I waxed my car earlier in the week with 3M wax. Today, I decided to touch up some paint chips on one spot on my hood. After letting the touch up paint dry, I decided to wax the entire hood again with the same 3M wax. Well, afterwards there were swirl marks all over the hood. I tried using swirl mark remover but it left a dirty residue all over the hood and I just ended up having to re-wax the hood to get the residue off. At that point, I tried Turtle Wax. Same deal. Swirl marks are all over the hood still. I have no idea what to do. It seems like these marks are permanent and I'm freaking out. Please can someone give me some advice on how to get these things out? Thanks a lot.

 

I am beginning to think the swirls are indeed in the wax, because the 3M swirl remover did seem to get rid of them, but as I said it left a nasty residue on the car. The 3M swirl remover, I'd imagine, removes the wax from the car. Do you think this product would be worth a shot?


"3M™ One step cleaner wax, light duty

Removes most fine scratches, light oxidation and swirl marks, leaving a deep and durable waxed finish."


If all else fails, I will definitely try using Dawn to get the swirls out.

The swirls look almost like a light haze on the car. They definitely don't look like scratches at all.

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

If you waxed the car while the engine was warm the wax may have harded too fast. Same thing as if you do it in the sun. I would use the dawn with a terry towel several times and start from scratch. look to see if there's any swirl marks in the paint. If there isn't then find a good shady spot and wait till the hoods cool. Rub in the wax kinda hard for one coat in small circles. buff it off with a clean terry towell flipping it over to avoidexcess build up on the rag... that will cause swirl marks too. reapeat with another coat and a softer touch. Buff the second coat off with a light fast dusting motion also a new rag and flipping the rag over. If you really want it to shine then buy a ultra Low-Cut polish at the store. That won't have any abrasives in it and will fill in the micro crevices. use a couple rags to buff that one off and after the hoods warm next time you drive give it a quick buffing again.

Sorry for the book, I used to detail cars.

BTW my car is really dirty right now...lol

Ash

oh... and if there is swirl marks in the paint use the colored polish that's closest to yours as a beggining coat. okay... I know that makes four coats but you said you wanted it shiny.

 

Thanks for the detailed response, Ash. I always wax the car when the engine is cool and never in direct sunlight. That's why I am at a loss how these swirl marks occured. The marks definitely don't seem to be scratches at all. It just seems like the wax "hazed" up on on the car. The swirls can't be seen at all when the car is in my garage (even with the florescent lights on in the garage). However, once you pull the car into the street, even in in-direct light, the swirls become evident. Tomorrow, I am going to try some good swirl mark remover first. If that fails, I'll take the Dawn route. Thanks again for your help.

 

Thanks, Captain. I will keep that in mind.

 

Been there done that... Use stuff called "ebony" they sell it at automotive paint stores. Works great!

 

yeah... it's all about a really low cut polish and a good buffing.

let us know how it turns out.

Ash

 

Invest in a 6 inch random orbit power waxer. Be sure not to use too much wax either. I have a midnight blue car and with the power waxer it looks like glass after waxing. No swirrlies at all.

 

I appreciate all the responses guys. Unbelievably, when I washed the hood off with regular car soap and water, the marks dissappeared all together. I was just getting ready to apply some 3M Cleaner Wax. I have no idea what the hell the marks were, but they are completely gone. Maybe I just did a crappy waxing job (two times) and left some sort of residue. Thanks again for all of your help!

 

for more stuff on waxing and washing, check this site out. Its really great. They have preferred products and step by step instructions. Hope you guys find it useful.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/detailingtips1.html