Damaged bodywork

[Lil' Aty]

Hi guys i have had a problem with my car body work since i have bought it about 5 years ago its a w210 in jet black. I have used many products on it but have mainly stuck to Auto glym super resin polish.

The problem is when i have polished my car it looks great til the sun comes out and then you can see lots of swirls on the body work it looks really dry and damaged however when the sun goes down it looks gr8.

I have had the doors wings and boot replaced about 2 years ago through the warranty of the car as they started rusting. These panels have obviously been painted again but they look the same when the sun shines on them..

Any advice would be appreciated..

 

[Steve_Perry]

I've read from other members here that Zymol products are good for reducing swirl marks. Try a forum search on either 'swirl' or 'Zymol'. I use the Zymol shampoo and cleaner wax that can be obtained from Hellfrauds but other more hardcore users go for more specialist Zymol products. I think they have a website too... try http://www.zymol.co.uk

Good luck in getting them out.

S.

 

[sym]

I've read from other members here that Zymol products are good for reducing swirl marks. Try a forum search on either 'swirl' or 'Zymol'. I use the Zymol shampoo and cleaner wax that can be obtained from Hellfrauds but other more hardcore users go for more specialist Zymol products. I think they have a website too... try http://www.zymol.co.uk

Good luck in getting them out.

S.

I find the "cheapo" Zymol Cleaner Wax has got rid of these swirls on my car to a certain extent, but not completely. I am hearing that Diamondbrite treatment is the way to go to do an even better job. Do a search for "Diamondbrite" for more details. I will be doing this soon - not just for the swirls, but to provide some real protection for the paintwork from dirt & the like. Like Steve says, Zymol is fantastic stuff, and I'm sure some of the pricier Zymol products have similar results, but we are talking pricey !!

S.

 

[Lil' Aty]

Ye i was reading about Zymbol yesterday lot of positive feedback for the product so i went out and bought the wash and the polish that they do am gonna try it out on the weekend hopefully if the weathers good..... Fingers crossed...

 

[jimmy]

I too have a black car and it is a really bad colour for showing up swirl marks and other imperfections. I have tried just about every wax and polish available, admittedly I have not tried the proper expensive Zymol.

I used the Diamondbrite kit on mine and it certainly helps to hide the swirl marks.

 

[Sp!ke]

Polish wont really help swirl marks. You need to cut back the paint to blend them in. This involves many hours of backbreaking hand polishing with T-cut or better still, a dedicated swirl removing compound from Meguires or Zymol & or a clay bar.

Hve a look here http://www.meguiars.com/store_meguiars/product_list.cfm?store=meg&line=auto&catagory=1&subcatagory=2

 

[Lil' Aty]

I think orignally the problem came from The previous owner using the car in roller washes i'm not a big fan of roller washes my self i believe they scratch the cars bodywork.. I think the car has been t cuted before which is part of the problem it hasnt been done properly...

 

[GregE240]

I use (and I'm sure Koolvin does) the "expensive" Zymol products.

Put simply, they are the best car care products I have ever used. Period.

Yes, the initial expense can take your breath away, but rest assured....the tub of wax (from 39.99 to hundreds of pounds) will last years and years. The Cleansing product in the Zymol range is superb at swirl mark removal.

The DiamondBrite treatment mentioned on these hallowed pages seems to be pretty good, and we have heard nothing but good things from satisfied customers on here. In terms of protection it appears to be good, atlhough I cannot comment on its ability to "bring up" tired / dulled / damaged paintwork - I'm sure one of the others will proffer and opinion on this ability.

Another alternative you may wish to consider is a Zymol alternative: Swissol. The guy in the UK is a guy called Mark Underwood - AKA "Wax Wizard" and what he doesn't know about cars isn't worth knowing.

Here is a post he made on another site which explains a heck of a lot about waxing etc:

There is not one single wax that can possibly prevent stone chips!!! No matter the wax be it Zymol, mine/swissol, Turtle, Autoglym etc etc.

