Quik Wax spray - linear swirl marks/ruined paint???

[ksnowdog]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I have a Ford Excursion with black paint. The paint/clear coat is in excellent shape with the exception of a couple of scratches from the previous owner.

I used to detail cars for a living, so I have a clue what I'm doing and I am very picky about the way my truck looks. Being a BLACK truck I was nervous about even waxing it because of swirl marks. I used the Meguiars Quik Wax, followed the directions. The body of the truck was cool, dry, spotlessly clean and I hand waxed it with VERY light pressure in the shade. I must admit I was singing praises for this product after I finished waxing the truck. It was very easy to apply and remove which was great considering the size of the truck! When I was finished the truck looked GREAT.

HOWEVER - after the first time I washed it, the truck looks ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE Anytime there is direct sunlight on the paint there are linear smears/swirls in the clear coat from one end of the truck to the other, top to bottom. The smears move along the body of the truck as you walk along it, they don't stay still (does that make sense??). I thought maybe this had something to do with the car wash pressure washer, so I waxed the truck again using the same method as posted above. The truck looked fantastic again, the marks were gone, but after washing the truck again the truck looks HORRIBLE!!!! It looks good without direct sunlight on it, but as soon as the sun hits it it looks terrible. People keep asking me what the hell happened to the paintjob!

Any ideas??
Is the clearcoat ruined from this wax??
I do not intend on waxing my truck EVERY time I wash it
Is there a way to fix this??
I can't help but kick myself for even trying this product on black paint.
I took pictures with my digital camara, can I attach pics on this site? I haven't had a chance to see if the marks showed up in the pics yet.

I have a garage shelf full of Mequiar products and have never been anything but happy with the results until now

[Ranger72]

Has nothing to do with the quick wax. You gave hint at usign a preasure washer to clean the car: "I thought maybe this had something to do with the car wash pressure washer" First never, ever, never, ever, bring yoru car (especially black omg) to a car wash. I would put my money that that is where the swirls came from. The clear is far from ruined, just needs to be machined polished or break your elbo with scratch x.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Quik Wax spray - linear swirl marks/ruined paint???

Hi ksnowdog,

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

Originally posted by ksnowdog
HOWEVER - after the first time I washed it, the truck looks ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE Anytime there is direct sunlight on the paint there are linear smears/swirls in the clear coat from one end of the truck to the other, top to bottom. The smears move along the body of the truck as you walk along it, they don't stay still (does that make sense??). I thought maybe this had something to do with the car wash pressure washer, so I waxed the truck again using the same method as posted above. The truck looked fantastic again, the marks were gone, but after washing the truck again the truck looks HORRIBLE!!!! It looks good without direct sunlight on it, but as soon as the sun hits it it looks terrible. People keep asking me what the hell happened to the paint job!

The swirls and scratches were in the paint to start with. Clear coat paint are very scratch-sensitive and black shows everything the best.

Any ideas??
Is the clearcoat ruined from this wax??

No, this product is completely non-abrasive, all it will do is make your paint look good, when you wash your truck, depending on what you use to wash with, you will remove some or all or part of the spray wax and re-expose the original swirls and scratches.

by the way, Meguiar's Spray waxes are not stand-alone products they are for maintaining a car's finish in excellent condition after you have already applied a normal coat of wax.

I do not intend on waxing my truck EVERY time I wash it

Is there a way to fix this??

Yes, it's called paint prep, it's the things you do to the paint before you apply a normal coat of wax.

I can't help but kick myself for even trying this product on black paint.

It's not the products fault.

I took pictures with my digital camera, can I attach pics on this site? I haven't had a chance to see if the marks showed up in the pics yet.

No, you cannot attach picture, you can upload them to the gallery and insert them, but you cannot attach them.

I have a garage shelf full of Mequiar products and have never been anything but happy with the results until now

Well in the same way you have been nothing but happy with all of our other product you can expect this product is of the same high quality, but it's probably the wrong product for the finish on this truck.

