Removing Swirls & Water Spots
in Clear Coat Finishes

    Visually masking swirls can be accomplished by hand. Removing swirls is best accomplished with a machine polisher.

Swirls are fine, etched lines in the
top paint or clear coat layer.

    If your car's finish is smooth, here are your options for reducing or removing swirls, spots and minor paint blemishes:

Option #1
Temporarily hide swirls & spots:

    Swirls can be visually hid by polishing the surface with a non-abrasive polish such as Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish,  Meguiar's No. 9 Swirl Remover or 3M Perfect-It Swirl Remover. These polishes do not remove swirls. They round off the top edge of the swirl, robbing sunlight of a sharp edge to cause a reflection. When you buff off the polishing residues, fillers will stay in the depressions. 

Hand polishing will round over the edge of
swirls robbing sunlight of a sharp edge to
cause a reflection.

When you buff off the polish or glaze,
fillers will remain in the swirls.

    This procedure does not remove the swirl. Swirls may be visible in certain light conditions (fluorescent lamps are ruthlessly revealing) and will reappear as the wax ages. That said, most people will look at your car and think it's flawless.

Waxing holds the fillers in place,
visually hiding the swirls.

Option #2
Remove the swirl, water spot or paint defect.

    Dual-action polishers like the Porter Cable 7424 are not designed to remove paint. They  can round over and make invisible minor swirls and spots but may not have the power to fully remove deeper paint defects. 

To remove a swirl, you must remove the
layer of paint or clear coat that contains
the defect.

    Very fine swirls can be removed by polishing alone. Deeper swirls. water spots and/or light scratches typically requires a three-step compound, polish and finish procedure. These are the same three steps used by automakers, body shops and professional detailers.

   Compounding involves abrading away the area surrounding the scratch or blemish until the defect is no longer visible. This is best accomplished with a circular polisher (DeWalt 849,  Makita 9227, etc.)  but dual-action polishers like the Porter Cable 7424 will remove minor defects and visually reduce deeper swirls, scratches and blemishes. Compounding may leave the surface dull. This is normal. This dullness, or compounding haze, is removed in the next step which is polishing. The combination we like best is Menzerna Intensive Polish applied with an Orange Power Pad.

    Polishing removes compounding haze and restores surface gloss. It creates a mirror-like, highly reflective finish ready for waxing. The polishing combination we like best is Menzerna Final Polish II applied with a Hi-Gloss, Constant Pressure, White Polishing Pad.

    Finishing protects the surface with your favorite wax or sealant. Finishing can be accomplished by hand or with a dual action polisher (Porter Cable 7424). Applying a wax or paint sealant by machine is typically done with an ultra-soft, foam finishing pad. We like Menzerna FMJ sealant and Blackfire All Finish Paint Protection applied with a Hi-gloss, Constant Pressure, Red, Concours Finishing Pad.

For complete, step-by-step instructions on removing swirls by machine click here:
    Removing swirls using a dual-action machine polisher.
   Removing swirls using a professional circular polisher.

We also offer three Swirl Removing Kits:

1. The Menzerna Hand Swirl Removing Kit is designed for the person that does not have a machine polisher. It contains a compound and polish that can be applied by hand to remove or visually reduce minor paint defects.
   
    
2. The Menzerna D-A (Dual Action Machine) Swirl Removing Kit is designed for the enthusiast that owns a Porter Cable 7424 or 7336, dual-action, machine polisher. Using a D-A machine polisher allows you to remove deeper swirls and spots without the possibility of harming your car's finish. This is a great machine for the novice enthusiast.
   
    
3. The Menzerna Advanced Swirl Remover Kit is designed for the skilled enthusiast with a professional, circular polisher or dual-action machine. This kit assumes some polishing experience on the part of the operator but is capable of removing the deepest swirls, water spots and paint defects.

About dual-action polishers:

   Dual action polishers like the Porter Cable 7424 trade safety for ultimate paint cutting ability. Since the pads oscillate (jiggle) rather than rotate, dual action machines may not be able to abrade away enough of the top clear coat to completely remove deep swirls, defects and scratches. That said, dual-action polishers will always produce better results than could be achieved by hand.

    On the plus side, the random, oscillating motion of dual action polishers makes these machines very safe for novice users. It is virtually impossible to damage the paint or clear coat with a dual action polisher.