The wax layer on paintwork is there primarily to provide gloss and protection against the elements.

The wax layer is only a micron or two in thickness!!!!. If applied regularly wax will provide heaps of protection and maintain the gloss level.

The only physical item that can STOP stone chips is Armourfend. This is a clear plastic film that is applied to vulnerable areas and yes it does stop stone chips.

A minutely thin wax layer cannot and does not stop stones from chipping paint especially when you consider the final velocity of a colliding stone often in excess of 60mph.

Standard off the shelve products are always a compromise and cannot do anything particularly well. Nearly all off the shelve products contain solvents and fine micro abrasives called silicates and usually contain synthetic waxes. These products by definition are called POLISHES.

Each time a polish is used you remove a microfine layer of paint. This is eveident on older cars where when looking along swage lines etc you'll often see undercoat instead of the top layer of paint. On clearcoat paints (modern metallic and pearlescent paints) you do not see this happing as the lacquer whilst still a paint is clear. It is a clear paint without the use of pigments.

There is a new breed of off the shelf products that are called waxes. However take time and carefully read the rear label and often you will find that it says " uses 100% carnauba wax" or there is a haz chem warning or an inflammable warning.

Let get this straight. If a product were to be 100% carnauba wax it would be unusable as pure carnauba arrives to us in the size of concrete blocks and needs to be smashed with lump hammers!

The clever play on words has you all going.

The standard wax content of the off the shelve products contain anywhere between 3 to 5% wax content by volume. The cheap products use synthetic resins and other waxes such a mondellia wax. The new breed of "off the shelf" waxes contain around 10% by volume carnauab wax. The also nearly always contain some form of solvent.

The cheaper the price almost garauntees the use of such solvents like naptha or toluene or xylene. In their raw state these solvents are extremely volatile and are not nice at all.

However where I differ (Wax Wizard/Swissol) and this includes Zymol is that we do NOT use solvents nor do we use abrasives or silicones.

Swissol and Zymol make waxes that are extremely carnauba rich (ranging from 30 to over 60% by volume). We both use natural "heavy oils" and light essential oils to carry the wax.

Both swissol and zymol rely on an initial two stage treatment to prepare the paint. The first stage is to deep clean the paint to remove contamination that washing alone cannot remove and to feed the paint the hvy oils that was origianally there. These hvy oils reinstate the losses thru solvents, detergents and sunlight and general weathering.

Once this stage has been done you then seal the paint using a wax to add further gloss gloss and to provide a microscopic thin film of protection.

Regular waxing (monthly) will give the optimum finish in terms of gloss and protection. Keep something regularly maintained is easy than letting it slide and then you face the shovel the sh*ite up hill again and need to re cleanse the paint.

We (swissol as well as zymol) recommend that you cleanse the paint twice a yr. This is best done from arond Ester to now and then again in October in readiness for the winter.

However where I and my collegues at Swissol have made much investment is to improve the ease of use of the waxes and have developed some super formulations including one that has teflon added.

Zymol waxes, whilst they are good, they need to be applied to a small section at a time, then wait for a "curing" time and then buff. In unskilled or for the novice this is boring and most 1st timers trip up here by appyling too much wax.

Swissol waxes have been further refined so that the WHOLE car can be waxed before buffing. One wax, the new Shield Wax with Teflon, can be applied and the car is then placed in the sun for the wax to cure. Buffing is a simple gentle dusting with a towel that is provided. The wax can even be applied to a warm paintwork and also be left for a few days before buffing.

Zymol as well as swissol waxes need to be applied very sparingly.Pots from either manufacturer will typical provide around 40 complete waxings.

I am currently still using the teflon wax that I cracked open in May last year and I use this wax on each and every car that I prepare. So far I have done over 40 vehicles and still have wax left.

Swissol as well as zymol are both simarly priced. Both our ranges are designed for those who want the ultimate in car care, the ultimate in gloss and ultimate in protection. Our waxes are edible! Try that with any of the high street products.

