bradzpony

Hi everyone. I have had my '06 GT since mid-August. Within the first couple of weeks I put a coat of Meguiar's Gold Class on it. In November I washed with Dawn and put a couple of coats of Zaino on it.
Never again on the Zaino, but that is another topic.
Anyway, in the garage lighting I can see slight swirl marks from certain angles.
Is there a way to correct this, or do most products just do a 'cover up'?

Thanks.

NickSezz

A good car polish and wax should do the job. When drying the car, instead of using a regular old rag, it is a good idea to use a shammy. They don't leave marks as easily. Some people recommend claybaring the car before the polish and wax.

acrokat

I use the Mr Clean Autodry. So my car never gets touched with any kind of cloth to dry the car.

Dont know how good the Mr Clean is on the wax coating tho.

Stone

There are some good towels out there for dry time and use a micro fiber towel for wiping up after a wax or polish you can get them at the auto store.

Gone2

I've used this with good results. Walmart has it but not in their wax section. It's in the auto touch-up paint section.

3M Perfect-It for Dark paint.

http://classic-motoring.stores.yahoo...erswirmar.html

Stickman81

Is the entire car swirled or just certain areas?

You can correct minor defects with a random orbital (or rotary) machine and proper products.
Correction to an entire car by hand will take LOTS of time andwill probably not yield the results which you seek and in the end will be futile.
You can have someone correct it for you.

Most correction products are designed to work with a machine using heat from the pad surface to break down the abrasive products.
Any other OTC products will only hide, or, make them less noticable.

Sorry you had bad luck with Zaino. Personally that is one of my favorites.

The garage lighting, especially if florescent lighting, will really amplify the defects.

Also, consider revisiting your wash techniques.
Here are a couple of examples. There are certainly more available.

How to wash your car from Autopia.

How to wash your car from Detail City.

davisr014

Acrokat, are you using the Auto dry per the instructions? I got it for christmas and tried it with no luck wound up doing it the old fashoin way.

I use the the absorber and my air compressor.
For wax I have used the black magic but switched to NXT.

sowaxeman

Swirls are caused by your wash methods. Unless you are very particular and carefull when washing and drying, they are a fact of life. The only way to get rid of them is to use a good random orbital polisher with the appropriate pads & polish combos. Its usually a 2 step process, 3 if it is scrached up good. Hit up Juzstang at Obsessive Detail for all the details on how to do it.

Bottom line is you have to wash with care - especially BLACK. Use a CLEAN wash mit and a good car wash soap product (not Dish Detergent IMO), and ONLY use it on your baby, don't let your wife use it on her daily driver Rinse VERY good, and use a good clean waffle towel (or shammy) to dry initially. Then use a good clean mico-fiber for the final dry, and even use it to apply a thin coat of spray detail to take out any water streaks. THEN when you are done wipe down your door/trunk/hood jams and wipe off your wheels - but ONLY do all of this when you are done wiping down the paint. Never use anything on your paint (mit, waffle, micro fiber) that is dirty as that is the main cause of swirl marks.

When you are all done, put the mit and any micor fibers in the washer and wash/dry them separate with NOTHING else. While all of this seems overly **** and time consuming (it really isn't) it is the method I have used on my S-281 for nearly 2 years and I have YET to have to clay or polish my finish - it is still showroom swirl-free

And while your are at it, if you use a car cover you need to keep the underside CLEAN. Don't wad it up and throw it on the ground or in the trunk. Roll it up nice and even and put it in a strage bag.

All these simple "ounces of prevention" will go a long way in protecting your finish.

PROMETHEUS PRIME

Is that DAWN the dishsoap, because from what I can remember dish soap is the worst thing to use on a car.

Gone2

It's bad because it removes your wax. Its good if that is what your trying to accomplish. I think that the "pre-wash" soap at the spray car wash is harsher than Dawn.