Ever since my car was painted I always thought the fine swirls left behind was unacceptable, I think the paint shop did a great job but I feel it just needed a bit more attention for perfection. I first noticed it when I got it home on the trailer (in pieces) as the sun shone brightly on the car highlighting very fine swirls.

 

Before the NEC show last year it was my intention to get a professional paint correction carried out on the car but never found the time to organise it. Ever since it was painted, I have been using improper "restricted water washing" techniques or even worse "waterless washing" which has compounded these fine swirls.

 

The paint still looks amazing and with a filler glaze/wax coating, most of them are barely visible but I've still been eager to rectify the damage, protect it and maintain the shine with better techniques. I discovered a range of video tutorials on YouTube by a very entertaining character known as the Junkman and I am now converted!

 

Most importantly, to this thread is his novice guide to machine polishing series which is what I'm going to attempt. I've always been wary of this and usually leave it to the pros but as a full correction now costs upwards of £500 and the Junkman tuition is so good, I'm confident that over a period of several weeks, I can finally get the perfect glass finish that I envisaged at the start (AND KEEP IT THAT WAY!)

 

I have added this little lot to my detailing arsenal to help me along the way following lots of advice and research. I got the car out of the garage today, mainly to give the garage a good clean out to give me room to do the polishing inside and to give the Z a proper wash. It hasn't been properly washed for a while, it had a quick lick at Japfest and got covered in flies on the way home. Whilst it was out in the sun I managed to capture the swirls on the camera to show what I'm working with. I took them before I washed the car so there are a few other marks/spots but you can clearly see the swirl damage, the pictures are of the bootlid from various distances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not using any type of paint depth/thickness gauge as I'm working on the assumption that the clear coat is thick enough to allow the damage to be removed, if it isn't, then that area will have to be repainted.

Edited May 12, 20169 yr by Joely P
Spelling!

Junkman is a great tutor. You won't go far wrong if you follow his advice. Das6 Pro is a great introduction to machine polishing. Look forward to following your progress. I got quite heavily into detailing a few years ago and I too followed his tutorials.

Keep us updated Joel.

I learned loads from his videos a while back.

 

Those marks should be easy to sort with a light polish and polishing pad most likely, although you may need something stronger, that's the beauty with detailing, every car and every paint is different.

 

I didn't like the Meguairs polishes, mostly use Menzerna stuff now which is excellent for me.

 

One thing to remember from the Junkman is to never try and correct a large area until you are 100% happy with your work on a small area.

 

What do you plan to use for protection once it's sorted?

Yeah, I'll perfect part of the bonnet before I move on. I plan to start with the M205 and a white pad as the swirls are quite fine, if they need more, I'll break out the 105 and the orange pad [emoji106]

 

My main concern for protection is proper washing techniques, but I do have some AG EGP and HD wax which seem to perform as good as any? I have been using the EGP first and a layer of HD wax on top.

 

I shall keep the thread updated with the results Daffy. The first section I tackle, I will mask of to get a clear definition of corrected and damaged which I can hopefully catch on camera.

Meguiars is a safe choice for most colour/paint types there retail Ultimate compound is an excellent quick correction product, but the 205 is a light cut polish so may be to soft with a white pad, but the right way to start.

 

Nissan paint is soft so I wouldn't use Menzerna products as a general rule, they are excellent products but I tend to use these on the Germanic brands and some other European models, that said the 3800 is a great light correction/gloss product.

 

Remember the art of good correction is in the preparation, get the car as clean and decontaminated (iron/Tar/clay) as possible ideally using two buckets with grit guards to prevent any contaminate coming back onto the paint and use a good quality wash mitt (I would use the microfibers for wheels) Use that nice thick towel for drying, but then you already know that, Lol!

 

Tip: If you drop a microfibre, Bin it! or if you think it will recover wash it in non bio (no softener) and sue it for engine bays door shuts in the future.

 

As far as the DA is concerned, its' a good popular model and will allow you to correct, polish and wax without any real chance of doing any damage, and as the tutorials go small areas and take your time. Its' very satisfying.

 

Good Luck! I look forward to seeing the results.

It's addictive Joel, I have spent many, many weekends detailing my cars (obviously not the zed, as she needs a re-spray)

Lots of useful advice/ FAQS on detailing world.co.uk as well

I actually find drying puts more swirls in than washing to be honest mate.

 

From those pics, they look like really fine swirls, so you I would guess you won't need a cutting compound to get rid of those at all. A straight polishing compound should clear those up no problems. Just take your time and make sure your properly prime your polishing pads

You don't want a polishing compound without any cut in it, or the swirls wont be removed, there's plenty of polishes that have fillers in but that defeats the object.

The Megs 205 is a good starting point and will probably do the job. give the paint a clean (isopropanol) after polishing and add the HD Wax you already have, you could add the Power maxed Summer Coat which offers an excellent sealant over the whole car.

 

If your drying the car with a towel you can pat it dry as an alternative, or if your using filtered water it will dry without water spotting (depending if your in a hard water area), I've never had an issue with towel drying, but then they are washed and bag sealed after every use, as I've said previously it is in the wash process that conditions the paint for polishing and as you are correcting it doesn't matter if you add a few additional swirls.

Ever since my car was painted I always thought the fine swirls left behind was unacceptable, I think the paint shop did a great job but I feel it just needed a bit more attention for perfection. I first noticed it when I got it home on the trailer (in pieces) as the sun shone brightly on the car highlighting very fine swirls.

 

Before the NEC show last year it was my intention to get a professional paint correction carried out on the car but never found the time to organise it. Ever since it was painted, I have been using improper "restricted water washing" techniques or even worse "waterless washing" which has compounded these fine swirls.