Swissol and zymol CANNOT BE made production line style. The high quality of ingredients goes toward the what appears to be a very high price.

Consider that a £35 or £40 pot of wax that gives 40 applications is now suddenly very cheap on a cost per application. Consider also that neither wax from either manufacturer will stain any exterrior plastics nor leave or produce any white residue!!!

Swissol Saphir wax and Zymol Titanium are more or less the same. They have increased wax content as well as more refined oils. They are considered to be mid range waxes.

Swissol Shield wax with teflon has a wax content (pure white wax) of 50% by volume. The white wax is derived from No1 yellow carnauba where the natural impurities are refined out of the raw wax. This produces a VERY pure wax and due to its purity will provide exceptional gloss but due to the added teflon the wax has extreme resiliance. The wax is suited to those who require the best gloss gloss and best protection and is ideally suited to those whose cars live outside 24/7.

Those that have experienced fine marks on the paint that look like scratches these are called swirl marks. They are caused form the use of harsh or even mild abrasives, cloths that are too harsh and from incorrect washing including the use of commercial drive thru car washes.

The problem is easily dealt with without the use of harsh abrasives.

What is needed is some time and dedication and the waxing afterwards is the icing on the cake. Preparation of a car if done properly is time consuming as it is not a race.

As a side step consider one product that maybe used by memebers that comes in a blue container and its name begins with M and has three letters and ends in R.

Now this product is a shampoo, a cleaner and a protector and sheds tons of white dust and ruins any black trim should you get some on. It is a jack of all trades and master of none.

Swissol is the product that has soaked me up and I represent. Zymol is a fine product as well. The off the shelves products are also fine but they unlike zymol and swissol are mass produced too a price using solvents, silicones and micro abrasives. They are designed for the masses who are not really interested in the ultimate gloss and protection.

Zymol and swissol are like Mobil Rally 1 and say castrol RS oils. They are the ultimate.

I wonder how many people here use cheap supermarket oils in their cars........not many me thinks. Why? Cos you want the best in lubrication etc for your car.

Any more questions I'd be more than happy to help and try to give you unbiased answers.

those who need to cantact me please do so at:
[email protected] OR [email protected]

 

[saorbust]

I echo Greg's comments - Zymol is superb. I used Autoglym for ages until I found the car going white (seriously - polished every weekend) - due to the chalk content. Considering the car actually had a dark shade of BLUE, it wasn't good.

Zymol has restored the paint colour, removed the chalk residue, and on our new car looks absolutely amazing. I've used it on my father V reg Jaguar, my brothers P reg E Class, and all have come up showroom condition. It takes time, but the results are incredible, and really worth it.

Clarky.

 

[clk270]

ScratchX from Meguiars is the best for swirl removal - check out their website. Paint Scrub is alos good, and restores colour too (without cutting the paint) - -easy to use either of these - about £7 each from recollection. Must wax again afterwards.

 

[Dieselman]

For dark coloured paint you really need to use a finishing glaze rather than a wax as wax will leave swirl marks.

If you already have micro scratches use a liquid polish. I have used Autoglym and found it to be powdery and have been using MER. This is slightly more abrasive so be careful but it does seem to remove any scratches in the laquer.

I have an electric polisher which if used correctly gives a great finish.

I think you need to polish the car and use a glaze until you can't see the scratches any more then wax with a hard shell wax. The more solid the wax the less cutting compound in the mix.

One of the most common reasons for dull swirly paintwork is due to applying too much wax / polish.
Try applying a small amount with a damp cloth then dampen the cloth again and go over the car again with no more polish. Keep going until you have a very even spread of polish with no water droplets or streaks. Allow to dry then buff up.

