black car swirls!!

[Buxton2901]

Hi guys, new on the detailing front
had my first Audi for about 2 months now, its a A4 B8 2008 avant 2.7TDI in black

after washing i have been using a drying cloth and seems i have caused surface swirls and fine scrathes,
very noticable on the bonnet.

whats the easiest and cheapest way of getting a nice scracth free finish please?

T Cut? and then a polish or wax?
im pretty clueless tbh

thanks guys for any advise
Paul

 

[steeve]

Oh my, if you have T cut then put it in the bin, it's far too aggressive. Ideally it should only be used for inter coat rub downs.

Meguiars do something called swirl X, its very mild and works well. Alternatively get a detailer in.

Two months and have swirls? Sadly your not washing your car as well as you should. It depends on if you're prepared to put the time in to doing a thorough clean to avoid them?

The key is in trying to non mechanically remove as much dirt, dust and grit from your car before you touch it with anything.

Like a good quality snow foam application will remove much of it, then a rinse with a pressure washer, use two bucket method etc etc. Its all on here some where or look at detailing world.

If you need the whole suggested routine let us know.

One last item do not use polish in normal circumstances as they are abrasive. That's why they are called polish.

 

[lee_fr200]

Please don't use t cut

Only way to remove swirls is by machine polishing and taking the top layer off

Wash the car with usual 2bm remove all tar and iron fallout clay the vehicle,

Then using a machine polisher with meguires 205 and 105 you should be able to completely remove the swirls afterwards use a nice wax or sealant to protect

 

[nickatkinson]

Alternatively you can fill the swirls using a polish such as Autoglym SRP and then seal and wax. This will not remove the swirls but it will mask them and make it look much better. Worth a try as its a safe and cheap method to try out and if you are not happy, buy a DA polisher and practise on an old car, old panels or do a lot of reading up before you start using it.

 

[steeve]

In my humble opinion I agree with Lee. You need to remove the swirls, sounds as though they are swirls and not scratches, they are likely to be in the lacquer and should be easy to remove.

 

[Buxton2901]

So I went shopping today bought everything in the pic.
Didn't have time to give it a go today so maybe next week. I'm hoping for good results. Also ordered swirl x

Any tips on which cloths to use for applying and buffing the polish/wax???

 

[cmdllbA4]

I used a snow foam pre-wash (as the main wash where possible) meaning as little as possible actual contact with the surface.

If I have to wash, then I use the pre-wash snow foam then two bucket method.

My car has been treated with GuardX so doesn't - at this stage- require much in the way of contact cleaning.

Here are some videos of the snow foam in action (although I'd recommend a better product- ChemicalGuys Honeydew looks good but I haven't tried it yet) followed by GuardX Conserver.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLggwzEmFfbH3wiWMXcNkL1kswFBXK3MwP

 

[Hanny]

Problem is that you are using a cloth that spread dirt/particles across your paint work, over time these show up as swirls. I have in the past use Mequires Swirl X by had and depending on how bad the swirls are it does make an improvement - however to completely remove you will probably need to have swirl removal/paint correction done by a machine - the only question is do you pay someone to do it (Detailing/Paint Correction) or do you do it your self - both have their Pro's, Con's and of course price.
I personally would first concentrate on how you are cleaning the car which is the cause of the swirls and change to a method that helps against it - so regardless you (1) don’t make it any worse, (2) wont undo any correction that you may do or pay for.

1. First of all make sure you try to remove as much surface dirt as possible - hose pipe/power washer etc.
2. This is a choice/decision you need to make but you can apply 'Snow Foam' but you will need to purchase a snow foam lance/gun depending if you are using a pressure washer or hose pipe.
3. Get/buy x2 buckets, 1 is for rinsing the other will have the shampoo in
4. Ideally two wash mits, one for all lower sections and boot of the car, the other for higher sides, bonnet and roof.
5. Place mits into shampoo bucket - use on the sections (point 4 above) and then rinse in the rinsing bucket (foreign particles, dirt etc falls off in this bucket and not in your shampoo bucket) then place into the shampoo bucket and back to washing the car - continue until finished.
6. Rinse off the car
7. Dry the car patting not rubbing - strongly advise not to use a leather shammy - being a black car I would also advise not to leave it in the sun to dry as the water will leave marks.

Hope this is of help - a bit extreme but it will help against swirls - if your interested it going the full OCD way see this post - http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/non-audi-owner-detailing-advice.242007/
Please note that this is based on personal experience and by no means is it meant as a ‘end all – be all’ type post – it has worked for me and I bow to any professional detailers that will have better/other methods and/or experience(s).

 

[MartyA4]

If your swirls aren't that deep and you don't want to put in as much effort I would recommend Poorboys world black hole. It will fill lights scratches and swirls and leaves s nice glaze finish

 

[Bandicoot51]

A hella swirly TT before and after one pass with the tape separating, camera didnt want to focus but after many pics this is the clearest, un-edited of course.

Bit better i think