Vik2000

I'm considering buying swirl remover products, but I don't really want to spend about $160 for PC 7424 because only the hood has some swirls and I don't think I'll have much time to use PC 7424 in future. Is there anyway to remove swirls without using machines? Any info would be appreciated.

mattfeet

Although a buffing machine (PC 7424, 7336, UDM, etc) is your best bet at removing swirls. It IS possible to remove VERY minor swirls by hand. Although you obviously will not achieve the best results possible by hand, as unfortunate as that is...

-Matt

wanabe

can you polish by hand?
yes

have i done it?
yes several times in the really old days...

would i do it again?
absolutely not

why?
cause your arms, fingers, and hands will come as close to falling off from pain as they can if you do it right

is there another choice?
of course

stop the tease, what is it?
post up in your local forum and offer to supply refreshments if someone will supply the machine and know how- this has always proven to be the best suggestion of the wanabe (based on feedback that he gets)

Luckyaze

DON'T EVEN THINK OF DOING IT BY HAND, JUST DON'T....... you'll hate yourself for not spending the money on a PC.

Vik2000

so i guess this doesn't make sense?
http://www.properautocare.com/euhapoap.html

the thing is I'm not polishing the whole car.... just really two small parts caused by inappropriate method applied when removing bird's crap, plus I live in an apartment where there is no garage or anywhere to plug the cord and rarely have any time to do polishing.

jettfiery

if it's just two small parts then it's not so bad although u should do the whole car. But even a small part of the car will make u regret doing it by hand because it takes so much patience and makes ur arm feel like it's going to fall off.

wanabe

good points above...
agree that if you do one part the rest will look like it needs it- kinda like painting a room in your house. paint it then the carpet looks bad!

yes, you can do it by hand, but it really is hard to do even a small area. polishing isnt a wipe on wipe off deal.
its a rub this way, rub that way, rub this way, rub that way....
until the product dusts. they do it again if you need to. and it really is a lot of work.
we have some good videos on this by machine, but have not seen one by hand...

--------

btw, here is an opinion that you can not polish most modern paints by hand (by our friend and member autopia/ david bynon):

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-polishing.html

"It is no longer possible to effectively polish and wax your car by hand. The simple reason is that modern car paint finishes, since about year 2000, are very hard and durable."

chuhsi

I think these are your two best options for removing swirls:
- buy a PC and do it yourself
- pay someone else to do it with a PC

Luckyaze

RACER

I think that if you bought a PC, you would be instanly hooked on detailing like the rest of us. The fact that you don't have a garage is even more reason to have a PC, so you can keep your car in great shape by keeping oxidation at bay. I'm sure if you get a long enough extension cord, it'll reach the car.




If you are adamantly set on NOT getting a PC, these pads look ok

Like wanabe said, it's a hell of a lot of work to polish a car by hand, Jack. Once you begin the process, you will realize that it is very time consuming. A PC will dramically reduce working time (there's no comparison), and will give you better results.