JoeyBalls

Ok, my '04 Berlina is a mess, swirls like no other, filthy engine bay. filthy wheels, interior is disgusting, so come Friday starting 7am, I am going to attempt to earn my badge and become swirl free ( I just don't see it happening though). This will be all done by hand. Here is my steps, please let me know what you think.

1) Wash & dry <------ I have one of those large blue rubbery things that soak up water.
2) Clean & wax my wheels
3) 3M rubbing compound (does not seem to abrasive, I have used on a small area and worked wonders to get rid of swirls.
4) Meguires Polish
5) 3M Imperial Hand glaze
6) Mothers 100% Pure carnuba wax? Not sure if I should go with a liquid wax, paste, or pure Carnuba.


A few questions

1.I have, I have MF towels, I bought a pack of 10 for like $10, at NAPA I think even though they feel soft they may not be the best Quality, is there any brand I can get at lets say PepBoys that you guys can recommend.

2.To apply wax I have MF bonnet type applicators, hope that is ok.

3. For the compound should I be using a light cutting foam pad, if so where an I go pick one up?


This will be an all day affair, so throw any suggestion you want, Ill post pics of before & after thanks fellas

GPWhiteS2kFTW

1. It is gonna be tough. Before I started bying car products online, I would use these MF towels sold at Target under the "Vroom" brand. I still use then, but for stuff like the wheels and glass and other non paint areas.

2. Ususally you use those to buff off wax. You might want to go to autozone and buy some microfiber applicator pads, look like:


3. I do not know how to apply compund by hand, Wanabe can maybe enlighten you.

Good luck trying to get swils out of the clearcoat by hand. Good workout .

wanabe

i can enlighten you alright-
dont do it!!

although i have to admit, in the old days we did it by hand- but it was the most hated process we had... and especially on black (black is the least foregiving color- it shows everything always!)

if you gotta do it, its kinda same as machine, except your hands and arms will fall off afterwards!! work "the box" (2'x2') areas- i go side to side, diaganol, then front to back last- repeat until the product dusts. wipe off, inspect and either you are finished or you gotta do more.

after compounding- hand or machine- you step down to either a fine cut or a swirl remover. the swirl remover or paint cleaner is the last step.

my best recommendation here is to post up in your local forum for someone who has a machine to help you out. offer to provide products and refreshments... one of my best received tips (i get lotsa thank-yous on this tip).

JoeyBalls

wait, so swirl remover after polish and wax?, or swirl remover after the compound, then polish, glaze, wax????

Heres what I am going to do.

1) Compound
2) Swirl remover
3) Polish
4) Glaze
5) Wax

Is this the proper steps?.

Also Once i do this and it rains the next few days, if done properly, when I get my car washed at a "touchless" carwash, I should still be swirl free correct?

also When I wax/polish do I want to do circular motion or side to side/up down? Thanks Wanabe I appreciate your insight

How much pressure do I want to use for the compound etc........

wanabe

ouch!- gotta forget car washes if you want to be swirl free.
touchless only matters if they are using high quality clean micro fibers to dry with, and i promise they are not

compounds and swirl removers are polishes...
steps are:
compound
fine cut
swirl remover
glaze- if you need it- the steps you took kinda make a glaze not necessary
wax

no circles- all lines as the air flows over the car

by hand pressure is fairly hard- with the machine- you let the machine do the work, with maybe a very slight pressure, if any

JoeyBalls

I have the compound, whats a fine cut?, like scratch X?

JoeyBalls

Fine cut? =Scratch X??