Dealer Installed Swirl Option!

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Zingledot

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I found this site and this forum searching google for what to do about swirls on a new car. I must say, it is at least a little comforting to know that I'm not the only one who gets this feature on their vehicle.

I just bought a black 2013 miata, picked it up at night, and got it home fine. The next day I washed it and got a look in the sun and there was a HORRIBLE buff job on the entire vehicle. It was like a brillo pad was rubbed on the entire thing. I took it back and they buffed it out a bit, but it's still swirled in the right light and they say you can't buff much more without going into the pigmented paint so they wouldn't recommend doing it. And they wouldn't do anything else for me because... they're a dealership.

Anyway, I've essentially never done detailing work on a car, let alone restorative detailing. I don't have the tools, so in the short term, if I take it somewhere, what can they actually do to make it look beautiful, and what should I ask for and how much money should this cost, roughly?

Thanks!!!
 
Sounds like the dealership hacked you, but more importantly hacked your cars paint! I would be INFURIATED if I just bought a brand new car and the dealer left swirls, and then try to tell you they cant buff it further? How much paint did these clowns take off?

Anyhow the good news is with the right products, equipment and a little know how you can do this yourself. A starting point is to watch some of Mike Phillips videos online, buy yourself a nice Dual Action polisher and get to work. Theres many of us here that are willing to walk you through and guide you in the right direction if you need help.

As far as cost, its not too expensive. A nice DA will run you about $130-140, few pads, few polishes & waxes. I want to say maybe $300 +/-. Really depends on what you end up getting.
 
Swirls are to black paint as flies are to... well you get the idea. Anyways, look up how to clay bar your car to remove contaminates after a good wash and then how to properly tape off your tirmwork and unless you find something deeper, I would just try polishing and waxing it. I doubt, not promise or guarantee, it needs anything more aggressive cutting into the clearcoat.

Those little cars have fun suspension systems

Lucky Joe,
Wannabe Detailer

Sent from my HTC DNA
 
CM8 6MT said:
Sounds like the dealership hacked you, but more importantly hacked your cars paint! I would be INFURIATED if I just bought a brand new car and the dealer left swirls, and then try to tell you they cant buff it further? How much paint did these clowns take off?

Anyhow the good news is with the right products, equipment and a little know how you can do this yourself. A starting point is to watch some of Mike Phillips videos online, buy yourself a nice Dual Action polisher and get to work. Theres many of us here that are willing to walk you through and guide you in the right direction if you need help.

As far as cost, its not too expensive. A nice DA will run you about $130-140, few pads, few polishes & waxes. I want to say maybe $300 +/-. Really depends on what you end up getting.
Click to expand...

How's this kit from autogeek? Does it have everything I'll need other than the polishes and waxes?

Porter Cable 7424 Complete Starter Kit, Porter Cable 7424 buffer, Porter Cable power tools

The polisher itself is comparable to amazon price...
 
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Zingledot said:
How's this kit from autogeek? Does it have everything I'll need other than the polishes and waxes?

Porter Cable 7424 Complete Starter Kit, Porter Cable 7424 buffer, Porter Cable power tools

The polisher itself is comparable to amazon price...
Click to expand...

Yeah thats a very solid starter kit, I would recommend it especially now that AG has that sale going on. Your Mazda was manufactured by Ford, so expect a semi hard paint system. You wont know for sure until you do a test spot.
 
Zingledot said:
How's this kit from autogeek? Does it have everything I'll need other than the polishes and waxes?

Porter Cable 7424 Complete Starter Kit, Porter Cable 7424 buffer, Porter Cable power tools

The polisher itself is comparable to amazon price...
Click to expand...

That comes with all u need except the polish. U will want to use that white polish pad with some light polishing product. (Start with least aggressive to do the job). I like menzera 4600 or over the counter Meguiars ultimate polish. With that white pad. The finish with that blue pad and a good sealer any kind that is good will do like wolf gang deep gloss sealer 3.0.

I just did my 2013 Kia that was just like your car. Dealer looked like he rubbed brillo all over it. Very light though but easy to see on black.

I promise u if u do what I did.. (white pad megs ultimate polish.) The swirls will b gone and good thing about that pad and product is it finishes really nice.. if u do a spot and it don't remove it move up to megs ultimate compound with the same pad. Still leaves a GREAT finish.. once u decide to go on with polish or compound and finish the car. Then take off all the excees product with a mf.. then use your blue pad to apply sealer.. good as new I promise!

