Alright, I got my car detailed back in November. Got all of the swirls out. But they are back!!! Being a black car and me washing it weekly I knew the swirls would start to reappear again. Soooooo, I'm going to redo the detail job in a few weeks. I just wanted to clarify a few things before I go into doing a detail job. To remove the swirl marks and light scratches do I need to use an "abrasive polish compound"?, if so what brand should I get? And since I dont have a PC, can I use a foam applicator to apply the compound polish? Last of all what steps do I need to take from start to end in detailing the car? Thanks!

- Rehan

 

I definately wouldn't suggest wasting your time applying a polish by hand. Although I don't have a PC but do plan on getting one as the weather warms up, I've had good results using a cheapy 6 inch random orbital that I picked up from wal mart and simply using Meguiars step 2 polish. Most people will say polishes are absolutely ineffective when using a cheapy but I know for a fact that's not true. I've detailed many cars and found the older and more neglected the surface, the less significant the cheapy becomes (obviously) but for newer cars a cheapy will do until you can put the money up for a PC. To be on the safe side, I'd start out with the lightest polish and go heavier as necessary, depending on the depth of the scratches. I'm a big fan of Meguiars so anything they have I'd recommend.

Also from start to finish my detail looks like:
-complete wash, bug/tar remover
-clay
-complete wash, thorough drying
-paint cleaner
-polish
-wax
-clean glass

 

at the shop i work at we have a special polish to remove swirls for black cars. but usually we dont even use it because with a buffer and a foam pad we can get them out with a regular brightener polish. then a nice coat of hand wax and it looks great. since its black ur def gonna get swirls to come back every time u wash it

 

The car got detailed but the scratches are back? It's one of two things. 1) They used a polish/wax that rounded off the scratch edges and filled it in to cosmetically hide which got removed with your washing or 2) They actually did machine your scratches out and your washing introduced new ones.

I bet it's the 1st one.

If your car is garaged and doesn't get too dirty, I suggest you get a California or Oxo (something) auto duster and follow up with a spray cleaner wax like bom, dri-wash, or no-wet. You'll gradually minimize and cosmetically hide most of the scratches. After you get a method down you'll be able to dust, wash & wax your car in 10 mins every week.

Otherwise you'll have to PC the scratches away. You can gradually get it done over time or rush and risk knocking it out of the ballpark in one day which I DON'T recommended. The more aggressive the polishing the less clearcoat or paint you'll have. PCs although less aggressive than rotary buffers can still introduce scratches so there is still a learning curve and I don't think you want to practice on your car.

I'd do the basic PC, black Lake Country Pad, and all-in-one cleaner wax or sealant like Meguairs, NuFinish or whatever has mild abrasives and isn't wax only. If you continually do this every 6 months until the bottle of wax or sealant is used up, most of your light scratches will eventually disappear. Of course you can also stop PCing the car when you're happy with the results.

If you want an all-in-one-day get the scratches out, be ready to put in the money and time. We're talking PC with different pads and an entire Zanio or another competitors 3 step (clean/polish/wax) treatment. This takes lots of patience, time, effort, and caution to not introduce new scratches. There'll be arguments on what's the best wax and polish all day long, but it's been my experience that like beauty... it's in the beholder. I prefer to minimize maintenance and maximize enjoyment of the car.

Any carunba wax will not last as long as sealants like Nufinish and Zanio. However Nufinish is a one step process and Zanios is at least two. I suggest doing PCing Nufinish every six months that's cleaned and waxed weekly with any spray cleaner/ carnuba wax mention above. A clean car every week with carnuba wax on top of a long lasting sealant, looks better than a dirty car with Zanio.

But to each their own. Decide which is best for you. Visit propercarcare and topoftheline for details and places to buy.

 

Those buffers do nothing. I know, I bought two and tried it. I even used the same system that you did. Those buffers can't heat up the polish enough to become effective, and instead, are actually less effective then doing it by hand. Also, the Meg's step 2 polish, is non-abrasive. It too, does nothing.
I agree, if you got the car professionally detailed, they probably used a product that filled in the swirls, and your washing brought them back out. Or, your washing techniques could be flawed as well. Do you use two wash buckets? One for soap, one to rinse the mitt before throwing it in the soap water to get rid of the dirt? What kind of products do you use for washing, drying?
Trying to get rid of swirls will be a very painstaking adventure. A member on this site had GREAT success with the Menzerna line of polishes, and IIRC, did it all by hand. That car turned out great.
A PC is so worth it though, I bought one and have never looked back.
I'm going to post a comparison shot of the Meg's 3 step vs. a PC with proper polishes/technique. Big, big difference.
I'm also going to find that link with the menzerna polishes. Just you wait.

