Getting Swirls off the car
 

I've been annoyed by these swirls on my car for awhile. I went to a car wash and the pressure on the water spraying thing was a bit high I think, now there are swirls everywhere.

I tried looking for an auto detail shop around where I live but I didn't find many good ones at all. I found a popular place called Maaco. I gave them a call and they say they would paint the entire car for $300. I thought to myself, "WOW, that is really amazing to paint the entire car for that much." Then I asked for a bit more detail and he said the $300 was their cheapest paint. I also asked for the most expensive one because I don't want something cheap on the Z and he said it would be around $500 for the more expensive paint.

He also said they don't really just remove swirls they would have to paint the car.

I'm thinking about bringing the car in this weekend to see what they can do about it.

How do you guys get rid of your swirls? I really want want to bring it to Maaco but if that's the only choice I have then I might just have to do it.

Watch these videos
http://www.the370z.com/detailing-was...ge-videos.html

Buy a porter cable

https://detailersdomain.com/Polisher...its_c_209.html

:werd:

Werd x2.

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__...rious_meme.jpg

A professional high quality re-paint for an entire car runs about $10k. Go to a detail shop to get the swirls fixed, not a body shop and certainly not Maaco.

Do your research buddy. Repainting your car would be a horrible idea

I have done some research on this.

I thought about getting swirls fixed at a shop which would cost around $100 or so instead of buying a PC ($200+) and doing the work myself.

The problem I ran into was that I couldn't find ANY detail shops around here that only gets rid of swirls. I even called them and had no luck.

Anyways, what do you think would happen if I repaint at Maaco? Would the paint look like crap or something? I wasn't going to repaint the car but that guy said that's all they do at Maaco. So I said I was just going to bring in the car to see if they can get rid of swirls without repainting.

$300 to repaint the entire car?!?! I thought it costs at least $5000. Stay away from a place that will repaint it for that low. Repainting your entire car will drop your resale value by quite a bit too. Just go to a good detailer. They will get the swirls out for a few hundred dollars depending on the condition of the clear coat. If you are the type to care about swirls, I guarantee you will regret a shop that will repaint your car for $300 due to quality issues.

It you got swirls, you will get swirls again. Why pay someone to get rid of them. Buy a PC and make a hobby out of detailing your car.

Once you see how easy it is to do yourself with the proper tools and polishes, you will never pay someone to do it again.... unless you have serious damage!
You WILL get swirls and blemishes on a regular basis thru everyday driving and use. Be prepared and learn to correct them yourself!

i followed the above videos exactly and this is what i got:

This is 16 year old OEM paint on my 300zx

Door:
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/...n/IMG_3257.jpg
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/...n/IMG_3282.jpg

Hood:
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/...n/IMG_3259.jpg
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/...n/IMG_3301.jpg

Please, please, please DO NOT take your Z to MAACO or have it repainted at all! Either drive somewhere to find a pro detailer or learn how to DIY with a Porter Cable!

Repainting a car b/c it has swirls is like buying a new car every time you need an oil change. Its pointless because it will just happen again and needlessly expensive since the fix is easy and not much money.

A simple correction of the paint, by yourself or a professional detailer, will cost a fraction of a new paint job. Paint correction is not rocket science, but the thing you need to learn first is how to prevent/minimize swirls b/c even if you do find a pro to handle it for you if your wash and care routine are not correct you're just going to swirl the paint up again.

:iagree: detailing can be a fun and rewarding hobby. If you're really into your car it can be very enjoyable.

Any shop that says they'll correct your paint for $100 is either full of it, or going to make your paint looks worse. A quality professional detail is going to run you closer to $250 starting for someone who genuinely knows what they're doing.

As far as not finding a shop that would get rid of swirls... thats the first thing a detailer should be able to do or they're not detailers. Might need to look harder or do more research b/c it sounds like you contacted a bunch of hack jobs.

A professional, high quality paint job, is going to run you around $8-$10,000... maaco will spray your car with single stage paint, not do proper prep, not mask door jambs, etc. Theres a reason they're cheap - they do crap work. As with anything in life YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

yea... a lot of people's idea of detailing a car is like... slopping some crap fake wax on it and some armor all on the tires. My idea of washing a car is more time consuming and yields a better result than what most people (who have no idea about cars) consider having their car 'detailed'

I need to do a paint correction on my 135i ... I paid my detailer to "detail" it and he did an okay job, cut swirls in half, but obviously he doesnt have the time in the day to do nuts on just the correction stage.. he told me $250 to really work at it, and he may need the car over night ... he takes about 8 hours on a regular detail... if anyone needs someone in Long Island let me know...

