My Black 06 has some serious swirl damage from the previous owner. I tried Turtlewax, and that seemed a waste of time. Has anyone (especially black RX8s) had any success?

ND

 

check out the show and shine section of the forum, plenty of info in there along with lots of pictures

 

Thanks Atilla

 

Wax does not remove swirls.

If you want to reduce swirls by hand, I recommend performing the full 3 step process from meguiars... If you have a random orbit buffer that would help, if not, prepare to work out your arms.

The 3 steps are:
1) Meguiars Deep Crystal Paint cleaner
2) Meguiars Deep Crystal polish
3) Meguiars Deep Crystal Pure carnauba wax

The step that removes the swirls is the polish. That is one to which you must WORK it in hard. If you have spot areas of severe damage, use Meguiars Scratch X 2.0.

 

use Zymol

 

A random-orbital buffer and mild polish is the way to go (only go more aggressive polish if necessary). Will remove scratches and 'orange peel.'

Most scratches are imparted by toweling (non-microfiber) and [dare I say it] full contact car washes.

 

I had (have) the same problem you do. I tried the ScratchX and it did not help at all with swirls. However, for actual scratches it worked great. I have several on mine and after a quick application of that stuff (after a good clean) it made them almost invisible.

 

You guys have it all wrong.
No matter how well you think your handy work is going to be attempting to remove "severe" swirls, it isn't going to work.
At most, it will disguise it a bit, but the next rainfall or next car wash the ugly scratches and swirls will reappear.

You gotta get the paint taken care of professionally.

Lucky for you there's a forum member who's been offering their services for such a matter.
Look up Wes_R.
His work is fantastic!!! He'll get the car looking brand new in no time.

 

+1
coming from the detailing business myself, you won't be able to get it out by hand. (Modern clear coats are way too hard to even bother)

You'll need to find a good detailer or buy a buffer and prepare to learn. DA buffers are generally idiot-proof.

and slightly off topic but...
random orbitals will NOT remove orange peel.
First off, it doesn't have enough power to cut clear. You can leave it in a section full blast and it'll stop oscillating before you start cutting through.

Second.. it DOES NOT level paint because it's a RANDOM orbital aka. dual action. You can't concentrate enough pressure on a single area to generate enough cutting power. Exactly why DA buffers are useless against any type of scratch removal. You can't "choose" to go perpendicular against a scratch to level it off because its "random" vs a direct rotation you get from a rotary.

Also exactly the reason it won't improve orange peel. It's hard enough to try on a rotary alone, orange peel removal is almost always done with wet sanding.

The DA's biggest advantage (almost no heat generated to burn clear) is also its biggest disadvantage (no real cutting power).
Swirls however, depending on how deep they are, can be treated with DA's. Just don't expect to be able to correct anything deeper with it.

 

^ Well, my Griot's RO buffer and their no. 2 polish certainly did remove my 'sat on the lot for 6 mos.' roof orange peel but it must have been very superficial.

Concur that it doesn't have the 'bite' to level paint blobs tho'.

 

^not sure what sitting on the lot has to do with orange peel
you can't "develop" orange peel any more than how it came from the factory

 

I had the same problem with my wifes black protege5, Had to use a polisher and not a DA. You have to be careful though as you can burn or cut right through the clear in not time.

 

Well then it came that way, only on the rear roof section (aft of moon roof). Again, mine must have been superficial.

Anyway, I'm happy with a RO buffer for my typical upkeep, but do appreciate that for significant finish repair you need the pro direct drive buffer gear, aggressive polish, and lots of water lubrication.