3m Swirl remover, need some help please!

Guys how should I go about tackling this project?! I washed the car did one part on the hood, got scared wiped off the excess and came up to ask you fine gentlemen.

best with a machine (porter cable is my first choice)

i do small "squares"- about 2+' by 2+' or so...

i work the product side to side, then corner to corner (over entire square) and finish front to back. if the swirls are bad, then i do it all again... usually work the product until it is almost gone.

you cant mess it up (unless you go side to side too much and leave it that way, or go in circles- dont do that!) very easily... the only thing that can usually go wrong is if you dont work it well enough, the product wont be able to do its job.

btw, how did the part that you did look, compared to the rest of the car? if it looked the same, its cause you didnt work the product enough.

the above is just my procedure- will track down an article for you and post it here...

here is some extra credit reading for ya!!:

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=17

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=15

and the product that i use on my car (i use others on other cars too, but prefer this for black cars, and now they have my car in this ad!):

http://properautocare.com/3mperswirmar.html

This post has been edited by wanabe on May 23 2006, 08:44 AM

ah so a normal terry cloth to apply or MF cloth?? I was doing it by hand i couldnt tell the difference, but i got scared after a while that it didnt go away. I detailed sprayed the excess off.

I had a hard time getting it off and then i found I was using too much product and not working it in enough. Once i got the hang of it it was easy to remove.

how do you remove it? just work it in til its gone right?

yes and don't apply it too thick

Just my 2 cents, but I prefer to use the 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. It does the same job but relies more on solvents than abrasives. I use a terry towel to apply and remove and have seen very good results. I also used to use it on my black Integra, and it worked wonders.

wannabe: what pad did you use with your PC to apply the swirl remover?

thanks man...imma try for first time this tuesday...and if it works out well im planning to buy a pc myself.

Thats flippin' sweet they used ur car in the ad

thx...

yup-

old thread revival!!

I love the 3m perfect-it swirl remover. For some reason, for all the years I've been using it, I always get the best results by hand with a foam pad for some reason. I recently used it on the Lexus because it had TONS of light hazing and scratching along with swirls on the 15yo paint.

Before:



After:



The differences are subtle in the photos, but in person, it's more noticeable.

This post has been edited by DouglaS2000 on Jun 8 2007, 02:49 PM

hmmm, i'm definitley gonna try this stuff out, by hand though, i'm not a 'PC' guy. LOL.

im not so much a pc guy either, i will also try this by hand this weekend =P

Swirl marks were put on my clearcoat by the dealer. There are minor but annoying, but I don't want to get OCD chasing these out if the cutting just reduces the CC everytime...

I've read a few posts that state that they have removed all of the swirls. Sure, but for how long? And, can the CC really take it? The Lexus looked great BTW.

yes a remover takes more clear than a glaze...
but the amount is so small that it is very unlikely that you could ever notice.
i guess if you keep your car 20 years and polish it twice a year with aggressive polishes, you will lose some clear coat.

for me, glazes are nice alternatives when i have some minor swirls, but not enough to bother doing a full removal. and yes, i am aware that some guys use glazes for the reason that you suggested- but i really dont think you have to worry

swirls happen
just is a matter of time- i am very careful with my car and still end up with some swirls within about a year following a complete removal.

Thanks! That was great info for me.

Wow big time back from the dead...

Glad some of wanabe's great wisdom is being passed on.

Since this thread was posted i've:

Sold the car

Graduated college

Gone thru 3 gf's

and have gotten into Med School


hahaha time flies!

pretty funny-
and man are you busy!!


(btw, i love old post revivals)
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you must have a clean car that you can post pics of so i can at least badge you !!

very cool that you still hang out here-