Have you tried claying the paint yet? How about using a paint cleaner like ScratchX? How about following that with a real coat of a real wax like NXT Tech Wax?

I'll include some links for you to read up on...

[Mike Phillips]

How to put pictures in your messages


A lot of people want to share a picture in their message and naturally try to do so using the Attach file option at the bottom of where you type in your message...

That would be right below to the left where it says "Attach File"





When I say that the Attach File option is not enabled, what I mean is it won't insert your picture, but instead inserts a link. You can still click on the Browse button to select a picture off your computer, but it won't actually insert the image. See below,





The "Attach File" option is turned off because over time the data base tables become corrupted and the wrong pictures show up in messages, (everyone's messages). What this means is overtime, if you were to read a message you posted you may see someone else's picture in your message instead of the picture you originally Attached. This can be very annoying. For example, you post a message about the horrible swirls in your car's finish but the pictures shows beautiful car, or something else. When this happens, you message doesn't make sense you to, or anyone else that's reading the thread.

The other problem with using the Attach File option is that it creates two data bases with pictures, (one for the gallery and one for the forum), which is a bad use of resources and causes long back-up times.

For the above reason, we provide all our registered members with their own gallery to keep their photos in. We ask all of our members to upload their pictures into their gallery and then use the IMG tags to insert your picture into your message.


It would look like this,



Note: In the above picture, there is a Yellow Box drawn around what is called the URL Address of a picture that is on the Internet, whether it's in your Meguiar's Online Gallery, or somewhere else. To snag this address, all you have to do is Right Click with your mouse on the top of any photo on the Internet, and then select Properties. An information box will appear on your computer screen with information about the pictures. Look for the words, URL Address and then use your mouse/cursor to to highlight the address and then Right Click on the highlighted text and select Copy, to copy this URL address into the IMG button/tags.



It's pretty simple and easy to do, once you do it a few times. After uploading your pictures and inserting them using the IMG button, you will get the hang of it and it works the same way on most forums.

Here are some tutorials on how to work with images in the vbulletin environment. These can be found in a forum called, Meguiar’s On-line Technical Tutorials.

1) How-to Crop your photos before uploading them to your gallery
2) How to resize your photos using Easy Thumbnails - Free software!
3) Step-by-Step Picture-Posting HOW TO


In most cases, you should follow the above order when working with your images. That is,

First Step - Crop your photo's. Cut out the junk so that your picture contains what's important, the picture should tell a story even if the story is, "Look at me, I'm a beautiful car". There is an example in the tutorial).


Second Step - Resize your photos. It's bad Netiquette to post pictures that are wider than 700 pixels wide as it will not fit on the majority of peoples computer monitors and in order to see you picture, the viewer will have to horizontal scroll, ugh.... A lot of digital cameras take very large pictures, so you you must resize them to make them easy to view as well as faster to download.

The Tutorial for his shows you how to do it with a free software program that I use, but any software program that you already own and know how to use will also work.


Third Step - Upload your picture to your gallery, this is covered for both PC computers and MACcomputers in the tutorial.

When you see someone, especially a new member trying to attach a picture using the Attach file option, please be kind and share with them the link to this message so that they will understand why their pictures don't show up and so that they can learn the proper procedures for inserting photos into their messages.

We want to encourage people to post their pictures, but we want to show them how to do it the right way.

"Each one, teach one"

Thank you!



Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Here are two threads that discuss how to apply and remove Meguiar's spray waxes...

Using Meguiar's Even Coat Applicator to apply NXT Spray Wax

How To Get Great Results With Meguiar's Spray Wax!

[Mike Phillips]

I don't know if you've been lurking here for a while before joining and posting, if not here are some threads you might find interesting,

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

Meguiars Online Acronyms - With Product Links

Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

NXT Tech Wax Cure Time

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

Circles or Straight Lines?

A Question on Wax Bonding and the Potential of Interference by a Quick Detailer

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How to put pictures into your posts

Topping NXT or other products

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

How to locate Meguiar’s Professional & Detailer products in your hometown

How to tell when a Meguiar's wax is ready to remove - The Swipe Test

[Mike Phillips]

If you want to work with only your hands, here's an outline for products and the order in which to apply them...

