Well whoever owned the car before me attempted to buff it with a power buffer. They obviously used a wool bonnet and not a foam pad, plus they just didn't have any right trying to buff a black car in the first place. The swirl marks were out of control. So yesterday I decided I would give it a shot and see if I could get some of them out.

I picked up a bottle of Meguiar's Scratch X and a can of Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax Paste. The Scratch X was supposed to be the best stuff we (Autozone) had to offer. It also happened to be the most expensive, at like $9 or something. I used the Tech Wax because the can looked cool and it was also expensive. $16 I believe. I also picked up a pack of very soft and smooth cotton buffing towels.

I washed the car first with some dish soap and made sure I got all the old wax off. Not a single bead of water. Good... no more wax. After it dried I went over the entire car with the Scratch X using a foam applicator. Then buffed it off with some towels. I couldn't believe my eyes. The scratches and swirls were disappearing. On some deeper ones, I went back and did it again.

I then began to apply the wax. The package said to do the whole car at once, so I did. Then I went back and began to buff it off with the towels. I used one or two towels to get the majority of the wax off, then i went back over it with a clean towel to give it a nice polish.

I can't believe how well it came out. ALL the buff swirls are GONE! Almost all of the scratches are gone as well! Even though I can't feel my arm or hand, it was WELL worth it.

 

why didn't they have any reason to buff a black car? it is a common procedure and if done right, the results are awesome. not to sound discouraging, but i believe scratch x has ALOT of fillers in it...so don't be surprised if in a week or two the swirls come back. thats the same process i used to use: scratch x then wax. until i learned how to use a buffer. the best way to get the swirls OUT is to use a buffer. it is near impossible to get swirls and scratches out by hand. you may have to repeat your process every week or two if you decide not to ever buff it. really worth the money to buy a buffer. www.autopia.org <

 

Yea, for really good removal I'd get the 3M cutting compound.

 

I didn't say he didn't have a reason. I said he didn't have the right, meaning he did a horrible job. Sorry for the confusion. Black is a VERY hard color to buff if you dont know what your doing according to one of my friends who used to detail cars at a dealership. A lot of people have no idea, or have never picked up a buffer in their life, and try to buff a black vehicle. You probably know, black hides NOTHING. Lol. Trust me, I know. I'm not saying I have experiance, or could do a good job, but I also didn't try to buff my car myself. This was just temporary anyway till my friend (who used to detail cars) has time to buff it out for me. I hope it doesn't look like crap again in a week considering how long it took me, but if it does, no big deal. Like I said, it was meant to be temporary.

 

its a good thing that you have a friend that will detail your car for you (hopefully for a good price!) because a full detail = $$$ <and lots of it. my best suggestion would be to look into getting a pc buffer (dual action=hard to mess up). it would pay for itself after one full detail, and can be had at lowes sometimes around $80. i bought mine for $79. then when you add the pads and products, you are around $150ish. i find it fun to detail a vehicle (some say i am obsessed) and a lot of pride can be had with the results. (as i am sure you had with your polish and wax). you don't need much experience to use a pc. i highly suggest reading up on it and looking at some before and after photos on autopia.org . i don't know how i've went without it so long!!

...but if you dont want to think about buying a buffer, i highly suggest megs show car glaze (#7 i believe). they sell it at autozone for $9 and has ALOT of fillers in it. follow that up with some wax and you are set. 7 imo is much nicer to work with than scratch-x and will fill in better than the scratch-x. you might want to try it once.

 

poorboys ssr is supposed to be a really good abrasive polish. ive heard many good things about it but have yet to try it but its available at poorboysworld.com or autogeek.net