Using SSR2 and then SSR1 to tackle swirl marks by hand

[rja1980]

Ever wondered if you can use SSR2 and then SSR1 to reduce swirls caused by automated carwash machines - without using a polishing machine? Thanks to my local Honda dealer and his automatic car wash, I intended to answer that question:

Before:

After:

Note to self: tell the garage not to put the car through the car wash!

Edit: 25th Aug 07 - fixed broken picture links

 

[BigLeegr]

WOW! :smt038
Looks great! :smt023
And to think-the dealership did this as an "extra" to get you to come back to them! :smt091 :smt093

 

[Prbigfoot]

Nice job there by hand, my friend! Proves once more the multi-ability of this products! Either by hand or machine, they do wonders! Great job!

 

[rja1980]

Thanks!

I applied SSR2 first and then SSR1. It was hard work, but worth it. Most of what you see in the first picture was caused by the dealer using an automated car wash, especially as I had never put the car through the automated car wash before. The car did have swirl marks when I first got it, so I tried using a well-known British polish contained in a white bottle with a red label - after about a month the marks were visible again, even if I applied the sealant product as recommended. Then I found out about Poorboy's on a British Honda owners forum - and never looked back since!

I'm sure British-built Honda's like this Civic tend to have softer paint then the JDM models, it was certainly more prone to swirls and scratches then the Japanese-built Honda Jazz/Fit models I owned before and after this car.

In a coupe of weeks time (weather permitting!) I'll give my Dad's Kia Rio5 the Poorboy's treatment. This car is two years old and only get polished using colour polish from a local motoring store, so again after a few weeks all the swirl marks become visible again. Although I did get my Dad to start washing his car using a wash mitt and the two-bucket method, the car still picked up swirl marks from a year's worth of using a sponge.

 

[davekt]

Nice save there differnatly a hige improvment.

 

[Maico]

Wow, I can't believe you got such good results polishing by hand, nice job. Can you go over more of how you polished that out by hand? Did you use just a regular foam applicator to rub it into the paint, or did you apply it on a cutting/polishing pad and rub it in that way? And how long did it take you to knock out those swirls? I gotta try that sometime.

 

[rja1980]

I used Just a microfibre cloth for SSR2 and a Megs foam applicator for the SSR1. The key is to do small areas at a time and work the polish well.

It took just one pass of each to do the job, possibly a couple of hours with each product. Remember that Honda paint (especially on British-made Civics) is quite soft so it can take relatively less effort to do a decent job. Even my '98 Hyundai had better paint quality.:roll:

Anyway, the paint wasn't totally swirl-free after this effort, but the big swirls from the dealer had been removed (to my surprise) and the normal swirl marks were reduced to the point where you had to look for them to see them. Most of the remaining defects were the very fine scratches caused when I used a hydroblade on the paintwork when I first got the car But again, you had to look for these to spot them.

Black will always show the defects more, so a lighter-coloured car could produce better results with the same effort.

By the way, does the SSR series contain any fillers?