If u have to use megs compound instead of polish to have a even better finish u could apply polish with a gray or black pad after the white with compound then go on to sealer.
BUT ONLY IF U HAVE TO USE COMPOUND..
Hope this helps


Sent from my SCH-L710 using AG Online
 
^^^ Akj, nice reply but the member is completely new. I would suggest him going over some how-to videos by mike phillips, learning about products like Menzerna & Meguiar's, etc before he goes onto tackling this job.

Baby steps. More often then not, many people DIVE head first into the world of detailing, and end up spending more money than they needed, or simply dont learn the correct techniques.

Zingledot, I highly recommend any of Mike Phillips books, they have alot of information that will get you Up To Speed on what you will need to learn.

Good luck!
 
Welcome the Geek. And where are you located? Usually if someone near you sees where you are from they will gladly come to assist you with their equipment before you get too deep into buying stuff.you don't know how to use yet.
Before making a purchase review the related articles/videos on here. Remember their is no rush, those swirls aren't going anywhere.LOL ;)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AG Online
 
I'll offer this personal opinion as well, since she's your new baby, even if she'll be you're Daily Driver...

Do it all by hand the first time.

...you'll eventually get sucked in to getting a Dual Action buffer and using a machine, especially after you realize it can take up 30+ hours to do it by hand. However nothing will give you a better opportunity to familiarize yourself with every nook & cranny of the vehicle.

Also,there is a perfect video series regarding exactly your problem on YouTube that you can watch that should not only make your fill a little better but give you an invaluable step-by-step process of rectifying paint on a black car. And pay attention, because the stuff Mike says to the guys helping and not directly to the camera is just as valuable as what he covers intentionally.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpRhUzr0IY8]2012 Camaro Swirled Out MESS! - Fixed at Autogeek with Todd Helme and Mike Phillips - YouTube[/video]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhNZAXzGyR4]2012 Camaro Extreme Makeover - Remove Swirls Create Show Car Finish - YouTube[/video]
 
grr, I didn't realize the BBCode would automagically embed them. Click through so you can add them to your own playlists and watch them full screen...
 
ShaunD said:
Welcome the Geek. And where are you located? Usually if someone near you sees where you are from they will gladly come to assist you with their equipment before you get too deep into buying stuff.you don't know how to use yet.
Before making a purchase review the related articles/videos on here. Remember their is no rush, those swirls aren't going anywhere.LOL ;)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AG Online
Click to expand...

Salt Lake City
 
Their are several detailers out that way. At least I know their are a couple in Arizona and Nevada.
Either way, if they can help in person, that's great, otherwise we are all here to help. Still, stick to the plan of researching before purchasing, and practice before tackling a full paint correction.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using AG Online
 
Hello again and back with an update!

So after reading and reading I went for the DA kit I linked before and its pretty nice. For product I got the 9$ megs ultimate polish since you can't go wrong for 9$, and decided that I want to try opti-coat since it's my DD. I bought a clay bar as well. My free sample from the store was Wolfgang swirl remover.

So first I did my friend's car - the whole thing. It looks way better, but I did more reading/watching and my technique wasn't very good. It probably could have come out better had I used the proper techniques, but it was a good lesson.

So now on my car...I'm trying to get rid of swirls, fine lines and holograms.

I picked the trunk hood as my test panel since it's easy and smallish. First, the Megs on white or orange pads wasn't strong enough for correction and didn't seem to do much. So I switched to the swirl remover and orange pad (don't have a yellow) and it did better. The finer lines are gone, but there are some more stubborn ones that aren't going away and I've gone over the same spot a few times with the combination.

So I'm wondering where to go from here: do I get more aggressive on it, or hold back and get some improvement with swirl remover but avoid taking off the amount clearcoat it would take to remove some of the deeper lines? I don't want to do permanent damage, but I also want to get it as good as I can before I opti-coat.

Thoughts?!
 
I had the same problem with my new car. I tried UP and 205 on a white pad then an orange pad but still had a few fine lines. I ended up using ultimate compound with an orange pad and it worked perfect.

Sent from my SCH-L710 using AG Online
 
CM8 is giving you some solid advice. Take some time to learn a little bit. Welcome and be ready to become obsessed with this adventure.
 
Don't worry, those swirl can be remove without much hassle. But you'll have to spend a bit to get the right stuff to remove it. Follow those great posts up top and you'll be fine.
 
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