I thoroughly cleaned my car with dawn, then with a car wash...then applied IHG. It helped, but not enough, I still have lots of swirl marks. HELP! I've heard omega glaze from 1grand is good too. I applied a coat of wax over the IHG btw. I'm sick of the swirl marks though, they're really annoying and very ugly. I need something better than IHG. Can you do more than one coat of IHG?

Having used both IHG and Omega, I can't say that one is materially better than the other. They both do a good job on our cars. Both are mild, as glazes/polishes go. You might think you need something more aggressive since the IHG doesn't seem to be doing the job for you, but if all you're dealing with is swirl marks, maybe the problem is with your technique and not the product. Experience has taught me that applying glaze isn't like applying wax -- you don't just smooth it on and buff it off. You need to be patient, use a little elbow grease and work it into the paint for it to have its best effect. I don't know whether this is indeed the reason you still have swirl marks, so emphasis on the "maybe" part of my comment. All I know is that when I use either of these products, followed by Blitz, virtually all superficial scratches are made invisible. And my wife's car is brilliant black. You can use IHG or Omega twice if you want. I occasionally go back to give particular scratches special attention with glaze after I've done the whole car. Good luck!

unless you paint the car again. Just remember no circular motions, always front to back or side to side. Swirl marks are just something you have to live with having dark colored cars :(

you will continue to put swirls in the paint.

It may be time to step up to a more abrasive solution, followed by another glazing and a wax.

I remember working it in pretty well...but maybe I didn't give it enough elbow grease eh? How long do you wait after doing IHG to apply blitz wax? I guess I need to attempt this again...any special techniques for IHG you can reccomend off the top of your head? This stuff is hard to use :\ Guess that's why I call it Imperial Hand Job, hehe.

Pick one test spot or your car, where swirl marks are visible, and really work the glaze into the area using the front-to-back (not circular) motion that others here have described. Buff it off...see how it looks. Try again if it doesn't look good enough. If you still aren't seeing the results you want, despite putting some effort into it, then you probably do need something more aggressive, to be followed by glaze and then wax. As for waxing, I do that immediately after using glaze. There's no reason to wait. And since glaze provides no protection, there's every reason to wax right away. Btw, some people use a random orbital polisher/buffer to apply glaze, the idea being that the polisher/buffer does a better job of working it into the paint than you could ever do by hand. If you know someone who owns one, maybe you should ask to borrow it just to see how it might help in your situation.

i learned this the hard way on my black `95 audi 90, and vowed i would *not* make the same mistakes with my `00 s4. i've had my s4 for almost 15 months now, and i have *no swirls*.

the secret? i always wash the car myself.

i never *ever ever* go to a car wash. period. furthermore, i never *ever ever ever* let someone else (like my dealer) wash my car. when i take my car in for service, i put notes on the dash and inside the car saying "do not wash", and i make sure that it's written on my service order and on the tag they attach to my key. yes, they think i'm insane -- so what?

It probably depends on severity, but I have seen professional detailers get rid of them.

From what they tell me it involves buffing off a whole layer of the paint. So its obviously not something you wanna do more than once if possible.. but it gets them away.

Zaino also makes a hand polish that is supposed to work pretty well. I havn't had a Zaino product fail me yet ;)

They haven't steered me wrong yet. From a How-To article at carcareonline.com:

"All glazes/polishes should be applied to a cool surface and in the shade. Never wash, clean or wax your car in the hot sun. Rule #1, if you can hold your hand comfortably on the surface of the paint, then you can clean and/or wax your car. Apply with your choice of a soft 100% cotton cloth, applicator pad, or closed cell foam pad. Squirt a small amount onto your pad/cloth and then apply to the paint surface. Do not apply any product directly onto the surface, as you will tend to use too much and may wind up with an uneven result. <i>Work into the surface with a linear motion, front to back, back to front, the way the air flows over the car. Do not go around in circles.</i> If a piece of grit lodges under your pad, you have made sandpaper and a circular motion will produce a 360-degree swirl mark. All scratches are most visible at a 90 degree viewing angle, so a circular swirl is visible from any vantage point. A linear type scratch is only noticeable from a very narrow viewing angle. Work the glaze/polish into the surface using moderate pressure until all that is left is a slight haze."<ul><li><a href="http://carcareonline.com/clean_paint.html">Car Care Specialties Article</a></li></ul>

<center><img src="http://www.carcareonline.com/graphics/swirl_remover_10113.jpeg"></center><p>I wouldn't say it's better, but it's a little more abrasive for deeper swirl marks.<ul><li><a href="http://www.carcareonline.com/swirl_remover_10113_16.html">http://www.carcareonline.com/swirl_remover_10113_16.html</a></li></ul>

and you are doing it by hand, longitudinal or lateral motions are not going to work the product into swirls that were created circularly.
My rule is always start out with small circular motions, change to lateral and finish lenghtwise.
That is what I am saying.

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/15888/prekleano.jpg"></center><p>dawn wash it, then you need to remove contaminants. Use toulene (cmon i know you have a 55gal drum of that right?) wax and silicone remover, lighter fluid something to get the macroscopic turds off the paint.

to buff them out. however, i've never seen it done correctly. if you have someone who can do this right, more power to you. personally, i'll just stick with cleaning the car myself.

Might have to do with how/what you're washing and/or drying your car with too