Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

[FocusSmudge]

Hi guys,

I am from the UK. Had originally signed up to the UK forum's but my account was never activated so here I am

I've been detailing my car 'properly' now for a good 6 months but wanted somebody's advice on my paint work.

Generally speaking, it's very clean, particularly for a 13 year old car, but my concern, which is most like everybody else is swirl marks. I confess that I don't wash the car at home, I take it to a jet wash at a petrol station and use the foam brush and pressure washer there, because of a lack of a hose and a decent out door tap. I should stop being a cheap skate and buy one!

I spend a great deal of time a week polishing the car using mainly Meguiars products, but keep noticing light swirl marks on the paint like below, I first thought it was the result of the hot foam brush at the garage but there I use linear motions against the paint, not circles which lead me to believe it was the products for application I used. I predominately used cheap

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Huh? Only half of my post is showing!

[tiSS'er]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Which products did you use to compound/polish and did you do this work by hand or by machine? Did you clay before you compounded/polished? If not, chances are that there were surface contaminants that became embedded in the sponge used to compound.

First, I wouldn't touch my car with the brush, you would be better off spraying down the car, filling a bucket with soap and water, and washing using a wash mitt/sponge. This is still not optimal, but better than having the brush touch the paint. Swirls will happen no matter how careful you are, especially with black cars which show every defect. Black cars require more frequent polishing to keep them looking their best.

As for your post not showing, did you use Internet Explorer 10? If so, that could be your issue, I have struggled with this site using IE10, I have switched to Chrome with better success.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Which products did you use to compound/polish and did you do this work by hand or by machine? Did you clay before you compounded/polished? If not, chances are that there were surface contaminants that became embedded in the sponge used to compound.

First, I wouldn't touch my car with the brush, you would be better off spraying down the car, filling a bucket with soap and water, and washing using a wash mitt/sponge. This is still not optimal, but better than having the brush touch the paint. Swirls will happen no matter how careful you are, especially with black cars which show every defect. Black cars require more frequent polishing to keep them looking their best.

As for your post not showing, did you use Internet Explorer 10? If so, that could be your issue, I have struggled with this site using IE10, I have switched to Chrome with better success.

Hi mate, thanks for getting back to me. I'm using Firefox but it has not only duplicated my post, but also cut off half!

Whenever I compound or polish the car, the area is always clayed first and all work is done by hand.

I then use Ultimate Compound to remove any paint imperfections using the a Meguiars foam pad which are washed (by hand) after every use.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Again, it's only posted half of my post and I can't even post up the other half. Using Chrome now and no change!

[tiSS'er]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Hi mate, thanks for getting back to me. I'm using Firefox but it has not only duplicated my post, but also cut off half!

Whenever I compound or polish the car, the area is always clayed first and all work is done by hand.

I then use Ultimate Compound to remove any paint imperfections using the a Meguiars foam pad which are washed (by hand) after every use.

Sorry for your troubles posting, I had some issues yesterday.

As for working by hand, this could very well be the issue. When I tried working by hand, either with foam or microfiber, I found I would get micro-swirls, haloing, whatever you want to call it. I blame this on poor technique. It is very difficult to apply even pressure by hand when compounding or polishing. I found that I would be applying more pressure with my fingertips which I could almost see the path of my fingertip in the swirls.

I immediately purchased a Dual Action (DA) buffer which allows you to apply pressure evenly over the pad and the swirls were gone in seconds. Besides being much faster with less effort, a DA will always provide a better finish. If a DA is not an option for you, try picking up an applicator that has a handle which will allow you to apply more even pressure across the entire pad.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Thanks for the post. My issue with hand washing is I have no hose, so I can 'wash' but not rinse. I tried once with a microfiber towel and it was a bit messy. Unless I keep refillng a clean bucket and throwing it over the car? The handle is a great idea. I do have one which can be attached to any foam pad but have never used it. Will give it a try.

The other issue was I have accidently gotten Ultimate Compound on some of my rubber door seals. Tried everything to remove it but no luck?

My car's paint is in excellent condition for it's age, a few defects but you can very faintly see swirl marks. This is the pic I had in my original post (if allowed) - now typing on a mobile browser without issue.

[tiSS'er]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Thanks for the post. My issue with hand washing is I have no hose, so I can 'wash' but not rinse. I tried once with a microfiber towel and it was a bit messy. Unless I keep refillng a clean bucket and throwing it over the car? The handle is a great idea. I do have one which can be attached to any foam pad but have never used it. Will give it a try.

The other issue was I have accidently gotten Ultimate Compound on some of my rubber door seals. Tried everything to remove it but no luck?

My car's paint is in excellent condition for it's age, a few defects but you can very faintly see swirl marks. This is the pic I had in my original post (if allowed) - now typing on a mobile browser without issue.

Your car looks great. A few things to try on your plastic:

1. Creamy peanut butter - yep, does a great job of taking wax (even old wax) out of plastic trim. The peanut oil breaks down the wax quickly and easily, and cleans up easily. I wouldn't rub it against your paint though, it could be lightly abrasive.
2. I have used Meguiars Ultimate Black with excellent results.

After you compounded with UC, did you follow up with a polish like Ultimate Polish or M205? This would really make your car pop, and will remove light defects.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

I confess I'm not using a Meguiars polish. I use Mers or Autoglym usually and G3 as my main wax but do own most Meg's waxes.

Will give the peanut butter a try. Anything is worth a go as I don't think I've ever seen Ultimate Black in the UK.

[Detailing by M]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

get a waterless wash or a rinsless. Your causing to much damage by not properly washing it correctly.
As far as compound on trim tape them off next time so this doesn't happen again. Use a dressing to get the proper oils in the trim (peanut butter isn't the right stuff).
I deal with screwed up trim all the time

[The Guz]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

If the car has a heavy coat of dirt a traditional wash would be my recommendation. Another option is to take it to a car wash and rise off the initial dirt and follow up with a waterless or rinseless wash such as D114 or D115. AS far as those swirls they don't look to bad. UC would definitely be able to get rid of them. Will you be doing this by hand or machine?

To answer your question about cleaning the trim some M39 or APC would be my recommendation.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Thanks for the responses. Now the sun is shining here the UK, I can finally see the swirl marks. They are worse than the picture shows but are still light. A few reasonably pressured applications of UC hasn't seem to make any difference to them what so ever!

They are a nightmare. Take the sun away and the car paint is perfectly polished and blemish free. Sun beaming down and the swirl marks are apparent at a short distance. Grr!

[The Guz]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

Are you trying to remove the swirls by hand? It takes more work to remove them by hand. You would get better results with a DA polisher with the correct foam pad.

[FocusSmudge]

Re: Swirl Marks & UC On Rubber Trim

All by hand unfortunately.