Project Swirl Mark Removal and Paint Restoration
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Project Swirl Mark Removal and Paint Restoration
As you guys know the black color on my GS has some swirl marks that i would like to remove. Forever. Hopefully. I love the Obsidian, but as we all know the black doesnt look great under the sun with any imperfections. And in Los Angeles we have a lot of sun. So ive been searching for a good detail and wax spot. And i think i found one. Surfside Detailing. And the best part is they come to you. The guy seemed very knowledgeable and they have cool videos showing how they have restored black paint and removed swirl marks on their website. Ofcourse, he didnt tell me a definite price until he sees the vehicle but from what i understood, it will be in the ball park of $200. I think its a good price given whats included in the package.
- Exterior Hand Wash
- Brake dust removed and wheels detailed
- Hi-gloss water based tire dressing applied
- Interior vacuum
- Specialized claybar treatment to decontaminate all painted surfaces and windows
- Machine polishing to remove minor scratches and paint imperfections
- Meguiars #26 carnauba wax applied by orbital machine for shine and months of paint
protection
They will be here this Saturday afternoon. Weather forecast shows 77 degrees, mostly cloudy conditions. I will post before and after photos here.
- Exterior Hand Wash
- Brake dust removed and wheels detailed
- Hi-gloss water based tire dressing applied
- Interior vacuum
- Specialized claybar treatment to decontaminate all painted surfaces and windows
- Machine polishing to remove minor scratches and paint imperfections
- Meguiars #26 carnauba wax applied by orbital machine for shine and months of paint
protection
They will be here this Saturday afternoon. Weather forecast shows 77 degrees, mostly cloudy conditions. I will post before and after photos here.
Last edited by PirelliRC; 01-14-15 at 04:14 PM.
#3
Sounds exciting PirelliGS! Looking forward to your before & after photos.
Best of luck with the entire process. Obsidian is such a hard color to maintain, must respect to you guys that have it & keep your car looking nice.
~ Im2bz2p345
Best of luck with the entire process. Obsidian is such a hard color to maintain, must respect to you guys that have it & keep your car looking nice.
~ Im2bz2p345
#6
Moderator
iTrader: (20)
As you guys know the black color on my GS has some swirl marks that i would like to remove. Forever. Hopefully. I love the Obsidian, but as we all know the black doesnt look great under the sun with any imperfections. And in Los Angeles we have a lot of sun. So ive been searching for a good detail and wax spot. And i think i found one. Surfside Detailing. And the best part is they come to you. The guy seemed very knowledgeable and they have cool videos showing how they have restored black paint and removed swirl marks on their website. Ofcourse, he didnt tell me a definite price until he sees the vehicle but from what i understood, it will be in the ball park of $200. I think its a good price given whats included in the package.
- Exterior Hand Wash
- Brake dust removed and wheels detailed
- Hi-gloss water based tire dressing applied
- Interior vacuum
- Specialized claybar treatment to decontaminate all painted surfaces and windows
- Machine polishing to remove minor scratches and paint imperfections
- Meguiars #26 carnauba wax applied by orbital machine for shine and months of paint
protection
They will be here this Saturday afternoon. Weather forecast shows 77 degrees, mostly cloudy conditions. I will post before and after photos here.
- Exterior Hand Wash
- Brake dust removed and wheels detailed
- Hi-gloss water based tire dressing applied
- Interior vacuum
- Specialized claybar treatment to decontaminate all painted surfaces and windows
- Machine polishing to remove minor scratches and paint imperfections
- Meguiars #26 carnauba wax applied by orbital machine for shine and months of paint
protection
They will be here this Saturday afternoon. Weather forecast shows 77 degrees, mostly cloudy conditions. I will post before and after photos here.
#7
Lexus Fanatic
I'm dubious about the price...I'll be interested to see whether they increase that price or not when they see it. To do it right you're looking at a minimum of 4-5 hours work.
The key is "minor scratches and paint imperfections". If you have significant swirling it may fall outside the scope of that. A lot of detailers charge per hour for compounding which it sounds like it may need.
Also FYI, Meguiars #26 is a very middle of the road ho-hum wax. It does the job but it will absolutely not offer "months of paint protection". In Los Angeles, more like weeks.
The key is "minor scratches and paint imperfections". If you have significant swirling it may fall outside the scope of that. A lot of detailers charge per hour for compounding which it sounds like it may need.
