I've got some swirl marks from washing my car this winter. I tried some Zaino swirl mark remover and I haven't had any luck with it. I tried doing this before on my 325i also, and same thing. You guys have any luck with the swirl mark remover? The swirl marks are very tiny, nothing bad, so I'm suprised why they're not going away, I applied at least 2 coats of the swirl mark remover, and it didn't reduce it at all, as if it's not doing anything!

Other than that, I luv their system. I use all their stuff, its unbelievable how good the wax stays on the car for the amount of time it does and same as the shine....amazing.

It's possible that your clearcoat may have spiderwebbing- little tiny cracks in the clearcoat. Did you apply it by hand of machine?

Originally posted by GKGreen
It's possible that your clearcoat may have spiderwebbing- little tiny cracks in the clearcoat. Did you apply it by hand of machine?

The car has never seen machine since birth! I do everything with hand, same as previous owner.

Any of you guys out there that have Zaino AND have had good results with the swirl mark remover?? maybe i'm just doing something wrong??
:dunno

I have the same issue with Zaino. :( It has amazing gloss and shine but seemingly none or very little scratch filling abilities. The Groits Garage stuff I was using before did a much better job of hiding the tiny scratches you can only see in direct sunlight... Since I'm nearly out of Zainos I think I'm gonna give PS21 a shot, I remember reading that it did a better job filling small inperfections....

I LUV the way the car looks with Zaino and how it stays for so long, I would hate having to change to anything else :( :( :(

use some 3m swirl mark remover following the directions and using an orbital buffer, that lessen the swirls and get rid of light scratches, then i'd say 3 coats of z5 and a couple z2 coats on top of that. that procedure keeps my cosmos black car about as swirl free as it can get. Too bad black seems to attract everything else to make the paint look dirty again.

Originally posted by cosmos4
use some 3m swirl mark remover following the directions and using an orbital buffer, that lessen the swirls and get rid of light scratches, then i'd say 3 coats of z5 and a couple z2 coats on top of that. that procedure keeps my cosmos black car about as swirl free as it can get. Too bad black seems to attract everything else to make the paint look dirty again.

So you use 3M in conjuction with Zaino? I thought you had to only use Zaino stuff together and not mix it with anything else?

the swirl mark remover is the only other product I use, it might even be recommended on the Zaino website. It doesnt seem to leave any residue and the zaino products go on top of it just fine. after I clay the car i use the swirl mark remover on any parts that have light scratches or seem like z5 wont do a good job of covering. also make sure you are using cotton bath towels bad towels could cause major swirls and scratches. my car towels get better care than anything else cause i don't want them causing scratches (liquid washing detergent, keep them away from dust etc). if you read the tips section on the zaino site it says to use a front to back motion on horizontal panels and an up down motion on vertical ones. i dont know how well that works but definitely never make circular motions, that causes the worst swirls.

I definitely do spend the money and get the best "100% cotton" towels, I also follow all the instructinos from teh site, including the back and forth action.

Since you're doin gthis and getting good results, I think I'm gonna give this 3M a shot. You said you use a orbital buffer? can you educate me on this a little....? is this used to apply to buff the 3M out?

ALSO, looking at www.carcareonline.com page, this is what I need right?

3M Swirl Mark Remover Light Glaze - 16 oz Bottle

thanks,

use a foam pad on the orbital buffer to apply the 3M SMR and towels to remove. then i just put the zaino on top w/o any more dawn or anything although i'm sure you could dawn or clay again if you wanted to. and yeah thats the right product

but by dawning you have to start from scratch right (zaino wax wise). After applying about 5 coats so far, i'd hate to have to start all over again :(

RoB~

the swirl mark remover needs to go on first, you'd have to start from scratch anyway, just your choice about claying before And after the SMR. i just clay and dawn before.

Ok, so for the summer, I should completely dawn the car first, do the clay treatment, THEN apply the 3M and follow by Zaino??

I definitely have to dawn the car then before 3M?

ALSO, I don't have a orbital buffer, can I apply it with hand and get the same results?

thanks,

yeah you have the order right, and i dont know if you have to dawn the car before the 3M, its just the way I do it and it works very well. The 3M is a very mild abrasive so to be effective you want it to go directly on the paint. I usually restart the whole zaino process about every 6 months, dawn the car, clay it, dawn or z7, then 3m swirl remover, then the rest of the zaino stuff.

W/O an orbital it won't work very well, I've tried w/o using one and it just doesnt work. I just borrow one from a friend but I'm sure you can find them cheap at kragen or wal mart or whatever.

Arman:

any pics/ links to your Zaino'ed car?

TIA-- be safe all,
andrew

Using Dawn before your clay/smr is not necessary. The combination of clay and swirl remover will remove all oxidized paint and embedded comtaminants before you start with your zaino.

AFTER you've used your SMR you should dawn wash though. The SMR has oils and fillers that will prevent the Z from bonding properly, and the dawn wash will get rid of them.

Or just wash with Zaino shampoo (Z7 I think?) after SMR & before zaino-ing - also removes the SMR oils as well as Dawn, and seems to make the new coats of Z go on thinner and more evenly, and buff off easier ... :love1

I've also heard that 3Ms fine cut rubbing compound is the same abrasive as the swirl mark remover without the fillers and oils. Not sure how true this is, i have a bottle of it but i only use it for scratches and only by hand. I need to do a spring detail myself actually, too bad my spring break just ended.

Arman, how do you like your invisimirror, i've been thinking about getting one for my car.

So I won't get the same results if I apply 3M with hand??

I'm a little sketchy about using a orbital buffer, I have always been under the impression that if you use machine it will only create MORE swirl marks down the road, so I have always stayed away from any machines and done everything with hand, even with my old 325i...??

I luv the invisi mirror, everytime I have taken my car to any tunning shop or anywhere basically car related, people see it how they're so impressed that they want one too. Its' very helpfull here in VA since Radar detectors are illegal.

Removing swirls by hand will be very difficult. On autopia-carcare.com (auto detailing heaven) it is pretty much consensus that a Porter Cable is the way to go for novices who want to remove swirls, and rotary is the ultimate swrirl removal/paint leveling tool. Very few members there do it by hand, but it can be done.

If you still want to do it by hand try this method for applying your swirl remover (this is the technique recommended by one of the "by hand" detailers on autopia who gets amazing results). Take a thick terry cloth towel and fold it in half, then fold it in half again the other direction, then fold it over one more time. You should have a thich pad which is more or less the size of your hand. Use this as your applicator, and turn to a new section of towel for each new section of car. :cool:

100% cottom towels are okay. For best results get MICROFIBER towels!!!!!