I think I am just going to get a PC and go at it myself... jeffs results seem amazing and my car isnt swirled nearly that bad.. the trunk and rear bumper area are the worst areas and will require a lot of work..

Jeff I am sending you a PM

8 hours for a regular detail? I mean... i didn't do any interior detailing on my 300zx, however, i did a FULL paint correction on it in 7 hours, and it wasn't very pretty when i started. I did'nt do my front bumpter though because it needed to be repainted (and ended up getting destroyed while shipping the car anyway) but yea thats kind of excessive for a 'full detail'

I wouldn't bring a car to the dealer for a detail. I will say my 335 is/was swirl free when i picked it up CPO, so the the detailer at their dealership is pretty good. car looks new.

I'm with Jeff. My detailing obsession began with my black 1996 Saab 900. I got into really keeping it clean but the swirls began to get on my nerves as I learned more about detailing. So I decided I would take it to a detailer to see how much they wanted to fully polish the car and it was around $300, which I knew was enough to buy my own equipment and products which I could use whenever I needed and not just once. Polishing is relatively easy, but the most important thing is to learn how to properly wash your car to keep swirls/marring from coming back.

Pictures tell my story, I only had to do go over the car with a finishing polish once a year since I got my washing routine down to the tee but you will be shocked at how easy it is to polish with a random orbital buffer and some good pads/polish.


Before:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...0detail001.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...etail010-1.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...0detail011.jpg


How it looked until I sold it:


http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...DSC_0006-1.jpg
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/u...C_0035_201.jpg

The time that it takes to fully correct a car cannot be dictated. Not every car has the same type of clear on it, the same level of damage nor does everyone use the same tools or equipment. Thus, the time it takes can vary all over the place. I wouldn't do anyone's car but my own and I can take a week or two at the pace I go. I have to be in the mood to rub on my car and if I ain't, it won't get touched.

If a guy told me it took three weeks for him to complete his car, that wouldn't phase me at all. Everyone has a level of what they consider acceptable and that level can vary from person to person so ChuckD05, take as long as it takes. :tup:

As for getting your car painted at Macco Strangler, my God son... back away from the paint fumes. That would be the ultimate disaster that you could do to your car. Take it from someone who knows, and you can tell that I know by looking at this thread. You do NOT want your car painted at Macco!

I totally agree. If someone tells me it takes them a few weeks to do a full paint correction i'm sure they do an awesome job. Just like when someone quotes you 8k for a paint job, you know its not just because they want to rip you off, but because its better quality. My point was, a lot of these people's ideas of a 'full detail' doesnt even involve polishing. So 8 hours for that typical bs dealer detail which is nothing more than crappy wax to hide the swirls, a good interior wash and armor all is a bit excessive IMO.

What is the proper way to wash a car ?

I'd have to agree with you 100% on that. :tiphat:

Take a look here.

AJ hit the nail on the head. Its almost impossible to predict time needed until you start to take polisher to paint to get a feel for what its going to respond to.

I've had details that have been 6 hours start to finish and others that have taken the better part of a week w/ 8-10 hour days each day. It all comes down to the car, the condition, and the level of correction you're aiming for.

this guy is a freaking troll or he needs to have his car taken away from him. Cannot believe this guy purchased a 36k car and has even the slightest thought to repaint his car for 500$.

sorry, i was outraged when i saw the op about MAACO repaint

Put simply,to avoid swirls, you want to be sure all the gear and products you use don't cause more damage instead of cleaning the surface. It all starts with the right wash mit, soap and bucket. Plenty of topics on this so I'll just summarize.

Step 1: Wheels, tires and wheel wells. Spray wheel cleaner, etc... (I use a separate bucket just for cleaning wheels). You don't want any brake dust going back onto your paint.

Step 2: Rinse entire car with water.

Step 3: Wash with a high quality car shampoo using the two bucket method. If you have a foam gun, even better.

Step 4: Dry using a microfiber drying towel. Spray a very light mist of detail spray over the entire car before drying and you won't get water spots. Alternatively, you can use an electric leaf blower/metroVac to dry off the car and finish off drying areas you missed.