Moe,

You recommend a orbital buffer?

 

If you have light to moderate swirls and want to make them dissappear, then a dual action polisher like the one from Griot's or a Porter Cable is a great tool that is safe and effective. You need to have the right polish/pad combo. It's safe, easy to do, but requires a great deal of patience. The results are well worth the effort.

 

What kind of polish pad combo do you recommend?

 

Griot's garage all the way. Buy the polishing kit with the orbital polisher. It comes with the swirl remover polish - and lots of other stuff. Easy to use and the nice thing is that all their polishes are water based - so they ar every easy to get off the car.

 

Here's a polishing promotion going on right now:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...d.php?t=131844

Far better than the Griot's products intended to do the same work.

 

Griots all the way also. I love machine polish #3 - using the porter cable DA buffer with griots orange (I think) pad. Then I wax with P21S or griots carnuba (not very expensive) after buffing off the polish. But first wash the car with a mild (griots, zaino, etc.) car soap and spray nozzle. I blow dry the car dry with a (bought for this puropse) electric leaf blowere. Always use microfiber towels. Oh, invisible glass spray for the windows...

 

Swirls are generally caused by washing the car and using non-microfiber towels. Bathroom towels are a No-No. Porsche paint is soft and "swirls" easily. Swirls are scratches in the clear coat. I've used various products over the years including Griots but switched last year to http://www.autogeek.net. They are more commercialized for detailers, while Griots is more consumor oriented. Both offer great customer service.

Reducing swirls always starts with washing the car correctly. There are dozens of ways to wash a car (see some youtube videos). Get a lambs wool wash mit and dip frequently while washing. Then use only micro-fiber towels for drying. Some guys skip the towels and use a shop vac or leaf blower to dry. The more you touch the paint, the more swirls you are going to have. For this reason Avoid Going To Car Washes and wash the car yourself!

If you have ever watched car wash people clean vehicles, from a detailers perspective, they do everything wrong. Sure the car "looks clean" but you just added a ton of swirl marks.

OK, here is the readers digest version on how to remove swirl marks. The easy way is to pay a few hundred bucks and hire a detailer. If that seems like a waste of money, then buy a nice porter cable polisher and LEARN how to detail. If you are a hands on type of guy and like to park the car in the garage and work on it, then this is for you. Otherwise save the time and hire a professional detailer, then learn how to wash the car properly.

Enough said. Detailing is a profession. You can get incredible results without being a detailer. I do only my own vehicles and most are black! The results are stunning with a little knowledge and patience.

This is the proper way to detail and remove swirl marks. We are talking about the exterior. The interior is another topic.

1) Wash by hand
2) Clay the car
3) Polish the car (2 to 3 passes, one panel at a time)
4) Wax

There are some advanced steps that were left out, but for beginners this is a good rule of thumb.

The pads and polishing compounds are critical. Always start with the softest pad (white or gray) and least abrasive polish. Orange pad is used for deeper swirls.

http://www.autogeek.net/lc-ccs-6inch-pads.html

I'm a big fan of the Menzerna line of polishes. They were engineered for Mercedes paint which has ceramic chips. This line of polish does an amazing job on other vehicles. Soft paint can haze so start with the least amount of down pressure on the orbital and softest pad. Gradually increase orbital down pressure when necessary for deeper swirls. Keep the orbital moving and don't let it sit in one area for more than a few seconds.

http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-of-germany.html

Here's a beginner kit for a polishing compound and glaze.

http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-intro-kit.html

Youtube also has some videos on how to properly polish a car to remove swirl marks.

Here is a good forum for additional information on how to detail a car and get assistance from the very guys you would hire for free.

http://autopia.org/forum/

If you are eager enough to try to polish without fear of damaging the paint, use a soft pad with Menzerna and try it in a lower area of the vehicle like botton of door or bumper first. These polishes are designed to be used with orbital (porter cable) polishers.

Be sure to work the polish in until is begins to dry slightly, then wipe clean with a micro-fiber towel. Avoid polish from sitting too long or drying on the paint.

It is not uncommon to use 10 to 20 small towels detailing. Once you are confident and not affraid, then move on to other areas of the vehicle, one panel (section) at a time. The standard procedure is to go forward and backward, then side to side for each panel. Example: the front fender would be up and down coating the entire fender, then left to right, from the top down, then wipe dry.

Be sure to work in your garage and not in direct sunlight or windy conditions.

 

FIRST:
Figure out how swirls are introduced. If you get a car back from your detailer with swirls...go somewhere else. Your options are either: detail it yourself ($$$ for supplies up front, lower cost in long run, and some nice one on one time with you car). Or hire someone to do it for you who does good work. Products used are less important than technique. I would rather have some of the best detailers from Autopia detail my car with turtle wax and armorall than a hack with Swissvax...

Porsche paint isn't that soft...it's actually a little more on the hard side in my experience.

If you really want to do it yourself...go to autopia.org and go into the forums and kiss many hours delightfully goodbye

My product likes:
Zaino is a pretty easy system, but they are kind of weird about using orbitals.
I have been messing with Optimum products, and really really like them.
Griots: I went to their warehouse and did a demo with them. Decent stuff...way overpriced. Their sweet orbital can be bought at the hardware store for $75, and their sweet bucket is like $10 at the same hardware store..

Speaking of orbitals: I like the flex and the edge system of pads. Quick, easy, accurate changes.

 

My post was to teach non-experienced people how to properly wash a vehicle and remove swirl marks with basic detailing concepts. This can be accomplished by learning how to maintain a vehicle first, then be aware what causes swirl marks in the clear coat. Sort of a catch 22. Most detailers will tell you, Porsche paint is soft. I have been detailing cars (many) over 25 years. Detailing is not for everybody. It is time-consuming and requires some hands-on experience. That doesn't mean it's impossible to learn or a time wasting chore. Some people enjoy working on their vehicles and others not. Autopia.org is where the nations top auto detailers exchange experiences and help one another. IMO, it's not kissing many hours goodbye learning how to detail. Detailing is an art, hobby and profession. Like anything, one cannot become a jack of all trades without putting in some effort and learning. The original question was "how do I remove swirl marks."