Swirl Marks - Team Blackberry

Spaghetti

Spaghetti

T6 Conversion
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T6 Legend
Evening Guys and Gals,

New member for team blackberry, 2017 T28 Highline, full camper conversion 102PS.

Love the colour, it’s reminiscent of an old Escort I had years ago, I think it was ‘Aubergine’ metallic.

With it being blackberry, and showing every mark, the dealer polished it before I collected it, and it looks OK in the daytime, but the swirl marks (from the machine polishing) are terrible, especially under LED lighting as it’s so directional.

I’ve started with the bonnet, and the difference is amazing. The yellow outline is how it looked before, and the red outline is after I’ve hand polished it with metallic T -CUT and then polished it with Auto Glym super resin polish, and then their extra gloss protection over the top of that.

Difference is night and day!

Now just got to get a few hours, a pile of micro fibre cloths and lots of cups of tea to do the rest.

Pete

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Sadly the biggest pitfall of owning the darker colours i'm afraid. Plus the VW paint is prone to marking really easily, compared to other manufactures.

Even with the way I maintain my Black T6, it's near on impossible to avoid swirls. All you can do going forward is try to minimise them with careful washing methods, and things like wool wash mitts, grit guards, 2 bucket methods etc.
Super Resin is a great product for colours like ours, and it will fill in a lot of the minor swirls temporarily, but unmaintained they will be back with a vengeance.

If you look at mine, it looks perfect, but even this has issues in high powered lights or certain sunlight, but unless you never use the van, park it in a garage and cover it up to avoid dust, it's pointless trying to get the paint 100%, because it won't last long like that, and ends up becoming an obsession :eek:

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I do love Blackberry though, and your paint looks lovely now you've done your bit.
 
I always found SRP really dusty and difficult to remove without smudges. @Tourershine could probably advise you on better products that will make cleaning/polishing it easier and make the results last longer.

I'm a big fan of Chemical Guys and Gtechniq, both work well for me and are easy to apply/remove.
 
Thanks Delmassive, Tourershine,

Absolutely, understand. It’s there to be used, especially with a 4 and 7 year old getting in and out of it every 5 minutes! Yours indeed looks like a mirror. Weather permitting I’ll do the rest at the weekend, just to hide those horrid marks...

What irked me somewhat was that we were at a camp site last weekend, and the van was dusty, and some oiks were playing and must have run their fingers in the dust round the van while we were out. Luckily, I keep a bottle of shampoo and some cloths handy, so washed it there and then!

I’ve got a BMW in flat black and that paint is so thin and marks if you breathe too close to it. I did have a 59 plate A6 and that seemed resilient, although one bird poo marked it when it went unseen for a day or too. I have also got an old A4 and that paint is as hard as nails. I wish they’d used that formula on the van!

Pete
 
Cheers Insertcoin,

I’ll look up those products....

I suppose I expected the paint on a 1 year old, 21k miler to be better than when I sold my 7 year old A6 (that I’d had since new), forgetting the fact that my van was previously a leased commercial vehicle!

Pete
 
Insert Coin said:
I always found SRP really dusty and difficult to remove without smudges. @Tourershine could probably advise you on better products that will make cleaning/polishing it easier and make the results last longer.

I'm a big fan of Chemical Guys and Gtechniq, both work well for me and are easy to apply/remove.
Click to expand...

If you're finding SRP dusty, you either have the old formula, or you're applying it incorrectly. SRP is no longer a chalky product since it was improved a couple of years ago, and will only dust up if you lather it on a panel. The best method to apply this product is with a slightly damp microfibre cloth, leave for minimum 10 mins per panel, then wipe off with perfectly clean, pref new microfibre.

You only need a thin coating of most products like this, because if you apply it too thick, it will clog up the cloth and leave marks on the panels.
 
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The best colour I've owned to look at, and the worst colour ever! to keep clean, oh well its a good job i like cleaning and washing:thumbsup:. I just do whats already been mentioned so sorry no magic formula here
 
Tourershine said:
If you're finding SRP dusty. SRP is no longer a chalky product since it was improved a couple of years ago, and will only dust up if you lather it on a panel.
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That's probably the issue, I haven't used SRP for at least 10 years, I found better products like Maguire's/Poorboys/Sonax and never looked back at Autoglym. Interesting to know they've changed the formula though :thumbsup:
 
Spaghettiboy78 said:
Evening Guys and Gals,

New member for team blackberry, 2017 T28 Highline, full camper conversion 102PS.

Love the colour, it’s reminiscent of an old Escort I had years ago, I think it was ‘Aubergine’ metallic.

With it being blackberry, and showing every mark, the dealer polished it before I collected it, and it looks OK in the daytime, but the swirl marks (from the machine polishing) are terrible, especially under LED lighting as it’s so directional.

