Grrrrr, swirl marks!

[robert.jamieson]

Hi All,

I recently noticed that there are faint swirl marks all over the bodywork. Nick at Ausitns told me that it may have been caused by a dirty mop during a valet. However, i'm a bit concerned that I may have caused these myself during a normal polish. Is this possible? The car was washed and dried, then I used Autoglym to polish her up. Wasn't mega impressed with the finish to be honest and was thinking about trying something else. I used fresh clean polishing material from Halfords. Could normal polishing in this way cause such swirl marks? Or is it more likely to be from a dirty mop as Nick said? How is this best sorted? Autoglym again or something else. Any other tips?

Cheers guys.

Rob

[colintf]

I use Autoglym and I'm always impressed with the result of the annual polishing.

I use their normal polish, then their one for modern paints, then the paint protectant. Normally takes me the best part of a day to do.

Looks good on trophy Blue, Starlight Silver or Goodwood Green. Cannot comment on Black though, and I have no experience using it on black cars.

Could some grit have landed on the car when you were polishing?

[robert.jamieson]

I use Autoglym and I'm always impressed with the result of the annual polishing.

I use their normal polish, then their one for modern paints, then the paint protectant. Normally takes me the best part of a day to do.

Looks good on trophy Blue, Starlight Silver or Goodwood Green. Cannot comment on Black though, and I have no experience using it on black cars.

Could some grit have landed on the car when you were polishing?

Yeah, maybe. Hope not. Gutted if it was me! Not having much luck recently. The wheels are at Rimstock at the moment thanks to Autoglym alloy wheel cleaner stipping off the paint in places! Perhaps I should leave it to the professionals! Nah, maybe not.

Oh, by the way. I believe I am down for a new handbrake cable. Could you make that two please.

Cheers

Rob

[colintf]

Oh, by the way. I believe I am down for a new handbrake cable. Could you make that two please.

Cheers

Rob

Wrong Colin Rob, it's Ragman (another Colin) that runs the shop for us all - drop him a PM just in case he misses your post above

[Coasting]

Probably best to get a very good detailer to take care of it, gonna cost you £200 + though for a pro detail and then only wash it yourself using their recommended procedure with new sponges cloths every time

[pessling]

half the problem when people wash there cars is that they use a sponge which causes these, should use a wash mitt

Another is that the car hasn't been clayed which can cause unseen grit etc on the paint to be pushed into it.

AG super resin polish is good as it covers some of the swirl marks up, black and dark colours are a right bitch to keep clean and swirl free.

[lowey260]

black and dark colours are a right bitch to keep clean and swirl free.

Tell me about it, had mine detailed last year and trying to keep it swirl free is a right pain. I use the B&Q grout sponge instead of the mitt though, just cant get on with the mitt

[spartacus]

I've been using pigmented polish on mine off and on - tried the Turtle Wax Black Box, which is OK but quite short lived, and have been using Poor Boys World Black Hole of late, which goes on and comes off quite easily. Both have fillers which help to hide the swirl marks. Looks good on an overcast day, but I can always see swirls on a day like Sunday at Brooklands.

I've decided there's only so much I can do with it being a daily driver used all year round, unless I want to spend more money having it detailed. Detailing seems expensive in Surrey but, then again, why should detailing be different from everything else

[eurorover]

You need a cutting compund to get rid of the swirls long job

[pessling]

You need a cutting compund to get rid of the swirls long job

And dangerous if you don't know what your doing. I have a dual action machine polisher and some compounds that i have used on both my old V8 ZT and my cerbera and i have never had the bottle to do to much for not really knowing the paint thickness. but what i have done has improved it abit.

Best thing to do it to buy a silver car. less noticeable.