Ralphie Boy

My 1 month old A4 came off the dealer lot with swirl marks (most visible on the hood). I used IHG and it seemed to make the marks less noticeable. Used Blitz Wax afterward. Looked near perfect. Now four weeks later, I'm seeing nothing but swirl marks on the hood again.
Suggestions?

Should I strip the wax off the hood with a dish soap, use a mild swirl mark remover (3M?), apply the glaze, and then wax again? I've looked the car all over, and the front end/hood is definitely the problem area.

Thanks,

-Ralph

meem

many folks, myself included, have had the experience you've had with a wide assortment of "swirl removing" products, like IHG.

however, there are others who swear that one use and their swirls are gone forever. from the discussions i've had with these folks, it seems like if you really want to remove swirls, you're going to need to use a random orbital polisher, or you're going to need to take it to a place that does this sort of stuff professionally (and has access to a buffer). since the clearcoat on our paint is *very* thin (like 1/16 of an inch), so the notion of power tools scares me a bit personally...

Ralphie Boy

..to have it professionally done. It's my understanding that the IHG just "masks" the swirl marks and doesn't really buff them out. Correct? If so, might this explain why the swirl marks have come back with a vengeance? (they were always there...just hidden).
Or, maybe it has to do something with the way I'm treating my car. I'm going to switch my wash mitt and see if that makes a difference as well...

Thanks again,

-Ralph

Seattle Scott

Can't you make the dealer fix it?

Ketch

Clears are 1.5 to 2 mil thick on 99% of vehicles. A mil is 1/1000th of an inch.
Even if the manufacturer, such as Jag applies additional clear (3 mil on Jag), the "dense" portion is the same as others, that being .5 mil is dense. This is located at the very top of the clearcoat film build of 1.5 to 2 mil.

If you wish to see more, there are photos showing the various materials applied to a vehicle on www.autoint.com under the Tech Tips section.

These show the thickness'being measured with an Electronic Thickness Gauge (ETG) as used by the manufacturers, paint suppliers etc.

If you wish to hold in your hand the thickness of a clearcoat, take the outside cellophane wrapper off a pack of cigarettes. Each side is .75 (3/4th) of mil thick. When you hold the wrapper with both sides together, you have 1.5 mil of thickness in your hand. That is a clearcoats thickness or film build.

The all important UV Blockers are concentrated in the top .5 mil dense part. Remove these by buffing, etc and the clear will start to turn "white", will etch quickly when exposed to acid rain and other enviormental contaminates and fail.

There are additional photos and explainations regarding paint concerns on the site.

The photo showing a highly magnified cross section of the entire film build also shows how porus and absorbant a modern high solid paint system is. The average vehicle will absorb aprox 1 pint of water into the paint system each time it is washed or rained on.

The bottom or first coating applied (E-Coat or Uni-Prime is what stops the water from getting to the metal or composite material the vehicle may have for a hood or trunk.<ul><li><a href="http://www.autoint.com">http://www.autoint.com</a</li></ul>

Ralphie Boy

I went ahead and bought a random orbital buffer. I used 3M glaze and it DID take care of a lot of the swirls. After applying the Blitz wax, it looks VERY nice. I see a few spots where I could've done a little better job with the buffer, but overall it is better looking. The remaining swirls will have to wait until I do my fall waxing.

Thanks guys,

-Ralph

Bucket

...that prevents the filler from coming off. But eventually wax and the filler underneath will disappear, and your swirls come back.

Also have used IHG and Blitz Wax. I have a silver car, so I don't really notice any swirl marks one way or the other, but the IHG definitely gives me a smoother and shinier finish.

But my wax only lasts for about 2 months before I need another coat. I live in the southwest, it may be due to the high heat, lots of UV, and all the dust and sand in the wind.

pwaug

did the Zaino treatment and used one coat of Z5 first and that took out the swirl marks and they haven't returned on Ebony Pearl