Swirl marks

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hvac77

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Picked up a new 2018 black wrx sti that has swirl marks. Dealership told me all cars have them.
Will the car lose a lot of the clear Coat if buffing and polishing does not remove them and wet sanding is required. Been getting a few estimates. Also once they are removed should a coating be applied. Like ceramic.



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First off congrats on the new car.

Maybe all the cars on there lot have swirl marks but they do not come from the factory that way

Swirl marks come from poor and or improper paint care

Some dealerships hire a mobile service that comes and pressure washes with no soap all the cars and just wipes them down with the same chamois or beach towel all day in a fast as possible approach. These companies are getting paid per unit and it's very little money. So they need volume and speed. They don't care about your future car

You have come to the right place looking for help or guidance to learn about paint correction.

You need to decide if you want to tackle it on your own or pay a good autogeek detailer to do the initial correction for you and you maintain it

It's not rocket science. The polishes and compounds we have today with the pads are really good. It can be time consuming so keep that in mind and it is a bit of an investment up front.

Run away from anywhere talking wet sanding. It's a new car it is very unlikely you would need any wet sanding. A medium compound followed by a polish should be all it takes. Maybe even just a polish depending how bad it is and trying a test spot

A ceramic coating can help reduce the amount of wash marring after all the correction is done. It's not un swirlable though.
You need to learn a proper wash and drying technique after all the hard work or money put into making the car look good.

Check out Mike's books and all the articles he has written on this forum. Tons of knowledge out there

If you do get it detailed somewhere else. Not all retailers are created equal. Some will infact make the car worse. Maybe it won't look it when you pick it up but after a wash or two you will have buffer trails everywhere. So ask for advice if you go that route there are guys in most areas that detail


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I agree 100% with Matt! Do NOT even consider wetsanding on a brand new Subie. Your factory applied paint is the most precious thing to have and keep. While I am making assumptions of your paint conditions, I fail to believe a much less aggressive buff out and polish can't give you nice flat gloss filled new paint...again.

If you are the type who wants to learn how to do it yourself you will acquire the skills to not only do this car but every other one you will own into the future. The other option is to select any of the pro detailers here and maybe in your town or nearby.
 
Unless the dealer really messed up, these should be light swirls and can be removed with a polish or worst case scenario, a compound. Sanding should not be required. I just went through similar process because I bought a new car for myself and my wife a few months ago. Both had swirls even though I took delivery of them as is, without a wash. They probably got washed once removed from the truck and that's when the damage was already done. In both cases once I was done the cars were looking better than any car inside their showroom. That's actually where my wife's car was and I bet from frequent wiping all the swirl marks were added. Mine had arrived just 2 weeks prior to me buying it and they do PDI once it arrives so all wrapping was removed and car was washed and put on the lot. There it accumulated some dust and I took it that way to avoid letting them wash it.

Your car is black so you'll have to learn to live with some defects. Even if you correct them all, week later and you'll start seeing new things unless you never take it outside the garage.
 
STAY AWAY FROM The dealership PERIOD! DO IT YOURSELF! Additionally, avoid wet-sanding. You are probably going to resolve your problem by doing a show car detail. That means wash, clay, compound, polish and LSP whether it be a coating or sealant and wax. Subaru's are generally "SOFT" when it comes to paint. This means the swirls are easily correctable.

If it were me I would do it myself. Get the book from Mike Phillips on Show car detailing and that will help you solve the problem. The amount the dealership is going to charge you; you can by all the tools necessary to do it your self and for the future.
 
A lot of good advice already. Is this a metallic black?
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, yes metallic black, looking into a porter cable and a Velcro back plate


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Crystal black silica


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I was in a similar (but different) situation where I was considering a full paint correction plus some clear bra replacement. Instead of paying for the paint correction, I bought the equipment and products, and I couldn't be happier with the decision. Glad you're heading in that direction.

I would guess that a light polish on a white or green pad would remove dealer installed swirls on a new car. I just got a lot of many year old swirls off my car with Griots Perfecting Cream, which is really a final stage polish. Get your DA and some of that and you should be good to do.


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hvac77 said:
Picked up a new 2018 black wrx sti that has swirl marks. Dealership told me all cars have them.
Will the car lose a lot of the clear Coat if buffing and polishing does not remove them and wet sanding is required. Been getting a few estimates. Also once they are removed should a coating be applied. Like ceramic.
Click to expand...

STi's typically have softer paint and are pretty easy to correct. It just takes the right pad/polish combo to insure it finishes out without any marring. Not a big deal. As others said, stay away from the dealership and let a detailer do it. No wet sanding needed nor would I recommend it. Good luck!
 
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