Last week I brought my truck to a detailer that my dealer recommended to get some scratches I was fighting with buffed out.(I figured someone who makes a living at detailing might do better then me) Well..that was kind of a mistake on my part and now I've been left with a swirly looking paint nightmare. I'll try and get some pics once the sun shines again and I can really see the swirl. My plan to deal with it is to pick up a PC, practice on a test vehicle since I have no experience with a PC, then try my truck. I also need to restock my collection of detailing supplies I'm running low on everything. Any suggestions on what I should pick up to fix the swirl would be great. Would Meguiars Crystal 3 Step Process applied with a PC do the trick? I do have enough of the 3 step to go over my truck a couple of times. I'll try and get those pics..I'm not really sure if they put a bunch of swirl in it, or if its buffer marks, but it really shows in sunlight. Any help would be great.

 

I would look into the Poorboys line that RollingRock has been ranting about. I think the main stuff your lookin for is the SSR3.....He'll be here soon. And all these years I thought jesus was a carpenter... BS that A##hole lives in TX and details more cars in a week than I have in a lifetime

 

Hmmmm SSR 3 may be a bit too powerful for swirls, unless they are really bad. I think SSR 2.5 or 2 would cut it. Email me, and I will send you the sticky. It sounds like you would benefit from having it.

ANYBODY THAT WANTS THE STICKY-- EMAIL ME, AND I WILL SEND IT TO YOU.

 

I'm thinking I might just roll the dice again and try another detail shop. I've heard good things about company called Ziebart, and they have several locations all accross Canada, so I'm hoping they can fix this. I looked at it a bit more and I think it might be over my head. I'm so angry about this..How can somebody own a detailing company yet be such a hack.

 

I guess it depends on how you think the money will be best spent for you. It would probably cost a little more to get PC and some chemicals to use with it but it's something you can keep using for a long time, and with a dark color like you have it'll keep your truck looking sharp of you're willing to spend the time using it. On the other hand taking it to someone who *can* remove the holograms will be quick and easy for you. Also don't worry about screwing up paint with a PC, about the only way you could do that would be to throw it at you paint!

 

Long term, the best and cheapest method would be to learn to take care of the paint yourself ..

There is no reason to be afraid of the PC, and you could fell comfortable using it for the first time on your truck, as long as you do some reading first, so you understand the basic principles.

without seeing you truck, it is hard to tell .. but it might be to the point that a rotary would be needed to get the paint all the way back to where you want it .. but a PC will make a very noticable difference.

My recommendation woudl be to pick up a PC and do it yourself ..

without seeing it .. I would say:

Wash
Clay
#80 with a 8006 pad probably a couple of passes.
#9 with a 8006 pad
#21
#26

that plan might not remove all the swirls and holograms (depending on how bad they are), but it make a huge difference in them ..


another avenue would be to ask around and get first hand word of mouth recomendations from someone you trust on who to fix it ..

If you take it to another shop, ask to see some of their work, and make sure you are happy with them.

As long as you follow common sense, and the basic recommendation you will find about processes etc, all you have to lose is a little $$.

 

LOL, good post.

To 07HD,

What Gip said...need to see some photos. Again no worries on the DA, I was the same as you didn't want to try it on mine but after a lot of reading, I was ready and there's nothing too it.

As for SSR3, its not too aggressive unless you lean on the DA set on 6 and not move it for 5 min...you would burn through the clear for sure.

I just arrived home from AR and worked on my mother's car...I only used SSR2 and it worked great. Think of SSR3 as more of a heavy duty compund like Optium Super Compound. You can run it on DA speed 6 for short bursts....the trick on dark color cars using SSR3 is that it will dull the finish...so you want to go over what you just did with SSR 2 or even SSR1 then follow with a pure polish then seal or wax or both.

I would love to see the photos...can you find a way to do that before go off and spend more money on potentially another bad detail job?

Oh one more thing...Megs 80 would be great for this, it will just take more time to polish out marring. I have yet to use #80 with a Red Cut pad. That said, I was also recently told that Megs doesn't recommend using their Red Cut pad on a DA. Go figure. Works for me.

 

I took some pictures, but the problem areas don't seem to appear in the picture. Money isn't a factor, I can afford to do both. Maybe I'll have a professional fix my paint, then I'll maintain it with the PC. I'll search up what some of you guys are using for a routine with a PC on here and just do similar. If you guys say I won't damage my paint with it, I'll trust that. What it looks like is that whatever buffer he used swirled my paint everywere it went, and when the sun hits it you can see a bunch of Arcs in the shape of maybe half the buffing wheel that look kind of hazy like if you were to have left over product. But once the sun isn't directly on it, then it looks fine. Thanks guys

 

Man that sux. Black is a bitch to work with too. You should talk to some other detail shops for their opinion. I'm sure when you explain what happened they will understand that they better be able to get it right or just tell you upfront that they can't do it.

 

Yeah, its a real shame cause I had the truck almost swirl free till I took it in to get detailed. I just hope a real detail shop can fix it. I'm going tomorrow to see Ziebart, I think they are my best bet.

 

I'm going to try not to bash the Z guys, but I hope they're better north of the border than they are where I live. Around here, they are no better than the guys who messed your truck up in the first place. Detailing is a very strange business. It seems like anybody who can wash a car and throw on a coat of Turtle Wax is suddenly a detailer. As I think you've already found out, that's not the case.

If I could put in my 2 cents, I'd suggest that the best detailers I know don't work for big outfits - or dealers. Most of those big boys are interested in one thing - running as many cars through the shop as possible in the least amount of time. Believe it or not, that type of work makes 80-90% of the population happy. Looks like you're one of us - the small percentage that actually can tell the difference. I'd stay away from the buffer bozos and attack the problem your self with a PC - while there's still enough paint left on your truck to play with.

 

I see were your coming from. Last time I went with a smaller shop and got burnt. So hopefully this time around I am better off. I have no experience with a PC so I feel like I would only make the situation worse, or not be able to improve it enough to fix the problem. I'll give these guys a try, but watch them very carefully. With any luck my truck will come out in better shape then it went in. But once its fixed I am never handing it over to a detail shop again.