Fleebee

Help please.

I have a 05 04-black e55 with swirls. It's doing my head in as they are on every panel and I can catch a glimpse at any time. It's an expensive car that has been covered in a soft paint/clear coat that is very very sensitive. Maybe I expect too much but frankly I can't understand why the paint isn't more durable than it is. I would like to be put in contact with somebody local who will take ownership of the problem and guarentee that they can fix the paint. I did take it to one paint shop which featured in "best of Boston" but the results aren't really much better. I don't expect every scratch to be removed justs those swirls that you see when you look across the paint in some light.

Any help would be appreciated.

uberwgn

I think you'll need to review your washing techniques.

There's an expert in Wakefield I can recommend.

Fleebee

I didn't buy the car new and the swirls were in the paint when I got it. I have the car picked up by a car cleaner twice a month so I don't touch it. They don't have the ability to really fix the problem so hence the posting. Who is your contact in Wakefield and why would you recomend him?

Thanks for your post.

rlee02135

post some pics of the swirls.
i use a hi speed buffer and it gets rid of all the swirls...you just have to do it right

Greg@DI

Fixing the swirls yourself is relatively easy when you have the right products and a little bit of detailing knowledge. To significantly reduce the swirls and other imperfections it requires a two step polish. We typically recommend using the Menzerna Intensive Polish and Menzerna Final Polish II with the Porter Cable 7424. This buffer is very safe and easy to use and most importantly gets great results. If you would like more information about how to use this buffer and remove those swirls please let me know and I'd be happy to help you. Thanks for posting and I look forward to hearing from you.

Greg @ Detailed Image

Nickc0844

There is your issue. Perhaps your "cleaner", not "detailer" is using an old mitt that sits on the ground and/or does not use a grit guard or the two-bucket method while washing. Maybe he is washing with 1 mitt, and starting with you wheels, then cleaning your paint?? Or, perhaps like the Mercedes dealerships I've experienced, they fill the wash bucket every other day and wash a bagillion cars with the same soap, water, etc...???

My thought is that if he doesn't have the ability to remove swirls (i.e. Where do they come from?), he's causing them. I'd have a talk with your guy and say you want him to use a relatively new mitt when washing your car....hell, go buy him a few! Either way, it will start releiving your headache; otherwise, you're looking at the same situation a year from now after you pay $300+ this month to get the swirls removed.

Just a thought from a true "Detailer".

Fleebee

Actually he is a detailer he just doesn't have the tools or I think the bottle to go at my car. I'm a little fussy about it. The swirls were there were I purchased the car and I believe are notcontributed to by him. He uses the same procedures that you all use including the two bucket method. I will post some photos once the car is clean again and the sun is out. Thanks for your reply.

uberwgn

http://autopia.org/forum/search.php?...huser=RickRack

The guy goes by "rickrack" at Autopia. He lists his location as Wakefield. Take a look at some of this threads, his works is nothing short of excellent.

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=74095

Fleebee

[QUOTE=uberwgn;1795205]http://autopia.org/forum/search.php?...huser=RickRack

The guy goes by "rickrack" at Autopia. He lists his location as Wakefield. Take a look at some of this threads, his works is nothing short of excellent.


Will do. Thanks Uberwgn.

BTW, what wagon?

chairman

These things seem to grow especially on dark cars (black, blue, etc). I am not certain from your post if you are inclined to do the work yourself. You have a beautiful car, my wife drives a black E320 its not an E55 but you get the idea.

If you are interested in doing it yourself, there are many different types of products that can be used to remove (as opposed to "filling" or covering them up). Greg@DI has given you two great products that can be used with the PC buffer to remove the swirls. There are others, such as 3M Swirl Mark Remover for dark cars, followed by FinesseIT II, all applied with a PC.

Please keep in mind that if your fingernail can get caught in the marks no amount of buffing will get them out, that generally means that there is a deep scratch in the clear coat as opposed to a surface scratch.

I would like to recommend that you read this article it will give you some insight into German paints and why some detailers may not be able to deal with swirl marks effectively. Yes, this article has much to do with self promotion, but it contains valuable information.

If you are not inclined to do this work yourself, discuss some of these items with your deatiler or perhaps another detailer and see if they can help remove those swirls.

Good luck.

Fleebee

I'm not one for doing this myself becasue I don't have the facilities to do so. I live in an apartment building with an underground garage and poor lighting.

Thanks for the heads up on euro paint. I wonder if there has been a study that validates the stone chip theroy as being a good reason for the softer clear coats.