hey i am about to detail my black car, i have minor swirls in the paint and some minor scratches. i have a claybar and paint cleaner, will a polish do the same thing as a swirl remover? i have scratch X but it dosent seem to do too much, what would you suggest? try the scratchX over the entire car or what

 

"Polish" and "Swirl Removers" are typically very similar products... knowing the brand of the product would be helpful, as what one company calls a polish might not be what another company calls a polish -- but most importantly, is it the product you need for a particular task.

Knowing what "minor swirls" are and how they got there would be helpful. Swirls caused by improper use of a machine could be a real problem. If you have common spiderwebbing from improper washing and/or drying, those are easier to address.

If you have access to a high-end consumer machine (defnintely not the $20 jobs) or a commercial-quality Porter-Cable, try a polish (I like Mothers Power Polish and a good pad) to remove the swirls and scratches.

If you plan on doing it by hand, I'd perhaps go this method: use a scratch remover in varying directions to help work-out the deep scratches. Then over the whole car, do the clay, pre-wax cleaner (probably the cleaner you have is fine), sealer & glaze (this step helps to fill and hide those light defects), and then pure carnauba (to protect). Again, I like the Mothers... what they call their 3-step Ultimate Wax System, though you usually get the products separately. Next time you only need to do one or two steps; the full-on treatment should only need to be done once or twice a year.

Though you may be able to get satisfactory results with a cleaner wax product or perhaps skipping a step or two. You've got to "rejuvenate" a little and it should be easier to maintain in the future.

Another alternative.... I've seen a black show car with the Mothers Sealer & Glaze (which will help with spiderwebbing) followed by their Reflections Car Wax (which has mild cleaners and a nice synthetic) -- incredible results. But you'll still need to do something about those larger scratches -- if they're too deep, you may have to live with them.

There are some write-ups at http://www.detailguide.com that you might find helpful.