djrk111

Hi,

I'm either going to have my car detailed or do it myself. I'd prefer to do it myself (it will be a little cheaper, but I have to buy almost all of the products). I would be doing the clay/polish routine (does wax go after polish? is it necessary?). My question is whether these swirl marks/scratches are going to be too much work to get out by hand, because I have no experience with a buffer. Is it too hard to do with the Zaino procedure (http://www.lazaino.com/application.html) by hand?

The first two pictures were taken with flourescent lights on, the last four had the lights off. All were taken in a garage, with the flash on (obviously). The car isn't all that dirty to the naked eye; I washed it a few days ago.













Thanks!

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

You are NOT going to be able to get all that out by hand, unless you have 10 years of free time and the endurance of a robot.

Invest in a machine. You'll be glad you did so. The random orbit machine (like the Porter cable 7424/7336 and the Ultimate Detailing Machine) requires very little experience to operate.

Where in Cali are you? If you get a buffer, and if you're close enough to me, I wouldn't mind showing you how to use it.

djrk111

I'm in Marin county, just north of San Francisco.

Is this the kind of thing that getting a onetime detail will solve for a decent amount of time, or am I going to be in the same place in a year?

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

Whenever you wash your car, you'll introduce some swirls into the paint.

It's something that keeps on happening unless you dont wash your car, but then your car will be dirty.

The great thing is the first time is usually the worse. once you get rid of all the swirls, just polish once every 2 months or so. By then, the swirls aren't that bad and it should be pretty easy to buff out.

2007es350

Those are pretty bad swirls. There is really no way to clear those swirls by hand. It also sounds like you haven't used a rotary or PC machine before. If I were you, I would hire a professional detailer to clear up your paint. I would also stay there while the polishing is done on your car. If you think you can handle the polishing yourself in the future, then buy the necessary machine and supplies.

If you wash your car correctly, you won't have those kind of swirls. Of course, over time you will get some random scratches...but they should not be as severe as your car in its current condition.

Good luck!

djrk111

Thanks. Do you think that if I keep up a regular polishing schedule, I'll be able to do without buying the buffer entirely?

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

For a random orbit to even polish out your swirls, it would take about 5 hours or so (guesstimating). A buffer is at least 500x faster than your hand.

Is it worth buying a buffer? YES

It's not hard to use as you think. I even gave my little sister (10 years old) my porter cable and she was able to work on my car with no trouble. All you need is a little guiding and you'll be all set.

mole

iTrader: (3)

I agree with GSteg, the 7424 is easy to use and inexpensive. I just went to the Meguiars clinic last weekend and the machine is seriously easy to use. The cost of a good detail is about 60-70% of the machine and all of the product you will need, so you would be saving money in theory by the 2nd detail.

With the machine, you would use a polish like a Meguiars 80 and then a good wax. Probably two passes with each and you will have a different car.

Just remember to use blue tape to tape off all of the emblems and rubber moldings, saves serious time later.

There is also a DVD titled "How to use the PC for showcar results". It actually features the guy who taught our class last week at Meguiars. The information he gave us in class is actually the same from the DVD.

djrk111

I was thinking of using Zaino (the whole routine--Z5 to Z2 and perhaps repeat) but I've read that these products might not be a great combination with a buffer. Any thoughts? I think, perhaps mistakenly, that the Zaino routine would be more thorough than the Meguiars 80 then wax, but perhaps I'm just being sold by the more is better notion...

Thanks again!

mole

iTrader: (3)

I know, I get confused by all of the different products myself. To me it seems like the Meguiars products do a good job but the Zaino process and products seem to have thier fans. I think if I was going to experiment, I would start with the 7424 and some #80 to get rid of the swirls and clean the paint, then maybe come back and do the zaino process as recommended.

Either way, you should clay the car as there is probably alot of debri on the paint and that will do alot to get it smooth and ready for any process you end up using. Either way, I dont think you can lose.

One HoT

iTrader: (5)

There is no product in the world that will clear up those swirls without a buffer..It is simply impossible to level the hard modern day clearcoat by hand...

Zaino line by hand will only give you minimal results, products like Z2 have light abrasives...They will give you nice depth and shine but does almost nothing for heavy swirling..

As others have mentioned, look for a reputable pro or get ready to free up the next 2 weekends because that definitely looks like a hard task to tackle..

sonyman

AFAIK Z2 is not abrasive at all, and will do nothing at all to mask swirling. Z5 masks to an extent but is also not abrasive.

djrk111

Oh man, this is looking to be quite a task. I was reading about Meguiars #80 polish and from what I can see it says "light swirls." Are these they? Does the polish work on most swirls and just has to be applied more thoroughly?

Yakuza70

djrk,

Here's a link to a great article about the PC and how to use it: http://guidetodetailing.com/articles.php?articleId=47

I've been using Zaino for years but use non Zaino polishes with my PC. As others have stated, Z2 and Z5 do NOT contain any abrasives. Z5 has fillers and is supposed to hide some swirls although it is minimal. After I polish, I apply two layers of Z5 to help minimize any left over swirls, Zaino Clear Seal, then a final wipe with Z8.

Here's a great video on how to wash your car in the future so you don't reintroduce swirls: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=0

twentyone

my swirls aren't as bad as the original poster, but i do have some swirls in my paint. i bought a bunch of zaino products (basically a starter kit) but i have been holding off on using them until buying/using a pc and meguiars polish so that i can clay, polish and then wax.

you think there'd be anything wrong with me claying and zaino'ing now, and then do the swirl removal job next month, when i have a pc to tackle the swirls?