Also FYI, Meguiars #26 is a very middle of the road ho-hum wax. It does the job but it will absolutely not offer "months of paint protection". In Los Angeles, more like weeks.
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#8
Lexus Fanatic
Surfside Detailing in Newport Beach, CA?
This is from their website:
An all in one product is not going to handle your swirling, if its significant as it seemed to be in our previous conversations.
This is the service at a minimum you will need:
You may need this:
This is from their website:
Cars $225 & SUVs $275
Removes light scratches, marring, and swirls left by improper washing
techniques. We first wash the vehicle and perform a full claybar treatment
to remove bonded contaminants on the paint. After the claybar treatment
we machine polish and wax using a Meguiars one step product that
restores the clarity and shine to your paint.
Removes light scratches, marring, and swirls left by improper washing
techniques. We first wash the vehicle and perform a full claybar treatment
to remove bonded contaminants on the paint. After the claybar treatment
we machine polish and wax using a Meguiars one step product that
restores the clarity and shine to your paint.
This is the service at a minimum you will need:
Cars $425 & SUVs $475
Removes moderate scratches, marring, and swirls that the one step polish
is not capable of. After we wash and claybar thevehicle, we use our 2 step
polishing system to restore the paintwork.
Estimated time- 4+ hours
Removes moderate scratches, marring, and swirls that the one step polish
is not capable of. After we wash and claybar thevehicle, we use our 2 step
polishing system to restore the paintwork.
Estimated time- 4+ hours
Three step machine polish and wax- (Full Paint Correction)
By Estimate
Final pricing determined upon pre-inspection and size of the vehicle
This is complete paint correction where we remove up to 100% of all paint
defects including bird etchings, scratches, swirl marks, water spots and
more. After we wash and claybar the vehicle, we use the Meguiars
Professional 3 step polishing system to bring back your vehicle's shine.
First step is buffing the vehicle with a rotary buffer and semi-aggressive
polish to level the clear coat and remove the major defects and swirls.
Second step is to buff with a less-agressive polish to remove any haze,
holograms or swirls left after the initial buffing. Third step is we use a
random orbital polisher to remove any remaining holograms or swirl marks
which leaves the paintwork ready for waxing or sealing. Lastly, we apply a
coat of carnauba wax for long lasting paint protection. We have saved
client's thousands of dollars who thought repainting their car was the only
way their vehicle would look NEW again.
Estimated time- 5+ hours
By Estimate
Final pricing determined upon pre-inspection and size of the vehicle
This is complete paint correction where we remove up to 100% of all paint
defects including bird etchings, scratches, swirl marks, water spots and
more. After we wash and claybar the vehicle, we use the Meguiars
Professional 3 step polishing system to bring back your vehicle's shine.
First step is buffing the vehicle with a rotary buffer and semi-aggressive
polish to level the clear coat and remove the major defects and swirls.
Second step is to buff with a less-agressive polish to remove any haze,
holograms or swirls left after the initial buffing. Third step is we use a
random orbital polisher to remove any remaining holograms or swirl marks
which leaves the paintwork ready for waxing or sealing. Lastly, we apply a
coat of carnauba wax for long lasting paint protection. We have saved
client's thousands of dollars who thought repainting their car was the only
way their vehicle would look NEW again.
Estimated time- 5+ hours
#9
Lexus Test Driver
And just so you know - most any car's finish can be made to look great after just a minimum amount of detailing work by using most any wax or glaze to fill-in [remaining] swirls and scratches. (This is likely what the dealership did to make the finish look good, which lasts one or two washes.) Thus, just because the finish looks good when the detailer finishes does not necessarily mean that he spent the time and used the materials necessary to permanently remove the swirls and scratches. It's easy to create a temporary illusion that the finish does not have any swirls or scratches.
#10
Lexus Test Driver
Just do it urself, it's a good workout.
When u detail ur car urself u get to know ur car personally and bond with it. At least that's how I feel.
After that last incident where a car wash guy slit my tire I felt guilty as hell that I let something that horrible happened to this car and won't let anyone else detail it but me!
When u detail ur car urself u get to know ur car personally and bond with it. At least that's how I feel.
After that last incident where a car wash guy slit my tire I felt guilty as hell that I let something that horrible happened to this car and won't let anyone else detail it but me!
#11
Lexus Fanatic
The problem with doing this yourself is you need a buffer, pads, the proper compounds...and skill. The machine polishing is the issue.
