I have a KH3 repainted max. I spent the weekend trying to get the car as shiney as possible. I washed with black magic auto wash, clayed with mothers california gold. I only use microfibers to clean and dry. After claying i noticed a hell of a lot of swirl marks. So i used 3M Perfect it medium cut rubbing compound and went over the whole car. This mad the swirls less noticable, but still there. I then went on to use 3M Swirl remover. This didnt really make any difference. The car is now spotless, smooth like glass and has a mirror like finish. Why cant i get rid of the swirl marks?!

 

You need a PC or rotary, polishing by hand isnt going to cut it

 

I'd agree with that. Though the Perfect-It III does do a lot when applied by hand or a small buffer.

Your swirls are perhaps deep enough you need an agressive power solution to get rid of them.

Are we talking swirls from a buffer? Or fine spiderweb type scratches?

CM

 

What is pc and rotery? I have no idea where the swirls came from, but im pretty sure its from the body shop that repainted the car. They probably used a buffer on it somewhere along the line. I used 3M perfect it II and a whole lot of elbow greese. I hand buffed it twice as hard as a could, still ended up with swirls.

 

Black is a really tough color. Each spring I have gotten rid of most of the swirls but by the end of summer they are back. It doesn't take much at all for black to show them, no matter how careful you are when washing and waxing.

 

If you're asking questions like what is a pc and rotary buffer you NEED to read the stickys:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=223912

That should explain things pretty well for you.

CM

 

I've ordered up pefect it 2 for dark cars, but after reading about it on the autopia forums, I'm hesitant on using it. It gave alot of people hazing problems. I plan to apply this with a porter cable (I just got it, but I've been doing all my cars by hand all these years).

Anyone have any input on this? Thanks?

 

Crap, the same site that recommended it also says it causes hazing problems.

 

I also need to purchase a buffer. See some swirls on my smoke altima.

 

Perfect It II is a fairly abrasive compound. By nature it will cause hazing because it is intended to remove more serious defects. Any hazing can be removed by polishing with a less abrasive polish.

Always start with the least abrasive polish first. Only use a more abrasive one if the first one didn't do the trick.

 

I've applied 3M Perfect-It III on a few cars and never had hazing problems. Make sure you start with a clean surface and clean pad. Don't apply too much force. Always keep it moving. Pretty simple, and gets good results.

CM

 

Sorry, after more research, I've found that they have two products called perfect it 2:
Perfect it 2 Swirl mark remover (I got this because it was regarded as least abrasive)
Perfect it 2 Rubbing Compound (found out this is a little more abrasive than swirl mark remover).

I totally agree that you should start with the least abrasive, but it would be real cool to hear some feedback from people that have done this successfully.

I'm going to do a section first, some people have had hazing on autopia and some didn't. I think it has alot to do with technique but not sure because I have zero PC experience.

I plan to:
Wash
Clay Magic
3-m swirl mark remover (perfect it 2 for dark cars)
Wax

I don't feel like using more than one abrasive product on my car.

 

Once you get rid of them, take pics, because they'll be back. The color and the soft paint works against us.




Now I can't remember why I bought a black car, but I do love it.

 

What part of brooklyn are you from? I would love to see the results.

 

Sheepsead bay, I'll post pics and what products I used. Talk to you guys later.

 

i live in sheepshead too and judging from your cardomain pics, you live very close to me.

 

If you see me around, give me a honk.

 

One thing to remember is that PI II does come in various "cuts" (levels of abrasiveness). The one seen in stores like Pep Boys is a light cut. There are medium and heavy cut versions that can and will jack up your paint if you are not careful.

Given the kind of situation you are in, you might want to consider other lines such as Sonus or Poorboys. If you decide to go with more pro level stuff, check out Ardex.

 

The car looks great considering that its a 1600 dollar paint job including some repairs. However, in direct light, i see swirls. Ill take pictures this weekend and post them up. After 3 days of detailing i have no more elbows or shoulders.