Even a finish in great condition can look bad in direct sunlight if it isn't constantly maintained with a minimum of polishing and waxing, of course if you have a lot of experience detailing cars then you should already know this.


How To Remove Swirls By Hand


The below write-up was taken from page three of this Saturday Detailing Class at Meguiar's where approximately 25 people witnessed the products shown below, applied and removed using the correct techniques to remove the gross rotary buffer swirls and restore a swirl free finish by hand.

San Diego Mercedes-Benz club at Meguiar's!


After selecting two Mercedes-Benz automobiles to work on, one being Tom's, we broke for a pizza lunch. After everyone had their fill of pizza and something cold to drink, it was time to re-gather in Meguiar's Garage to see what we could do with the gross swirls in Tom's recently painted hood.




Often times when the topic of removing swirls is being discussed on our discussion forum, or some other detailing forum, it centers around the dual action polisher, foam buffing pads and somebody's compound or polish. Yet many people don't own a dual action polisher. So here at Meguiar's Garage, we like to show people how to use the what they already own... their hands!



Like most detailing enthusiasts, I personally love a challenge, and with Tom's car, I believe most people would agree, his car's finish presents a challenge!

BEFORE - 700 Pixel-wide cropped out section from an un-touched, original photo of rotary buffer swirls in a clear coat finish.





Using some painters tape, we taped-off a section of the hood to separate the before and after results. Then, we applied three, well worked in applications of Meguiar's ScratchX all applied by hand using Meguiar's High-Tech Applicator Pad






The secret to removing swirls by hand using Meguiar's ScratchX is all in your technique. You see in order to remove swirls out of your car's finish, you need to remove a little bit of paint. If we we're to look at a horizontal view of what gross rotary buffer swirls look like in the paint, it would look something like the diagram below. In order to remove these below surface defects, (swirls), you need to remove enough paint from the finish to level the upper surface with the *****t depths of the swirls until you've restored the finish to a flat, level surface.




To do this by hand with ScratchX, you need to,

• * Apply to a small section at a time
  * First spread the ScratchX evenly over the area you're going to work (before working it in)
  * Work the microscopic diminishing abrasives against the finish applying a little passion behind the applicator pad
  * Repeat this process with multiple applications after first removing the residue from each application after working it against the finish

Remember that Meguiar's paint cleaners, like ScratchX do not need to dry before removing. Drying adds no benefit. The only Meguiar's paint products that need to dry before removing are Meguiar's waxes.

Technique Tip

The question is often asked,

"Which direction should I move my hand when applying a Meguiar's paint cleaner?"

A common mis-conception, often espoused on other discussion forums, or by some car care product manufactures, is the technique of only rubbing a product in a certain direction to keep all of your scratches going in the same direction.

Meguiar's teaches that if the products you're using are non-abrasive, that is they are not instilling scratches into the finish, as such, it shouldn't matter which direction you move your hand!

If the products you're using are inflicting scratches into your car's finish, the correct thing to do is to stop using the product! Don't try to camouflage the scratches to your eyes by instilling them in straight-lines as determined by the movement of your hand.

ScratchX can be applied using straight-lines or circular motion and for this particular demonstration we used a combination of both.

Removing ScratchX using Meguiar's Supreme Shine Microfiber after working the product against the finish until the product has broken down, turned somewhat clear and begun to dissipate.




At Meguiar's Saturday Detailing 101 classes, we go through a power point presentation that covers a wide spectrum of detailing topics, one of which is Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle , which includes;

• Step 1 Wash
  Step 2 Clean
  Step 3 Polish
  Step 4 Protect
  Step 5 Maintain

After cleaning the paint with a paint cleaner like ScratchX, we then apply a pure polish, in this case, Deep Crystal Polish which is a non-abrasive pure polish.



In Meguiar's line, we offer two types of polishes, cleaner/polishes, which contain a diminishing abrasive, and pure polishes, which are completely non-abrasive and are used solely for the purpose of creating brilliant gloss. Deep Crystal Polish is a pure polish.



