WhichOnesTheGas

I already polished the car (twice in fact), it was purely by accident, i was recommended Color Magic (black) the one with the little chapstick to fill in chips. And seeing as how this is the first car i have had that i really cared about the apperance (my other car is a 13 year old jeep) i did not realize that i was using polish instead of wax [:@](feel free to insert "you are an idiot" comments here).Unfortunatley (wish i could spell) this has been a very long and hard learning curve on how to properly treat a vehicle such as this. I purchased the car used it's a 2005 gt, which means i don't know if the previous owner has polished a great deal or not and im pretty much terrified of doing anything else wrong here, or trashing my clearcoat. Which leads me to where i am now, pretty nasty, seemingly spontaneous swirl marks. I really want to do things right and make this car look like its brand new, but i dont have the funds nessecary to go the whole 10 yards, random orbital etc(yet). So my questions here

would it be wrong to use the polish again to clean up these swirl marks?
would glaze do the trick, if so which one?
is there a black wax i can use to help fill in swirls?
would someone be able to give me a process (prefferably with names of products). I really am new at this and im trying to learn everything i can (most importantly the right way). Also, just remember im broke lol! Thanks, im sure ill have more questions about this in the future, im drawing a blank and this is all i can think of right now! Thanks again.

Doommaker

What about trying scratchx, I hear it's not bad...But I've never used it so I'll wait for someone else to comment on that. Just a suggestion.

AJ06GT

You're not going to get a car new looking by hand. It's just not going to happen. If it did, you'd have to sit out there for days polishing and your arm would probably fall off before it was new. I've polished a car by hand before and it took a 3 day weekend and still certainly wasn't perfect. If you want to fix the swirls, save up the money and get the PC.

Glaze will not do it, becuase you have to think of polishes based on their granularity size and how much they will cut. A glaze really is the same thing as a polish, but VERY fine particles that will top off a job and bring shine. You could work glaze for ages and never get out swirls because it doesn't cut hard enough. You need to get a quality polish, and if the swirls are bad enough, two polish, and then do the job with a buffer. I use Menzerna PO83 and PO106ff with a Flex (like a PC on steroids). If you don't have the patience to do the work, then perhaps you can have someone detail it for you who has the experience to bring the paint back.

WhichOnesTheGas

Thanks for the reply guys.

AJ, what about my clearcoat? wont it get trashed from all that polish and stuff? I thought glaze was just a filler and you could add as much as you want.

Sxynerd

Variable speed buffer and go slow.... It's the only way.

AJ06GT

Well, that's where it depends. Polishing slowly grinds down your clear coat, but it's a lot thicker than you think. You can polish a car for years and years, and if done right, not go through the clear coat. If your swirls are exactly that, just swirls, then they'll buff out with polish easily because they are just on the surface. If they are deeper than that, then maybe you need it fixed by a body shop.

WhichOnesTheGas

so if i cant afford the buffer just yet, would doing it by hand be the second best option here? ( i dont even know if there are any other options.) i know i wont get that new car look, but at least make it decent till i can really sink some dollars and time into it?

Juztang

You are only going to be able to do very light correction by hand. Everything that AJ03SVT said was right on. I would invest in a PC, it is really worth the money and you can take your paint to a new level.

I also carry some good polishes that work good by hand, but like I said, you are only going to be able to do minimal correction by hand. Later on if you do decide to get the PC, I offer discounts for members here on that and on products and accessories.

WhichOnesTheGas

i appreciate that juztang!

i just want them fixed[:@]lol! ill do what i can right now by hand and save up for the pc.

should i just use the color magic with the little chapstick again, it seemed to get alot out the first time. does anyone know the abbrassive rating for color magic? more or less harsh? is there a good wax i can really layer ontop of that? i LOVE waxing my car so i really want a wax that will blend in nicely. Thanks!

Juztang

I wouldn't even use the Color Magic at all. As far as quality, it is down towards the lower end.

My OD Light Polish works great at removing light swirls and scratches plus it will bring out some nice reflection. Then you could top with my Wet Wax. If you wanted some extra depth and wetness you could throw my Wet Glaze into the mix. This combo is pretty popular on here.