WISLUGGO

The surface of my SC430 is really smooth, but I have notice there is some water etching in certain spots. I was thinking about claying it, polishing it, and re-waxing it...but I thought I read somewhere here that polishing can't be done by hand anymore (and still get good results)

Is this true? Would I be better off having a profesional polish the car?

I don't intend on using Zanio (due to a few paint defects) but I am enjoying Meg's NXT2.0.

Angelo

Yes you can remove some swirls by hand.



Swirls are very minute etched lines in the top paint or clear coat layer. Swirls can be permanently removed or cosmetically hid. It is very difficult to remove swirls by hand. To remove a swirl, you must abrade away the top layer of paint or clear coat that contains the defect. This is best accomplished with a machine polisher. See our article, "Removing swirls with an orbital action polisher" and "Removing swirls with a circular polisher." If you do not have a machine polisher, you can still create the illusion of a swirl-free surface through hand polishing.

Hiding swirls through hand polishing:

Swirls can be visually hid by polishing the surface with a mild polish. This rounds off the top edge of the swirl, robbing sunlight of a sharp edge to cause a reflection. When you buff off the polishing residues, fillers will stay in the depressions. Finish by applying your favorite wax or paint sealant. This will hold the fillers in place, cosmetically hiding swirls and minor paint blemishes. Polishing also restores surface gloss and prepares the surface for waxing. This procedure does not remove the swirl. Swirls may be visible in certain light conditions (fluorescent lamps are ruthlessly revealing) and will reappear as the wax ages. That said, most people will look at your car and think it's flawless.

Before you start:

Before polishing, it's a good idea to check for paint contamination. This is easily done by placing your hand inside a plastic sandwich bag and running your fingertips over the surface. If the paint is rough or gritty, consider using a clay bar before trying to remove swirls. See , "How to remove paint contamination" on our Problem Solving page. This step is worth the extra effort. Hand polishing will not remove rough, gritty paint contamination. If your car's paint surface is smooth, proceed with polishing.

Here are some Products :

A mild polish such as BLACKFIRE Scratch Resistant Clear Finishing Polish, Meguiar's No.9 Swirl Remover or 3M Perfect-It Swirl Remover.
A Microfiber or Terry Applicator Pad.
A Microfiber or Terry detailing cloth.
Your favorite wax or paint sealant. I perferred Blackfire.
Procedure:

Work on a 12 to 16 square inch area, out of direct sunlight.
Apply polish to a Microfiber or Terry Applicator Pad or directly on the paint. This is a personal preference. If applying polish to the applicator pad, I use a liberal, Quarter-size amount of product. If applying to the paint, I apply a couple of 8 inch long lines of polish.
Using a moderate to firm pressure, work the polish over the paint using back-and-forth motions. Polish in a side-to-side motion and then in an up-and-down motion until the polish is almost dry.
Wipe off polish residues using a clean Microfiber or Terry detailing cloth.
Continue working in 12 to 16 square inch areas until the complete panel or vehicle is polished.
Follow immediately with your favorite wax or paint sealant to protect and seal the finish.



Apply polish to Terry Applicator Pad.


Wipe-on with back-and-forth motion

Note: There is a debate over what category of wax or paint sealant to use after polishing. Purists feel you should follow polishing with a pure wax or paint sealant. They feel one-step, cleaner/waxes or cleaner/ sealants remove some of the fillers left in the etched lines defeating some of the purpose of polishing. Manufacturers of one-step products insist that using their product after polishing compliments the previous polishing step and provides additional gloss enhancement. It's up to you what you want to use.



Buff off polish residues.

From my experience, on solid black or red vehicles, I prefer to follow polishing with Blackfire Midnight Caranuba Paste Wax or Blackfire Wet Diamond All Surface Paint Protection (paint sealant) for any other color.



Apply paint sealant to Microfiber Pad.


Wipe on.


Show car glaze step:
This step is completely optional but is used on many show cars to deepen the gloss before waxing. After polishing, repeat the procedure using a glaze such Meguiar's No. 7 Show Car Glaze or 3M Imperial Hand Glaze. Obviously this doubles the amount of work which can be arm-numbing.



Buff to a bright shine.

Hope this helps out in your quest to hand polish your ride, it can be done, but remember there's nothing that can substitude a polishing machine.

Greg@DI

You can polish by hand but a buffer is ideal. For best results by hand we highly recommend the DI Accessories Polishing Pal and the pads of your choice.


I typically recommend the Lake Country Orange Light Cutting Pad with the Meguiar's Ultra-Cut Compound M105 and then follow it up with a Lake Country White Polishing Pad and the Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205. These pads are designed to work with the Polishing Pal and get you more polishing power from the hand application. If you have any questions please let me know.