The way you apply a pure polish is akin to applying a skin lotion to your skin. That is you apply the polish to a small section at a time, work the product in thoroughly.



After thoroughly, (but gently with care and passion), remove any excess polish with a clean, soft premium quality microfiber polishing cloth or 100% cotton towel.



Like ScratchX a paint cleaner, it is not necessary to let a pure polish like Deep Crystal Polish dry before removing it. Allowing a polish to dry will not add anything beneficial to the process, so after you work it in well, go a head and remove it.


At this point, we have cleaned and polished the finish. The cleaning step removed the swirls and the polishing step restored optical clarity, depth, reflectivity, richness of color and brilliant gloss. Next we're going to apply a coating of Meguiar's new NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste



NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste is identical to NXT Generation Tech Wax Liquid except that it comes in a paste form. There are two types of paste waxes, the difference is in their consistency. The practical application difference is in how you remove them from the can and then apply them.

With a cleaner/wax (paste), like Meguiar's A12 Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax you can scoop out a small amount and with your applicator pad and then apply it to the finish and work it in.



With paste waxes like Gold Class Clear Coat Wax Paste, M26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax, and NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste, instead of scooping wax out of the can, you can twist, or spin your wax applicator against the wax while it's in the can and this little bit of agitation will help to liquefy the wax and enable it to seep, or penetrate into your applicator pad whereupon making it easier to apply to the finish.





Paste waxes like NXT Tech Generation Wax offer good gliding action and tend to apply very easy. Remember a little bit goes a long ways and it's important to try to apply a uniform, thin coating.



After applying the Tech Wax Paste and allowing it to dry, we removed it using a Supreme Shine Microfiber polishing cloth and the Tom backed his Mercedes-Benz out into the sun where everyone could look at the results and see with their own two eyes what can be accomplished by hand with the right products and the correct techniques.







Here's the owner Tom inspecting closely!



And here I am capturing the results with our Sony Digital which does an excellent job of capture swirls in the sun.




Before



After
















Perfect? No.

dramatically improved? Yes!

Most importantly, we fixed by hand what someone else inflicted with a rotary buffer.

Meguiar's products, applied and removed using the correct techniques will outperform the competition hands down and give your car a swirl-free show car shine!

[Mike Phillips]

A couple of quick questions...

what do you use to wash the truck? What kind of soap what kind of wash mitt? If the wash mitt isn't in excellent condition this will tend to put cobweb scratches into your paint.

What did the finish look like in the sun before you washed it?

What does the finish feel like when you run the palm of you clean hand over the finish? Smooth like brand new glass? Or do you feel a texture of little bumps?

[Mike Phillips]

Forgot to ask two other questions,

What did you use to apply the Quik Wax and what did you use to remove the Quik Wax?

Assuming your Ford Excursion's paint job was flawless before you used the wax, the wax wouldn't in and of itself instill any scratches, but it's possible your application material and/or removal material could have. As mentioned previously, clear coats are scratch-sensitive, as a person with background knowledge in detailing cars I'm sure you already know this especially if you have ever owned and/or worked on a car with a single stage finish. Compared to single stage paints, clear coat paints are incredible suggestible to scratching and the clear coat acts to magnify these scratches.

[Snowman]

To do this by hand with ScratchX, you need to,

* Apply to a small section at a time
* First spread the ScratchX evenly over the area you're going to work (before working it in)
* Work the microscopic diminishing abrasives against the finish applying a little passion behind the applicator pad
* Repeat this process with multiple applications after first removing the residue from each application after working it against the finish

Mike, do you need to let a little time go by between each application of ScratchX once you remove the previous application or can you just dive right into the next application of the product?

[ksnowdog]

Whew! talk about a quick response!

The paint was in very good condition to start with. Perfect/flawless?-NO it's a factory Ford paint job, I've never seen a flawless one

The paint appears to be well taken care of by the previous owner, but there are a couple of light scratches in it that likely wouldn't be noticeable if it weren't black.