 

The paint still looks amazing and with a filler glaze/wax coating, most of them are barely visible but I've still been eager to rectify the damage, protect it and maintain the shine with better techniques. I discovered a range of video tutorials on YouTube by a very entertaining character known as the Junkman and I am now converted!

 

Most importantly, to this thread is his novice guide to machine polishing series which is what I'm going to attempt. I've always been wary of this and usually leave it to the pros but as a full correction now costs upwards of £500 and the Junkman tuition is so good, I'm confident that over a period of several weeks, I can finally get the perfect glass finish that I envisaged at the start (AND KEEP IT THAT WAY!)

 

I have added this little lot to my detailing arsenal to help me along the way following lots of advice and research. I got the car out of the garage today, mainly to give the garage a good clean out to give me room to do the polishing inside and to give the Z a proper wash. It hasn't been properly washed for a while, it had a quick lick at Japfest and got covered in flies on the way home. Whilst it was out in the sun I managed to capture the swirls on the camera to show what I'm working with. I took them before I washed the car so there are a few other marks/spots but you can clearly see the swirl damage, the pictures are of the bootlid from various distances.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not using any type of paint depth/thickness gauge as I'm working on the assumption that the clear coat is thick enough to allow the damage to be removed, if it isn't, then that area will have to be repainted.

 

Any chance of adding the links to Junkmans tutorials buddy

Looking forward to your updates JP. I am getting a few bits painted then the Z will get a good polish.

Looking forward to seeing the results on one of my favourite cars on the forum! :)

Looking forward to seeing your results as I have never rated Megs stuff.

I've always went with Menzerna and Lake Country pads.

 

Followed that with a decent glaze (poorboys black hole) and then topped with Natty's Blue Wax (or Dodo Juice Supernatural).

 

Get some Nanolex trim rejuvenator for your black plastic trim. Brilliant stuff.

Blower drying is becoming a big thing in the bike world...i used to use the flash wash system with the filter hand gun but the filters went out of production so that ended..I found a guy on ebay who had nearly 1000 of them in his lock-up and i bought the lot,i made a fortune re-selling they were that good of a system for washing the car without drying spots.

Blower drying is becoming a big thing in the bike world...i used to use the flash wash system with the filter hand gun but the filters went out of production so that ended..I found a guy on ebay who had nearly 1000 of them in his lock-up and i bought the lot,i made a fortune re-selling they were that good of a system for washing the car without drying spots.

 

I will be using a leaf blower to dry the car from now on with very little to no contact during drying. One day I might invest in an air force master blaster!

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll keep you all updated on how it goes using the Junkmans techniques.

Any chance of adding the links to Junkmans tutorials buddy

 

Here is a link to some key guides on his YouTube account. They're all worth a watch, he is some character and a very good teacher.

 

Edited May 14, 20169 yr by Joely P

Looking forward to seeing your results as I have never rated Megs stuff.

I've always went with Menzerna and Lake Country pads.

 

Followed that with a decent glaze (poorboys black hole) and then topped with Natty's Blue Wax (or Dodo Juice Supernatural).

 

Get some Nanolex trim rejuvenator for your black plastic trim. Brilliant stuff.

 

Same here!

 

Menzerna and Lake Country, seems to fit my style well, soft, medium, hard, sticky paint, doesn't matter, I've found I can use Menzerna to sort them all easily.

 

The Nanolex is great as well :)

"Technique trumps product, 24/7 - 365"!". My little Junkman plug there!

Edited May 13, 20169 yr by Joely P

I will be using a leaf blower to dry the car from now on with very little to no contact during drying. One day I might invest in an air force master blaster!

 

Dont use a petrol type iff your serious..they spit very small amounts of oil (2 stroke) out the exhaust and onto the car. Dont ask me how i know:blush:

Don't bother with a leaf blower, to bulky and no attachments. Air force blowers are the go to brand for those that like the labels, however you can get pet dryers that are far cheaper and work just as well.

Dont use a petrol type iff your serious..they spit very small amounts of oil (2 stroke) out the exhaust and onto the car. Dont ask me how i know:blush:

 

Haha, the Junkman advised exactly the same thing. I've had a good look tonight and I think I might go for a pet dryer rather than a leaf blower. They seem to have almost identical motors although the pet dryer will be easier to use I think. This one on Amazon looks ok although I th I most of them are made in the same factory:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ENXRKSK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wrKnxb92PRNJ9

 

There's also this dual motor jobbie which seems to have a similar spec as the master blaster for a 1/3rd of the price:

Double motor pet dog dryer https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B018ETCJEI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_QpKnxbEM3D3HF

Don't bother with a leaf blower, to bulky and no attachments. Air force blowers are the go to brand for those that like the labels, however you can get pet dryers that are far cheaper and work just as well.

 

Spooky, I must've just been typing my previous post as you typed that! Have you any experience with either of the above or any other?

I've used the air force side kick for blowing out trapped water in the "dribble" areas I.e. Wing mirrors and door shuts etc. But bought a pet dryer which provides even better output which allows it to be used for whole car drying, but with the attachments allows me to dry down engine bays etc. I don't allways use it, but it's good to have it in the arsenal for detailing jobs.

I think I might go for a pet dryer rather than a leaf blower

 

You'd better get Oscar's permission first!

You'd better get Oscar's permission first!

 

I'll let Oscar upgrade from his old towel to a deep pile microfibre drying towel, he won't mind!

give the paint a clean (isopropanol) after polishing and add the HD Wax you already have, you could add the Power maxed Summer Coat which offers an excellent sealant over the whole car.

 

What uses do you have for IPA? What does it do differently to the likes of an APC like G101? Do you clean the paint with neat IPA or a dilution? Would you recommend using a wax and a sealant on top of each other?