbing compound (after wet sanding)

2. polymer sealent (to remove swirls and scratches)

3. Mcguires wax/polish (or what ever you like) after the stage 2 polish

look for the stage 2 on the 3M website under car care or something. that's the best thing for swirl marks and scratches. good luck. i beleive the bottle runs about 30 bucks, but better paying 100+ anywhere else.

[SW03ES]

I'm going to move this to the detailing section.

Read all the information in there. No offense to Twinturbo but he's got it very backwards. A polymer sealant wont remove or hide anything, they are purely for protection. Removing swirls is very difficult by hand and can even be impossible. Rubbing compound is WAY too harsh and wetsanding is almost definately not needed here.

A product isn't going to fix your problem, but the proper technique along with the right tools can. Saying something in a bottle can do what a detailer can do for $130 is preposterous, thats like saying don't have a bodyshop fix your damaged fender, get some spraypaint and do it yourself. Swirling in paint is damaged paint, and it needs to be repaired properly by someone that knows how to do it. You could do serious and irreperable damage to the paint by wetsanding and using rubbing compound when you don't know what you're doing.

If you just want them buffed out and the car waxed I would do that for you for way less than $130 seeing that you're an LOC member and you're here in D.C. but I'd have to see it first to make sure they're not too bad for me to handle. If you'd like that you're welcome to stick around when I buff them out and I can show you how its done. Once the swirls are gone I can also show you how to keep them from coming back. Lexus black has no clearcoat and swirls VERY easily. Let me know, I'd be happy to help you out. If you want to just tackle it yourself there is more than enough info in the detailing forum to help you out.

[TWINTURBO619]

I'm going to move this to the detailing section.

Read all the information in there. No offense to Twinturbo but he's got it very backwards. A polymer sealant wont remove or hide anything, they are purely for protection. Removing swirls is very difficult by hand and can even be impossible. Rubbing compound is WAY too harsh and wetsanding is almost definately not needed here.

A product isn't going to fix your problem, but the proper technique along with the right tools can. Saying something in a bottle can do what a detailer can do for $130 is preposterous, thats like saying don't have a bodyshop fix your damaged fender, get some spraypaint and do it yourself. Swirling in paint is damaged paint, and it needs to be repaired properly by someone that knows how to do it. You could do serious and irreperable damage to the paint by wetsanding and using rubbing compound when you don't know what you're doing.

If you just want them buffed out and the car waxed I would do that for you for way less than $130 seeing that you're an LOC member and you're here in D.C. but I'd have to see it first to make sure they're not too bad for me to handle. If you'd like that you're welcome to stick around when I buff them out and I can show you how its done. Once the swirls are gone I can also show you how to keep them from coming back. Lexus black has no clearcoat and swirls VERY easily. Let me know, I'd be happy to help you out. If you want to just tackle it yourself there is more than enough info in the detailing forum to help you out.

i appreciate the feedback... the only reason why i posted up my response is because that is how my car was done and i have a flawless paint job. but you know, i just wanted to put in my two cents.

[SW03ES]

I'm sure but the question is how much paint do you have left. Wetsanding and rubbing compound remove a LOT of paint. It makes the paint look smooth and great, free of orange peel but it can leave the paint film thickness dangerously thin. His swirls can be removed while removing FAR less paint than wetsanding.

[imtheking]

Steve,

I added you to my AIM buddy list. Yes i stay close to DC and would like to speak to you more about having my car detailed. Talk to you soon.

Mike

[SW03ES]

Sounds good!