#12
I use WaterShed in Simi Valley, they do an awesome job and have excellent pricing.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Water...e/348182865103
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Water...e/348182865103
#13
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
Surfside Detailing in Newport Beach, CA?
This is from their website:
An all in one product is not going to handle your swirling, if its significant as it seemed to be in our previous conversations.
This is the service at a minimum you will need:
Cars $425 & SUVs $475
Removes moderate scratches, marring, and swirls that the one step polish
is not capable of. After we wash and claybar thevehicle, we use our 2 step
polishing system to restore the paintwork.
Estimated time- 4+ hours
This is from their website:
An all in one product is not going to handle your swirling, if its significant as it seemed to be in our previous conversations.
This is the service at a minimum you will need:
Cars $425 & SUVs $475
Removes moderate scratches, marring, and swirls that the one step polish
is not capable of. After we wash and claybar thevehicle, we use our 2 step
polishing system to restore the paintwork.
Estimated time- 4+ hours
What do you know about Meguiars Swirl X or Swirl Remover 2.0 ? I bought them a month ago.
Just do it urself, it's a good workout.
When u detail ur car urself u get to know ur car personally and bond with it. At least that's how I feel.
After that last incident where a car wash guy slit my tire I felt guilty as hell that I let something that horrible happened to this car and won't let anyone else detail it but me!
When u detail ur car urself u get to know ur car personally and bond with it. At least that's how I feel.
After that last incident where a car wash guy slit my tire I felt guilty as hell that I let something that horrible happened to this car and won't let anyone else detail it but me!
I use WaterShed in Simi Valley, they do an awesome job and have excellent pricing.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Water...e/348182865103
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Water...e/348182865103
Last edited by PirelliRC; 01-14-15 at 10:03 PM.
#14
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: CA
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As you guys know the black color on my GS has some swirl marks that i would like to remove. Forever. Hopefully. I love the Obsidian, but as we all know the black doesnt look great under the sun with any imperfections. And in Los Angeles we have a lot of sun. So ive been searching for a good detail and wax spot. And i think i found one. Surfside Detailing. And the best part is they come to you. The guy seemed very knowledgeable and they have cool videos showing how they have restored black paint and removed swirl marks on their website. Ofcourse, he didnt tell me a definite price until he sees the vehicle but from what i understood, it will be in the ball park of $200. I think its a good price given whats included in the package.
- Exterior Hand Wash
- Brake dust removed and wheels detailed
- Hi-gloss water based tire dressing applied
- Interior vacuum
- Specialized claybar treatment to decontaminate all painted surfaces and windows
- Machine polishing to remove minor scratches and paint imperfections
- Meguiars #26 carnauba wax applied by orbital machine for shine and months of paint
protection
They will be here this Saturday afternoon. Weather forecast shows 77 degrees, mostly cloudy conditions. I will post before and after photos here.
- Exterior Hand Wash
- Brake dust removed and wheels detailed
- Hi-gloss water based tire dressing applied
- Interior vacuum
- Specialized claybar treatment to decontaminate all painted surfaces and windows
- Machine polishing to remove minor scratches and paint imperfections
- Meguiars #26 carnauba wax applied by orbital machine for shine and months of paint
protection
They will be here this Saturday afternoon. Weather forecast shows 77 degrees, mostly cloudy conditions. I will post before and after photos here.
#15
Lexus Fanatic
This really isn't something where you want to save money, a detailer can really screw up the car, and since its been potentially polished twice already, another go could be the last time.
Lexus black is soft and polishes out well. But, it's finicky to finish right.
My point is, if somebody is recommended and you feel confident in their work, I wouldn't try and haggle with them about price. You want them to put all their effort and energy I to it, not do it while frustrated about the price they are doing it for, or refuse. Good Detailers aren't going to negotiate their prices.
The Meg's swirl removers are fine. The actual compound product doesn't really matter, what matters is the skill and tools of the person using them. Detailing is 90% effort, 10% product
Lexus black is soft and polishes out well. But, it's finicky to finish right.
My point is, if somebody is recommended and you feel confident in their work, I wouldn't try and haggle with them about price. You want them to put all their effort and energy I to it, not do it while frustrated about the price they are doing it for, or refuse. Good Detailers aren't going to negotiate their prices.
The Meg's swirl removers are fine. The actual compound product doesn't really matter, what matters is the skill and tools of the person using them. Detailing is 90% effort, 10% product