What does it take for a good polish?

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I've been waxing my cars for a while but always have what looks like spiderweb silk when you see the sun reflect off the finish.

I have some scratch x on hand, would it be worth it to polish the entire car with it or is there something I can get locally that will do good before a wax?

Also, I do not have any 500w halogens to help. I have trees in the yard, so the finish looks perfect until I get it out in the sun. So its difficult to see if the polish did any good.

Again, I am happy and content with washing and waxing the car but do not want any silk lines showing through.
 
do you have any pics of the finish ? Meguiars make some nice stuff that you can get locally. have used M105 by hand before but doing a whole car by hand is lot of work. if you know somebody with a machine, that would be the way to go ( not taking a rotary but a dual action machine )
 
ScratchX is only for spot touch-up. I wouldn't use it on the whole car.

You will need to use a mild swirl remover on the whole car. Something like Meguiars M105 would work well, but by hand you'll only get so-so results.

If you aren't interested in investing in a decent orbital buffer and the necessary pads/accessories (budget $200ish), just pay a local detailer to remove the swirls and then wax it yourself. The swirls won't really return if you wash and dry the car properly: in the direction the air flows over the car. Never use circular motions.
 
Products aside this will need to be done by machine. If you don't plan on a machine polish then forget about it. Doing it by hand will yield only mediocre results but will indeed kill your fingers, hands, arms, and shoulders along with many hours. Just use a glaze meant to fill in those fine scratches like Poorboy's White Diamond or Black Hole depending on the color.
 
Wax on, wax off Danielson. Sorry, could not resist. My Jeep has a dark finish which tends to show scratches and that fine spider web effect. I used Meguiars synthetic and it did a awesome job. Nice deep shine and no "swirl" marks. It was easy to use.
 
Duragloss Swirl Mark Remover has worked well for me by hand. SMR is around $10. It contains a sealant so you don't have to apply a wax afterwards for some protection. The sealant is durable as well. Available on Amazon or www.duragloss.com .
 
You don't absolutely have to start by investing a couple hundred dollars just to remove the swirls yourself.

For little more than about $30 you can set yourself up with a setup similar to my example here. You need the 6" buffer which is $20 usually available at your local auto parts store, don't even bother with the 10" ones, they're completely useless and very unwieldy. A 6" wool bonnet only $3 online, maybe $5 in the auto store, and get Meguairs Ultimate Compound again available at the auto store for about $9.

Using the slow and methodical technique I described will yield nearly professional results for even a complete beginner and certainly impossible to achieve by hand and without needing to invest in expensive and difficult to learn techniques and with the risk of potentially damaging paint in the hands of a complete newb.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=202166&Number=3099907

The whole reason for me posting this is to show people they can detail their car with inexpensive equipment and get fantastic results because of the amazing power and finishing capability of the newer generation of polishes.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
ScratchX is only for spot touch-up. I wouldn't use it on the whole car.

You will need to use a mild swirl remover on the whole car. Something like Meguiars M105 would work well, but by hand you'll only get so-so results.

M105 is quite aggressive. I would not consider it to be mild at all.

Depending on the paint type, M105 may not finish out well enough.

Originally Posted By: dparm
The swirls won't really return if you wash and dry the car properly: in the direction the air flows over the car. Never use circular motions.


If you are using the proper, high-quality MF towel and good techniques, circular motions are not a problem.

However, if you are inflicting marks into the paint, straight-line marring is very hard to see (in comparison to circular marks).
 
Originally Posted By: qwertydude
You don't absolutely have to start by investing a couple hundred dollars just to remove the swirls yourself.

For little more than about $30 you can set yourself up with a setup similar to my example here. You need the 6" buffer which is $20 usually available at your local auto parts store, don't even bother with the 10" ones, they're completely useless and very unwieldy. A 6" wool bonnet only $3 online, maybe $5 in the auto store, and get Meguairs Ultimate Compound again available at the auto store for about $9.

Using the slow and methodical technique I described will yield nearly professional results for even a complete beginner and certainly impossible to achieve by hand and without needing to invest in expensive and difficult to learn techniques and with the risk of potentially damaging paint in the hands of a complete newb.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=202166&Number=3099907

The whole reason for me posting this is to show people they can detail their car with inexpensive equipment and get fantastic results because of the amazing power and finishing capability of the newer generation of polishes.



While I agree that this approach will deliver satisfactory results to some, it may not deliver the highest-quality finish (or correction) for every paint system.
 
My Ford Focus has about one of the hardest clears on the market save for GM's premium clears and Mercedes. It's on par with BMW clears in hardness which is pretty darn hard.

If it can correct to that extent, it definitely can correct on softer paints. And by following the jeweling method I described won't leave hazing on softer finishes like Japanese cars.

The results in my polishing method using that method should provide results satisfactory to the majority of people. If I showed you or any professional detailer my car and never told you what I used you'd assume I multi-stepped with a DA because the clarity and extent of correction.

Like I've said before very few people would be willing to post before and after full sun shots to prove the extent of correction because it reveals the true extent of correction. Most just provide beauty shots. But never full sun swirl shots.

So basically anyone who just wants correction and is considering doing it by hand will be more than satisfied.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: dparm

You will need to use a mild swirl remover on the whole car. Something like Meguiars M105 would work well

M105 is quite aggressive. I would not consider it to be mild at all.

Depending on the paint type, M105 may not finish out well enough.


Agreed. M105 is definitely not "mild". Anything that removes 1200 grit sanding marks easily isn't mild. From their media: The super-micro abrasives cut quickly to remove 1200 grit sanding scratches, acid rain, and severe swirls and holograms.

M205 would be a much better choice for mild corrections and it will finish much easier as well.

As everyone has mentioned though, this isn't a job you want to tackle by hand. You definitely need a machine for good results.
 
Once fixed (by machine), make sure you aren't using a cleaner wax. There are ultra fine abrasives in there which, if your clearcoat is soft, won't be doing you any favors.
 
Not worth ScratchX-ing the entire car. You are better off using a dedicated product. Which product depends on your goal. You can either hide swirls or remove them.

I recommend hiding swirls if your car is parked in the sun often or isn't garaged. Removing swirls involves removing an ever so slight amount of clear coat. Even if it's immeasurable, thinning the coat isn't something you'd want to do too often if your car lives it's life outside. You can easily answer that question if many of the cars you've owned show clear coat failure. Luckily I imagine you'll only be removing major swirls once or twice every 5 years MAYBE.

Details and recommended products are here.

TL:DNR version:

Hide swirls by hand:
Mother's Step 1 + 2

Remove swirls by machine:
Meguairs Power DA drill attachment
Meguairs Ultimate Compound + Ultimate Polish

Wax: any that your prefer
 
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