Swirls

[Boothy]

Having looked at the amazing work by Jay on the S4 I've realized my car could look even more shiny and has more swirl marks than I first thought! £650 is a bit out of my range though and I was wondering if there's a poor man's option out there. Has anyone had any experience trying to remove swirl marks with out spending a bomb that can recommend a product? I realise its never gonna look as good as going the full hog but there must be something out there than can reduce the swirls.

[stealthwolf]

Depends on how much you wanna spend. Jay charges a lot but the quality of work is fantastic. There are other detailers around that'll be a bit cheaper, so you can always look around.

Alternatively, Autoglym super resin polish has fillers in it that mask the swirls and is a much cheaper option, but does need reapplying regularly.

[JPC]

Hi mate, I don't want to openly advertise, but it doesn't have to cost the earth to reduce the amount of swirls. For a  correction like on the s4 on a mk5 it's not going to cost 650. But that's a full on job. You can obviously go with more of an enhancement detail which makes significant inroads into the swirls. It gets rid of a lot of the marks but you will notice deeper marks. It will round the edges of these marks which makes them much less obvious. That will be much more affordable.
  

[JPC]

Depends on how much you wanna spend. Jay charges a lot but the quality of work is fantastic. There are other detailers around that'll be a bit cheaper, so you can always look around.

Alternatively, Autoglym super resin polish has fillers in it that mask the swirls and is a much cheaper option, but does need reapplying regularly.

I can whole heartedly say I am probably one of the cheapest premium detailers about at the moment. I recognise I'm relatively new ( not new to detailing, but to running a detailing shop) so I don't take the piss with charging customers. There's not a huge amount of money in it for how labour intensive it is! ;)

[Boothy]

To be honest £650 ish is well worth the coin for such a big improvement but alas its out of my range. I'm way over in Leeds so I might have a look and see if someone will give me quote for reducing the swirls locally. What about the Meguirs scratch X thing? Anyone used that before?

[JPC]

Honestly get a pro to do it mate, around 300 should see you right. All you have to do then is keep it clean then. Scratch x will put it's own marks in.

[Boothy]

Cheers mate. Might have to get on to the wife about Santa bringing me the £300 ! ! Here's hoping

[keith]

Yep Scratch X is pants.

You could buy yourself a DA polisher some products and DIY.

[JPC]

Yep Scratch X is pants.

You could buy yourself a DA polisher some products and DIY.

.

Trouble is, you can easily spend 300 on products and polisher but you'll probably get a finish half as good as a pro would get.

[stealthwolf]

Trouble is, you can easily spend 300 on products and polisher but you'll probably get a finish half as good as a pro would get.

+1. I reckon I've spent close to £400 on detailing products (£200 on a DA). I've had some good finishes, some crap finishes and a lot of 'ruined' clothing (stained by products etc). If you have the patience, time, space, energy and money, by all means go ahead - you will love your car that much more as you caress every curve and panel whilst detailing!

I tend to get fed up by the time I've started to wax the car, so things like trim and windows get missed.

[keith]

Yep Scratch X is pants.

You could buy yourself a DA polisher some products and DIY.

.

Trouble is, you can easily spend 300 on products and polisher but you'll probably get a finish half as good as a pro would get.

Practise makes perfect lol.
The big thing up my way at the moment is that now the winter months are coming in some detailers who have a little more time on their hands they do detailing mini courses 1-2-1 or upto 3 per group split into machine polishing for a day and a day detailing where the guys use old panels then end up on their own cars, looks quite good.

[Boothy]

Practise makes perfect lol.
The big thing up my way at the moment is that now the winter months are coming in some detailers who have a little more time on their hands they do detailing mini courses 1-2-1 or upto 3 per group split into machine polishing for a day and a day detailing where the guys use old panels then end up on their own cars, looks quite good.
[/quote]

I wouldn't trust myself to do it. I'd probably end up taking it back to the primer or something stupid! The courses sound interesting though, especially working shifts as would give me something to do. Do you know who does them and where etc?

[stealthwolf]

I wouldn't trust myself to do it. I'd probably end up taking it back to the primer or something stupid!

Honestly mate, it's not hard or difficult. When I first had a DA polisher in my hands, I was worried I'd mar the paintwork or something. I had never practised on a panel or anything beforehand but I used a finishing pad and a very light cut polish (menzerna final finish) and got a fantastic result. All the swirls went.

The only problem I have is it takes frikkin ages to work the polish properly and it's quite tempting to cut corners. Consequently, the whole detail takes ages!

[john_o]

my 2p

I love car detailing (as a keen amateur) and have previously done it all myself, but this year decided I would enlist the services of a pro (JPC).

Initially it does appear to be a relatively large outlay (but compare it to tuning parts and it isnt....) for paintwork.
Thats the misconception.

If you have the time , then by all means learn from the pros and buy the right kit and DIY
but this will cost you a reasonable outlay. If you will stick at it and have the patience to learn the right way to do things , then go this way 

But as we all know time is limited , and the days of having 2-3 days free to clean a car just never happens when you have wife/kids/dogs/houses/jobs... insert selfish other tasks here  to look after......

Yes I want to do it myself , but no I just dont have the time.
I can only confirm that my car was well looked after and came back like glass 
Using the correct washing procedure I have only washed it and lightly detailed it to keep it looking fresh.
No more than 2 hrs tops and its back to gleaming.....
hassle free gorgeous car everytime , and its now > 6 months later 

its a balance but you pay professionals to look after your engine / add mods , so i dont see why the same principal doesnt apply to car detailing.
Yes you can DIY , but ultimately a well known and trusted professional will be able to do create a better finish , that lasts longer, in less time using the correct finishes for your specific car 

for me this is Miglior Detailing aka 'JPC' due to location and he's someone from the forum I can trust.
based on location though this can apply to your local 'trusted' detailing professional.

this was not intended to be a advert , but a comparison of DIY vs Professional detailing 

[CarrG]

Get yourself over to Detailing World and ask for some help. I'm sure local boys who are competent would help for some beer tokens or similar. There are afew of us local in my area that always help each other out. I'd do it for you if i was in your area.