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=425929
This is all by hand I believe, with the Menzerna line of Polishes. Credit to S00NR1 on this detail.

 

And here's my comparison shots: Meg's 3 Step using a cheap **** Random Orbital Buffer with Terry cloth applicators vs. Porter Cable, Sonus Polishes, Sonus Pads, Klasse Protection

I'll allow everyone to see which pics came from which detail...excuse the nakedness on one of the pics, it was hella hot when I finished my car that day..



Edit: that red paint transfer on my trim is also gone thanks to the Sonus Polishes and Porter Cable.

 

NOTE: On these pics, I'm not even getting into the fact that my REAL detail took care of 85% of my swirl marks that the 3 step system couldn't even touch, I'm just comparing the level of depth and clarity achieved.
One more thing: these pics weren't doctored in any way except to change their size in Photoshop. These were also taken by the same digital camera.
And the only reason why these polishing steps didn't take care of 100% of my swirls is because of my inexperience behind a true machine polisher.

 

cool...see I need to get a PC. But as of now college student that is broke from spending all my money on my mods. but alright i guess ill just save up for a PC.

 

I just got a PC with it's flex adapter and pads recently and it's a significant investment. Close to $160 total. It's the most expensive tool in my small collection of tools and I don't plan on using it often. It's worth every penny, but for a starving for cash and food college student, unless you have a place to store things, I wouldn't get one.

If you were happy with how your car looked after it got detailed and your car doesn't get too dirty, then perhaps a coat of sealant every 6 months topped with a no-water spray cleaner/wax every week after a dusting with a California duster would probably be enough. Hell, all your car wash supplies (the Bom, applicator and microfiber cloth, duster) can fit inside the California duster bag!

 

Yea, luckily I made that purchase before I had to worry about being in college. Just think: a good detail will run you up to $200 for an excellent, travelling detailer, the kind of detailers that post on autopia.org. For that money, you can have a PC and pad set. Some polishes will set you back about $50, but then you're set for a long time. If you get good at it, you can even make money off of occasional detailing (something I hope to do this summer). Start saving now, but I would almost advise against using it until summer vaca. or when you'd have some time to devote to this. Being in college isn't really the best place to detail cars. Even as obsessed as I am, my car still hasn't seen a wash in Rochester yet. I go home every month, and that is when I wash my car.

 

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree here. I've removed some hellafied scratches in my clear coat (long story) and over a year later they haven't "returned" so to say cheapies do nothing is just flat out wrong. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but because of time/weather/laziness, I haven't waxed in several months or polished in much longer so I know it's not due to repeated cosmetic covering up. Still I'm sure the PC is better, and I plan on getting one soon just for the helluvit, but I have a great deal of respect for my cheapy and the results it's provided.

 

I have to agree with you too lowkey, although I dont use those polishers, to say they do nothing is wrong. They really just replace the polishing speed you can do by hand.

Also, heat isnt what makes polishing with the PC better, the PC generates very little heat. Heat only matters when removing deep swirls, and you can only get that heat from a rotary. The adjustable speed and random orbits is what makes the PC better

But hands down, PC is a better tool

 

As far as swirl removing capabilities, they do nothing. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. THey do a great job of replacing a hand motion, but you can remove more swirls by hand than with those buffers. Most swirl removing polishes require a bit of work to allow them to do their job, and those buffers don't cut it. I don't really understand the debate here. I was told long ago on here what I'm relaying to you guys - this isn't just my opinion. Quoted from people on both Maxima.org, and autopia.org: "The cheap buffers are good for applying and removing wax, not a whole much else."
I will stand by my opinion, and if your buffer and process is working for you, great. My pics speak for themselves. Those pics don't even show a comparison of the swirls before that real detail, either. The ones that made NO headway when using the 3 step system. I can safely say that using a cheap buffer during the 3 step system actually did LESS than doing it by hand - just look at some of the pictures on this forum about the 3 step system by doing it by hand - look for a post by 2 Maximus 4 or something like that; the title of that thread is "Took a long time do this". The 3 step is a great beginner system, but it didn't show my paint that much love when using a cheapo buffer.