 

[mercmanuk]

the diamondbrite is in my opinion the best polish /sealer money can buy.but its more of a sealer than a polish,thats why its applied mainly to new cars when the car paint is new condition.once applied it protects against swirls and fading for 5 years,or so they say..if applied over swirls it seals in the swirl affect .its better to use an abrasive paste type polish first in a straight motion not a circular motion to remove the swirls,then apply the diamonbrite bottle 1,this removes any old polish on the paintwork,then apply bottle 2 which is the sealer for 5 years no polishing protection..
a little time consuming but well worth the effort..i did a red ford escort last week that had never been polished in 6 years,it had turned pink and i do mean pink in colour,the pigment had totally gone.use t cut first in a straight motion to cut the top layer of paint then applied diamondbrite,the guy whos car it was still believes its been resprayed,he will not have it its just been polished..the beauty is it will stay that way for years to come.but the diamondbrite is a sealer rather than an abrasive polish

keep up the good work all

 

[l5foye]

Hi guys i have had a problem with my car body work since i have bought it about 5 years ago its a w210 in jet black. I have used many products on it but have mainly stuck to Auto glym super resin polish.

The problem is when i have polished my car it looks great til the sun comes out and then you can see lots of swirls on the body work it looks really dry and damaged however when the sun goes down it looks gr8.

I have had the doors wings and boot replaced about 2 years ago through the warranty of the car as they started rusting. These panels have obviously been painted again but they look the same when the sun shines on them..

Any advice would be appreciated..

Hi Lil'Aty- I have had the same problem with the same colour. I found the
cure to be (1) stop using a sponge when washing the car and use a sheepskin mitt instead (this prevents any re-occurence) and (2) try Zymol cleaner wax and follow the instructions to the letter , including a fine spray of water on the freshly polished surface and buff with a micro fibre cloth.

 

[Will]

Lil 'Aty - I echo your comments about swirl marks on black cars.
The last three Mercs that I have had have all be black (well two of them black and one blue/black metallic)
Black is without a shadow of a doubt one of the hardest colours to keep clean and scratch free. That is not at all true, it is just that we notice dirt and scratchmarks a hell of a lot more on this colour of paint!
The problem that you are noticing is because the paint surface is either damaged or has not been finished correctly. Not as serious as it sounds, and sp!ke has already hit the nail on the head.
The scratches/swirling in the paintwork have to be removed before you start waxing/polishing your car.
You could wax it with autoglym resin polish 20 times and it still wont take out all of these scratchmarks!
If you have the time, resources and patience then I recommend a long weekend effort of thouroughly washing the car and cutting the paintwork back to remove these surface scratches. Ideally for the best results I would wash the car twice and try and find somewhere well covered (ie, a garage) to stop any dust/dirt from ruining the job.
work your way around the car and do only 1 panel at a time. If you are doing it yourself with T-cut or similar, be prepared for some hard work!
If you are intending on keeping the car, and you really want a top notch job, find a specialist valeting company and get them to finish the paintwork for you correctly. It may cost you, but trust me, you will not be disappointed. The secret is that insted of "filling" the scratches up with a layer of wax, you really want to remove them properly first. How many times have you seen cars that look pretty good when they have be waxed to buggery, and then after 3 or 4 washes, appear to look a little dull and lifeless, and covered in scratches?
If you were to have the paintwork compounded first, and hence remove the majority of the scratches, it will pay you dividends in the long run.
Personally I am not a huge fan of T-cut. The best results that I had were on my previous 190E. I used a combination of G3 paste and Gold Top machine glaze, both available from farecla (www.farecla.com). I meticulously applied these using an electric polishing mop and a lot of time/effort. Everyone that I knew was stunned with the result - I am not exaggereating when I say that it stood out like a new pin! It took me about two days to complete the job but it probably save me endless weekends of wasting my time trying to polish a scratched car!
These are professional products, and I doubt you would find them in your local Halfords etc, but if you can get hold of them and know what you are doing, the results will be worth it.
Just remember that although a black car requires a lot of upkeep, when they are looking pristine they dwarf everything on the road! It really is a labour of love!
Good luck
Will