To wash - I use the local car wash power washer, soap then hand wash with soft, clean mitt then rinse off. Dry with a shammy. For the wax I use smooth, cotton towels to apply then new ones to remove, changing to clean areas thru out both process'.

Finish feels smooth. Prior to using product the truck could have used a wax, but the paint wasn't what I'd consider dried out and felt smooth to the touch.

Finish looked good in the sun before using.

I used to detail cars, but that was 10+ years ago. I am NOT an expert or anywhere near it, but I think I know more than the average person about it. I typically use a rotary buffer on my other cars, but I never touch a wheel to black paint, I don't trust myself THAT much! I certainly understand black paint is going to show EVERY little cobweb/swirl/etc.

Like I said the truck looked great after using the Quik wax, but it looks terrible after just one wash.

When I get home tonight I'll check my garage shelf and let you know what products I have. I think I have a Gold Class wax or Gold Class polish?, Wax cleaner, swirl remover, etc from other vehicles. I'll post up what I have and if you could let me know what products I should use vs. having to purchase more that would be great.

I'm at work and don't have a chance to read all the info you posted yet, I'll take a look at it tonight.

Thanks for the PM, I'll email you the pictures tonight if the swirls are visible in them.

As far as the car wash (Ranger), I use the power wash, not the brush or anything like that. It brings a tear to my eye every time I see somebody take the wheel brush at the car wash to thier paint

[Bouffer]

Is the intention of doing a small section at a time to prevent the product from drying out or is there some other reason?

Thank you

[Snowman]

Is the intention of doing a small section at a time to prevent the product from drying out or is there some other reason?

I would say for more concentration on a specific area.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Snowman
Mike, do you need to let a little time go by between each application of ScratchX once you remove the previous application or can you just dive right into the next application of the product?

You can apply ScratchX immediately after removing any prior application. Apply, work in, remove. Apply, work in, remove etc. or move to a new section.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by ksnowdog
To wash - I use the local car wash power washer, soap then hand wash with soft, clean mitt then rinse off. Dry with a shammy. For the wax I use smooth, cotton towels to apply then new ones to remove, changing to clean areas thru out both process'.

For best results, switch to premium quality microfiber polishing cloths for removing wax, use clean soft foam applicators to apply wax.

Finish feels smooth. Prior to using product the truck could have used a wax, but the paint wasn't what I'd consider dried out and felt smooth to the touch.

If the finish feels smooth you probably don't need to clay, I'm always amazed by what can be removed even when claying a smooth surface, sometimes your sense of touch cannot detect what a clay can remove.

Finish looked good in the sun before using.

Could be when you washed the car that the soap at the car wash removed both the Quik Wax and any wax that was previously applied to the finish as the soaps used at car washes tend to be on the strong side, not the safe and gentle side. We always recommend taking ownership of the car washing process yourself at home when possible and use a premium quality car wash.

It could also be the towels you used to apply and remove the Quik Wax. Point being is that there are no abrasive ingredients in any of our spray-on waxes, so in an of themselves they cannot scratch paint. If scratches were incurred during the application of one of our spray on waxes we have to look elsewhere for the culprit and you're talking to a person that uses our spray waxes often, usually once a week on our black Pilot. (Its the one in both of the links I included on how to use a spray wax).


When I get home tonight I'll check my garage shelf and let you know what products I have. I think I have a Gold Class wax or Gold Class polish?, Wax cleaner, swirl remover, etc from other vehicles. I'll post up what I have and if you could let me know what products I should use vs. having to purchase more that would be great.[/b][/quote]

Sounds like a plan.

I'm at work and don't have a chance to read all the info you posted yet, I'll take a look at it tonight.

Lots of good reading on Meguiar's Online!

Thanks for the PM, I'll email you the pictures tonight if the swirls are visible in them.

Must of been someone besides me as I keep my PM's turned of as I prefer all question posted to the forum and personal communication done through e-mail as I cannot keep up with both e-mail, posts on the forum and PM's.... (One of them had to go... )