03 Black truck....Help me get rid of swirl marks!!

[03Xon20s]

Alright...My truck shines like hell.....its a f*cking beauty when the sky is cloudy...but when i look close in direct sunlight all i see is swirl marks...everywhere...and minor clear coat scratches... my truck is black so any little clear coat scratch makes a white line...my truck had to be drivin last winter because i had already put 6000 down on the truck when i baught it in october so i couldnt afford a beater.....this year i already got a beater so im fine for the winter...but all i wanna know is how can i get rid of them waivey scrathes that run down my door and the swirl marks... wax only hides them...i had it professionally buffed but i honestly didnt notice that much of a difference...is thier any kind of polish i can use to remove these marks??pic is a little blurry cause i made it bigger...

[dansellbuddy]

i can't really see based on the pic. but if you had it professionaly buffed, there probably isn't that much more that you can do.

sure the "pro" didn't add any swirls of his own. alot of "pros" just do the job for a living, and aren't really good at what they're doing. you could try going to a paint shop and asking them what they'd recommend. or just a different detailer even, they'd probably have a decent idea on what to do too.

[rcmaniac]

Yeah, I don't think there is all that much you can really do to get rid of them. I haven't buffed mine or any of that stuff. But I just wax frequently, I figure if it hides it, and you can't see it.. Then it's good enough.. :-/
Mines a 2000 and has lots of highway miles, lots of itty bitty scratches.. I bought my truck used, and I polished it for the 1st time yesterday.. All of the little scratches disapeared.. Like the ones that you could only see when you got up real close, like you really only saw it when waxing cause your paying so much attention to the area you are working on, so you notice every little scratch..

Well, hopfully quite a few of those really small scratches just never come back, or even just slowly come back, I wouldn't care.. I'll just keep on waxing it and let it hide the marks.. LOL, waxing doesn't bother me at all. My truck is black also just to let you know..

How long does it take for your scratches / swirl marks to re-appear after a wax? Mine usually come back after about a month.. Which isn't too bad.. But thats the only thing I find worth it to keep it looking good.. Like you said, you had a "pro" do it, and it didn't really look all that much better.. Look to see how long it lasts before the scratches & swirl marks come back..

TurtleWax Polish claims to help REMOVE swirl marks.. I don't know how good it is at removing them, but it must be a good product, cause everytime you hear people polishing their truck, they use the turtle wax brand of polish..

If anyone knows a cure for it to permanently solve swirl marks, that'd be great.. Untill then, 10 - 12 waxes a year it is..

[03Xon20s]

well i use mcquires cleaner wax...its in liquid form....i wax it about once every week and a half...i went to a body shop my buddy's dad owns and he reccomended that. he said it will not fade my paint at all....the reason i wax it soo much is because it wears off after like 1 rainny day...i can tell just by feelling the paint if my finger doesnt slide smoothly...(when it sticks kinda) i know i need wax. plus i can see alot of swirls, scratches, What polish do you use? I have never polished my truck before so that might help. The reason i wax my truck so often is because it gets rid of all the water spots also....i cant stand washing the truck and seeing it still look like shit...i use turtle wax emerald shine.... I also HATE using the paste wax... sure it lasts longer...but i see streaks galore in my paint... so i just use the liquid form...

any ways...the picture i used to show u guys is that my paint looks great...from a few steps back...then when you look really really close to it...thier is not one spot without a swirl mark on the entire truck...unless its waxed they are kinda hidden...i just want to remove them like i said..not hide them...

thanks..

[MarkCT98ZR2]

My ZR2 is black and i never had a problem with swirl marks or anything like that.. i use the wax called Liquid Lustre.. it's pink and it doesn't leave any swirl marks.. works mint..

[rcmaniac]

The Polish I used was: TurtleWax Polish .. It's in a bright green bottle..
Wax I use: Meguiars: Gold Class

They are both in liquid form, cause that's what I like to use myself.. Well today was the day after my first polish, and it definatly looks better than it ever did from just waxing.. I am going to try to keep track of how long it lasts, but I don't know if I will be able to do that, cause there's a MAJOR show coming up in October (2 - 3rd) so I am gonna definatly wax it before the show.. !