I’ve started with the bonnet, and the difference is amazing. The yellow outline is how it looked before, and the red outline is after I’ve hand polished it with metallic T -CUT and then polished it with Auto Glym super resin polish, and then their extra gloss protection over the top of that.

Difference is night and day!

Now just got to get a few hours, a pile of micro fibre cloths and lots of cups of tea to do the rest.

Pete
Click to expand...
Spaghettiboy78 said:
Evening Guys and Gals,

New member for team blackberry, 2017 T28 Highline, full camper conversion 102PS.

Love the colour, it’s reminiscent of an old Escort I had years ago, I think it was ‘Aubergine’ metallic.

With it being blackberry, and showing every mark, the dealer polished it before I collected it, and it looks OK in the daytime, but the swirl marks (from the machine polishing) are terrible, especially under LED lighting as it’s so directional.

I’ve started with the bonnet, and the difference is amazing. The yellow outline is how it looked before, and the red outline is after I’ve hand polished it with metallic T -CUT and then polished it with Auto Glym super resin polish, and then their extra gloss protection over the top of that.

Difference is night and day!

Now just got to get a few hours, a pile of micro fibre cloths and lots of cups of tea to do the rest.

Pete

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Hi Pete,

Now I'm not wishing to sound negative or cynical, but T-cut and SRP is a waste of your time and elbow grease.

Yes you can see a difference now, but that's only down to the fillers in the products used, which mask the defects. I would guarantee in a few weeks or after several washes or a wipe over with panel wipe...the swirls will still be evident.

Hand polishing is not effective in removing swirls, end of! To ensure a swirl free/uniform finish, it requires machine polishing with a dual action polisher. Also, the correct pad and compound/polish for your paintwork (no one pad and product does all car manufacturers paintwork) . It doesn't stop there either, after each pass with the machine polisher, the pad needs to be cleaned with the aid of an air line to blowout used product. Then after 2 to 3 panels replaced for a new or washed pad, this will ensure that you are not reintroducing swirls or new defects. Once the entire vehicle is corrected, cleaned with an alcohol based panel wipe, you can look at protection. Wax is ok, but will not stop future swirls, wax will only enhance depth of shine, colour and water beeding for a few months. To give your paintwork the best chance, then look at having it protected with a liquid quartz (ceramic) coating. Once cured properly the coating will be harder then your clear coat (lacquer) and therefore give your paintwork a fighting chance.

I have protected my T6 with Gyeon Duraflex 5 months ago and there's not a swirl in sight, the coating is so good my snow foam will not stick to the paint for more than a split second!

I'm really not trying to dampen your spirits, just don't people wasting their time or dosh.
 
Clydiee said:
Hi Pete,

Now I'm not wishing to sound negative or cynical, but T-cut and SRP is a waste of your time and elbow grease.

Yes you can see a difference now, but that's only down to the fillers in the products used, which mask the defects. I would guarantee in a few weeks or after several washes or a wipe over with panel wipe...the swirls will still be evident.

Hand polishing is not effective in removing swirls, end of! To ensure a swirl free/uniform finish, it requires machine polishing with a dual action polisher. Also, the correct pad and compound/polish for your paintwork (no one pad and product does all car manufacturers paintwork) . It doesn't stop there either, after each pass with the machine polisher, the pad needs to be cleaned with the aid of an air line to blowout used product. Then after 2 to 3 panels replaced for a new or washed pad, this will ensure that you are not reintroducing swirls or new defects. Once the entire vehicle is corrected, cleaned with an alcohol based panel wipe, you can look at protection. Wax is ok, but will not stop future swirls, wax will only enhance depth of shine, colour and water beeding for a few months. To give your paintwork the best chance, then look at having it protected with a liquid quartz (ceramic) coating. Once cured properly the coating will be harder then your clear coat (lacquer) and therefore give your paintwork a fighting chance.

I have protected my T6 with Gyeon Duraflex 5 months ago and there's not a swirl in sight, the coating is so good my snow foam will not stick to the paint for more than a split second!

I'm really not trying to dampen your spirits, just don't people wasting their time or dosh.
Click to expand...

Although I don't disagree with a single aspect of what you've said, you're kind of comparing apples with pears.
Yes, what @Spaghettiboy78 has achieved is just a temporary fix, as I mentioned in my above post, and yes it would of taken him time to achieve what he now has, but wasting money? Comparing potentially the cost of his products against a full pro correction and sealer is not really a realistic comparison.

You and I use machine polishers every day pretty much, with the only difference being you're on paint and I'm on fibreglass and aluminium, but we've both seen the results 100's of times of machine polishing by people that don't do this for a living, (and those that do, but badly) and it often looks terrible, and can takes us longer to rectify incorrect machine work, than an untouched swirled up panel.

Our methods and finished work is the correct way to do things, and the results speak for themselves, but we both know the stark reality that our finished work is only as good as the future aftercare put in by our customers, and all this can be undone in a single wash.

