Remove Swirl Marks by hand?

[ScottyDontNZ 7]

Is it possible? I would say the swirl marks are moderate and cover the entire car. I don't own a polisher/buffer and don't really want to buy one at this stage. What products would you recommend? 

[Olaf 3317]

talk to @Autoglym, he's yer man for quality grooming products and techniques down here in Welly

[m325i 709]

It's possible, but I would just buy the polisher. 

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/toolpro-toolpro-dual-action-polisher-240v-720w-150mm/581559.html

https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/meguiars-meguiars-ultimate-compound---450ml/214309.html?cgid=SCN8005310

[Palazzo 477]

Buy a polisher. It will remove marks you’ll most likely never move by hand.

[kwhelan 241]

can you substitute an angle grinder, battery drill or whatever with foam pads or a wool sleeve or microfibre pads etc. Whats the difference over a proper polisher specifically, is it rpms related?

[Eagle 1662]

Mostly but it depends on what polisher you are referring to? Majority of people use a dual action over rotary action for paint safety. Angle grinders have no speed control, run high rpm and use different disc sizes to most commonly available polishing pads.  Ive seen drills used for very small or hard to reach areas.

[andrewm 236]

Yes you can,but its not recommended, its probably less than 1/5th the speed of machine finishing.

 ive hand polished and entire car from 2000 grit sanded paint finish to show car shine, it was a character building test when i started a student job buffing vehicles. 

In terms of easy to get products i would recommend meguiars ultimate compound, a couple of foam applicators and a huge pile of microfibers. 6-8 hours will give you a significant improvement but wont be perfect. 

[ScottyDontNZ 7]

Is that 6 - 8 hours by hand or machine? 

[andrewm 236]

By hand as long as you have some endurance ha, get ready for the deep shoulder burn. Tight circles as if your hand was a buffer. 

Do a small area like wing mirror first to see how it turns out, or just borrow a buffer. 

 

 

[ScottyDontNZ 7]

I have put out a call in the Wellington region for a buffer on Facebook and here but no response. If anyone in Wellington is willing to lend one out let me know

[andrewm 236]

Buy the meguiars ultimate compound you would use it on a buffer too, ( will almost certainly be on special at repco or supercheap now or boxing day) you will need to do small areas by hand anyway unless you also get a small buffer. 

I recommend you wash, clay bar, then begin polishing - plenty of videos on youtube.

[Olaf 3317]

I've used a Bosch foam pad on my Bosch blue random orbital sander, with good results.  (random orbital = dual action). However, care must be taken!  Easy to burn paint or thin through on creases or swage lines.  Also masking up trim etc is bloody time consuming.

A dedicated polisher will be a little easier to use than my pad-on-sander.

[ScottyDontNZ 7]

I'm understanding now why it's so expensive to get it done professionally! One PLACE (RestorFX) quoted me $1000+GST! To be fair, they are the only business that even bothered to reply. 

[andrewm 236]

Do you keep your car waxed? It wont remove any swirls but a good wax has fillers that will hide a lot of them. 

 

[Autoglym 255]

Yes, you can do it by hand, what colour is the car??

I have a couple of products that are relatively easy to use, give me a call

0212633724

Regards

Barry