ALSO.. You complained about water spots, so I am going to tell you what I do..
Is my truck, like the first 2 times I washed it, I washed it like I did any other car, after the sun goes down, but before theres no light left.. (in other words, no directl sunlight).. Well, aparently the metal of the truck is still pretty damn hot at that point of the day, so from then on I have done noithing but wash it at night.. Like, last night when I washed my truck.. It was like 11 pm before I even had a chance to get out there, and then I washed & dried it. Went inside, had dinner, came out around midnight and polished it.. Got it all done, and then I took a small 5 minute break, and then I waxed it..

Then I let the water out of my air tank (no water trap).. and then went for a cruise after that around 2 a.m. .. All in all, it was worth it.. Although I wish I spent more time, and got the wheels & tires cleaned up a bit more.. But honestly, the truck looks so much cleaner now than it EVER has.. I'm gonna see how it looks in say a few more days, week to a week and a half and see if the swirl marks and scratchs re-appear..

[J_Darling2007]

My dads clearcoat on his 95' was a little scratched. We used rubbing compound made by the turtle company. It is very slightly abrasive, but if used right, it can make your truck look like new.

To avoid making the circle scratches, use a "random orbital buffer". This doesn't go in a perfect circle so it won't leave the scratches. If you use this with the rubbing compound, It will do a very good job. A buffer at Wal-Mart costs about 15 dollars.

[Proballer25]

YEa i got a buffer.. But i wash my truck.. Clay bar the whole thing hen do the mothers 3 step system.. Comes out sick as fock,

[s10cyncrvr]

I've used Griot's products for sometime now and they work fabulous. To fix your swirlmarks try the following...
1. Always do the folllowing in the shade on a cool surface. Wet a soft polishing rag with water and then ring it out. Put some Wax & Grease remover on the rag and wipe down the entire truck. This will give you a fresh clean paint surface to start with. This is important because Griots waxes are less of a synthetic then most other waxes. If you try to apply them over without removing the old wax they will haze.

2. If you have a lot of swirlmarks start with Griots Machine Polish #2. Use it on an orbital buffer and buff it in with just the weight of the buffer. Use a crosshatch pattern running over the same spot about 6-8 times. Remove the polish with a microfiber cloth. Fold in in 1/4's making sure to switch to a new side when it begins to build up, otherwise you'll induce scratches back into the surface.

3. Look at the paint in direct light (preferably sunlight) and look at the scrathes that are left. If all you have left are smaller spider-web scrathes proceed to Griots Machine Polish #3. If there are still some larger swirl scrathes left redo Step 2.

4. Polish with the #3 Polish the say way you did with the #2 Polish making sure to use a different pad and cloths then what you used for the #2 Polish. When finished look at the surface again in direct light. All the swirls should be out before proceeding to the Wax.

5. Use Griots Best of Show Wax in the same manner you used the polishes. For added protection against swirl marks, apply one coat of wax, wait 24 hours and then apply another coat. If you put the second coat on too soon moisture will get trapped between the coats and it will haze. At this point your truck should look great.

Here's a few tips to reduce swirl marks on your freshly waxed truck...
- Buy a Boar's Hair Brush from Griots. It is $80 but it will be the best $80 you ever spend in your life. If there is one item I can't live without it is my Boars Hair Brush. It is extremly soft and lifts the dirt off the truck when you wash it, where wash mitts and rags just grind the dirt in causing swirl marks. Do one body panel at a time and then dip it it in your bucket of soapy water and shake it. Trying to keep the brush clean is top priority.
- If your truck is dusty use a California Duster never a rag to clean it. This is probably the second greatest cause of swirl marks.
- Unfortunately over time swirl marks will come back, its inevitable but inbetween waxes use MeGuires Final Inspection to hide them. Its great at shows when you had to drive through some rain to get there.

I hope some of that helps

[blkyellow03X]

Mine with Zaino
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f74/here-are-the-final-pics-127815/

[kingsimon]

you need to use a good polish on her. a polish is used to cover up stratches you can see with scratches you cant see. it uses really fine abrasives, so make sure the polish you buy has abrasives in it, otherwise it isnt a true polish