I'm not disagreeing with your way, i'm just saying that if an owner has the issues as above, and they want to spend hours doing what's been done here, and get a good result, albeit a temporary one that will need similar time spending every few months. I don't see that as a waste of time, just a personal choice that often gives the owners a huge amount of satisfaction.

I learnt a long time ago, that we don't work for guys like this very often, and it's often pointless trying to convince some people that a our way is the only way, when for every DIY owner, there's dozens more that want it done professionally, hence the demise of people spending their Sundays washing their pride and joy, and the thriving trade in road side gangs of car washers, which personally I don't advise people use if you care about your paint, but again it's your choice.

On a positive note, the more people use these road side gangs, the more work high end detailers end up with :thumbsup:
 
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Thanks Clydiee and Tourershine,

Take your comments on board. Luckily the marks are fairly minor, and were improved before the autoglym treatment. I only added that as I’d polished off the existing wax coat.

I do see cars and vans driving by that have been over polished with a overly dry mop and you can see them from 50m away! Whenever I take my car in for a service I pre wash and hoover the car as I don’t want them washing it. That even goes for my company cars!

I will look into the ceramic coating at some point, but have a stack of other things on my list first, namely today fitting H7 lights to replace my candles.....

I’ve spoken to a nearby company to recode to computer to allow the low and high beam to remain on together, but they’re booked up for weeks....

Have a great weekend guys.
 
Spaghettiboy78 said:
I’ve spoken to a nearby company to recode to computer to allow the low and high beam to remain on together, but they’re booked up for weeks....
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I know your quite away from me but I would do the coding for free if you are passing, Maybe there is a VCDS user near you who could help?
 
Loz, Ooh, that’s sounds helpful... thank you.... it’d certainly be better than waiting 6 weeks... I may get in touch if that’s ok, as it’s only 90 miles or so.

Pete
 
Tourershine said:
Although I don't disagree with a single aspect of what you've said, you're kind of comparing apples with pears.
Yes, what @Spaghettiboy78 has achieved is just a temporary fix, as I mentioned in my above post, and yes it would of taken him time to achieve what he now has, but wasting money? Comparing potentially the cost of his products against a full pro correction and sealer is not really a realistic comparison.

You and I use machine polishers every day pretty much, with the only difference being you're on paint and I'm on fibreglass and aluminium, but we've both seen the results 100's of times of machine polishing by people that don't do this for a living, (and those that do, but badly) and it often looks terrible, and can takes us longer to rectify incorrect machine work, than an untouched swirled up panel.

Our methods and finished work is the correct way to do things, and the results speak for themselves, but we both know the stark reality that our finished work is only as good as the future aftercare put in by our customers, and all this can be undone in a single wash.

I'm not disagreeing with your way, i'm just saying that if an owner has the issues as above, and they want to spend hours doing what's been done here, and get a good result, albeit a temporary one that will need similar time spending every few months. I don't see that as a waste of time, just a personal choice that often gives the owners a huge amount of satisfaction.

I learnt a long time ago, that we don't work for guys like this very often, and it's often pointless trying to convince some people that a our way is the only way, when for every DIY owner, there's dozens more that want it done professionally, hence the demise of people spending their Sundays washing their pride and joy, and the thriving trade in road side gangs of car washers, which personally I don't advise people use if you care about your paint, but again it's your choice.

On a positive note, the more people use these road side gangs, the more work high end detailers end up with :thumbsup:
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Yeah I hear what you're saying Tourershine, but my point is it's not a result in any shape or form if the defects are still there...all you've done is fill them for a few weeks. You must realise that T-Cut will not remove swirls, at best it will only cleanse the paint a little. So in short buying T-Cut, SRP, microfibres, then throw into the mix the time to do this...comes back to a waste of time and money.

Yes I may have been a little heavy handed with my choice of words initially, but I would rather deal with the cold hard truth than waste my time or money.

Plus I don't see it as a positive to make money out of people who've had their vehicles ruined by "road side gangs". If people are educated about proper car care and come to the professionals in the first place, then longterm they've saved a stack of cash and we've built a relationship with a client.
 
I'm with @Tourershine and @Spaghettiboy78 . I too have Blackberry and although I love the colour it does show the dirt and swirls pretty badly. I also had a few marks all the way down the sides from tree branches etc on narrow roads. I did the Autoglym SRP/EGP combo and it has made a huge difference. Its not perfect, and I realise it won't last forever, but then I am not that precious about my van (its a van!). For about £20 and something like 4 hours work its a great investment
 
Bilt hamber auto wash (non snowing snow foam)

Jet wash off
Repeat above
Jet wash off
Rinse with di water
Leave and admire :thumbsup:

No touching with dry cloths ever !
Use a damp microfibre with a quick detailing spray as a drying aid if you have no access to di water.
Be sure all traces of dirt are removed before using drying aids and cloths
 
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