jadeboy

iTrader: (1)

Ok.. having a black car attracts swirls... I did detailing work about 1 month ago and using Meguiars ColorX then put on Rejex. After claybar and polisher with ColorX, the swirls and scratches seems to be more apparent. Anyone got a good solution for swirls on a 2007 Black IS 350, please provide exact detail of what you did to get good results.

The Detail Dude

Are you a D/A polisher user?

UDel

Get a Porter Cable 7424 with a 3 1/2 backing plate and about four 4" orange Lake Country Pads, get some Menzerna IP and watch a few videos how to polish cars. I did and was able to get rid of all the light scratches and swirls and my finish never looked better, it looked better after just being polished then not polished with a couple layers of high end waxes. There are other combinations of products that will do the job but a decent Orbital Buffer like a Porter Cable is a must as well as a mid level cutting pad and polish designed for getting rid of swirls/scratches. You will not be able to remove swirls/scratches by hand polishing and those cheap Sears buffers that are $30 do little to nothing to scratches/swirls/oxidation/water spots, they more or less just apply and take off wax. There are alot of threads on polishing and Porter Cables.

And with a black car unfortunately even after polishing you will be getting swirl marks/light scratches back pretty soon even after being careful. Try using clean microfiber rags/towels and the 2 bucket method of washing which is one bucket full of car soap and the other with water. After every panel dip the rag in the water to wash the dirt off and then put it in the bucket with soap so your soap bucket will not get full of dirt. Still you can't keep daily driven cars swirl/scratch free for long especially on black cars that show everything but you can minimize swirls by being careful.

The Detail Dude

You can find a lot of helpful videos on you tube as well.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

+3 on the Porter Cable. I'll even give you an pic of my 50/50 with a PC+IP

Polished on top half, unpolished on the bottom half

jadeboy

iTrader: (1)

A "Porter Cable 7424" is expensive, I don't detail enough to justified one yet.. maybe that a good solution... The normal polisher I guess will not work for swirls..

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

for some scratches you can use ScratchX. I'd show you another pic but I'm on my touch and I can't link you to it. I can post it tomorrow since I love looking at it lol. If you do go that route...make sure you are commited or else it won't turn out. I'm speaking of course of a hell of a lot of elbow grease =]

If any members know my pic of my trunk with it please post it. I might not be able to until nightime for me haha

UDel

You can pick one up for 99-105 dollars new and you might be able to find a used one cheaper so it is not too expensive considering what they are capable of doing and will save you money in the long run if you decide to pay someone to get rid of the scratches/swirls who has a PC or rotary. To pay someone to fully polish out scratches and swirls usually costs between $150-$300 depending on severity so that is something to consider if you still think a PC is expensive. In total you will end up spending about 200 for the PC, pads, backing plate, and polish. There really is no other solution to getting rid of your swirls scratches other then buying a PC or paying someone to do it which will cost around what you pay for a PC and they may not do a good job.

jfelbab

UDel is right. I bought my PC 12 years ago and I consider it the very best detail investment I have ever made. The only way you will be successful in removing swirls and light scratches is with this type of device. Those $30 buffers just don't have the power to polish out paint. You can try ScratchX and that will work but it will take you days by hand and you will be sore and unhappy about the task. You will not want to ever do it again, guaranteed. A PC will accomplish this work in hours rather than days and you won't be sore.

A black car is going to be a chore to keep spotless anyway, so while you are at it you'll need to address your washing and drying techniques as well. It's much easier to avoid putting swirls in your paint than to remove them. But even with your best efforts you will get swirls. Anything that touches your paint can cause swirls so unless you plan on wrapping your car in plastic wrap and not driving it you will need to polish it at least a couple times a year. My advice... get a PC or get a car that is beige or silver.

samathews

Another vote for the PC. However, since Lexus paint is soft, I would suggest starting with a less aggressive combo than IP and Orange. You might want to test Menzerna 106ff with a white pad and see if it removes the swirls, if not work up to the more aggressive IP + Orange. If you use the IP+Orange, you will probably have to use the 106ff + White to finish it off.

Not sure if eyezack87 used the 106ff or other to finish, but the results sure look nice.

The Detail Dude

If you want a Porter Cable PC7424, go to tools-plus.com. They have them for $99.00 and ship for $6.50.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

I had to use IP with Orange (sometimes yellow in the hood) and I finished with FP II with the white pad. The white pad with IP had 0 effect on the scratches so yeah, I had to up the cut a bit to put a dent in some parts. My car was heavily damaged as you would imagine. With the PC its roughly 96% defect free

Heres that pic I promised with ScratchX OP:

As I said before, machine is MUCH MUCH MUCH easier. That ScratchX session took about 2 hours with 10 minute breaks

jadeboy

iTrader: (1)

That seems to be a good price... is there anything else I should get for the Porter Cable PC7424? I will just do polishing and waxing (ie.. pads, etc)

jfelbab

A couple polishing pads, a couple finishing pads and a good quality flexible backing plate. You will need a couple polishes too. Something moderately aggressive like Meguiar's #83 and something mild like Meguiar's #80. Substitute your favorite brand. I use Meguiar's so that's what I know and recommend. There are a lot of good products to choose from though. For pads I use Meguiar's or Lake Country.

You should pick up a dozen Microfiber towels of decent quality. I have a bunch of Walmart Vroom towels and a lot of Meguiar's towels.

You might also keep an eye open for a higher quality halogen tripod work light. I picked up a couple at Sears. I found their $40 units marked down to $20 a while back. Home Depot or Lowes also carry heavy duty models. This makes spotting swirls in a garage a lot easier. The heavier duty units extend to about 80 inches which is a plus and they are more stable so you won't knock them over.