Here's something I wrote in 2005 on working by hand using ScratchX (which started out as a product to use by hand only)
The basic concepts still hold true today and work with any compound, polish or cleaner/wax that uses great abrasive technology.
How To Remove Swirls By Hand
The below write-up was taken from page three of this Saturday Detailing Class at Meguiar's where approximately 25 people witnessed the products shown below, applied and removed using the correct techniques to remove the gross rotary buffer swirls and restore a swirl free finish by hand.
San Diego Mercedes-Benz club at Meguiar's!
After selecting two Mercedes-Benz automobiles to work on, one being Tom's, we broke for a pizza lunch. After everyone had their fill of pizza and something cold to drink, it was time to re-gather in Meguiar's Garage to see what we could do with the gross swirls in Tom's recently painted hood.
Often times when the topic of removing swirls is being discussed on our discussion forum, or some other detailing forum, it centers around the dual action polisher, foam buffing pads and somebody's compound or polish. Yet many people don't own a dual action polisher. So here at Meguiar's Garage, we like to show people how to use the what they already own...
their hands!
Like most detailing enthusiasts, I personally love a challenge, and with Tom's car, I believe most people would agree, his car's finish presents a challenge!
BEFORE - 700 Pixel-wide cropped out section from an un-touched, original photo of rotary buffer swirls in a clear coat finish.
Using some painters tape, we taped-off a section of the hood to separate the before and after results. Then, we applied three, well worked in applications of Meguiar's
ScratchX all applied by hand using Meguiar's
High-Tech Applicator Pad
The secret to removing swirls by hand using Meguiar's ScratchX is all in your
technique.
You see in order to remove swirls out of your car's finish, you need to remove a little bit of paint. If we we're to look at a horizontal view of what gross rotary buffer swirls look like
in the paint, it would look something like the diagram below. In order to remove these
below surface defects, (swirls), you need to remove enough paint from the finish to level the upper surface with the lowest depths of the swirls until you've restored the finish to a flat, level surface.
To do this by hand with ScratchX, you need to,
1: Apply to a small section at a time.
2: First spread the ScratchX evenly over the area you're going to work (before working it in).
3: Work the microscopic diminishing abrasives
against the finish applying a little
passion behind the applicator pad.
4: Repeat this process with multiple applications after first removing the residue from each application after working it against the finish
Remember that Meguiar's paint cleaners, like ScratchX do
not need to dry before removing. Drying adds no benefit. The only Meguiar's paint products that need to dry before removing are Meguiar's waxes.
Technique Tip
The question is often asked,
"Which direction should I move my hand when applying a Meguiar's paint cleaner?"
A common mis-conception, often espoused on other discussion forums, or by some car care product manufactures, is the technique of only rubbing a product in a certain direction to keep all of your scratches going in the same direction.
Meguiar's teaches that if the products you're using are non-abrasive, that is they are
not instilling scratches into the finish, as such,
it shouldn't matter which direction you move your hand!
If the products you're using are inflicting scratches into your car's finish, the correct thing to do is to
stop using the product! Don't try to camouflage the scratches to your eyes by instilling them in straight-lines as determined by the movement of your hand.
ScratchX can be applied using straight-lines or circular motion and for this particular demonstration we used a combination of both.
Removing ScratchX using Meguiar's
Supreme Shine Microfiber after working the product against the finish until the product has broken down, turned somewhat clear and begun to dissipate.
