The infamous swirl marks we are plagued with. Vote inside.

[Maverick22]

After talking to several BRZ/ FRS owners it has become obvious that our clearcoat absolutely sucks. Vote below, Provide solutions and insight.


Upona delivery of my FRS (August 2013) , I watched them rip off the travel stickers and rinse it off.
There were not swirl marks at this time.
I did not have swirl mark issues for the first 2-3 weeks. Then the dalership washed my car while I was having the HP fuel pump replaced and shortly after, I started noticing swirl marks.

I have aways used a microfiber mit, Rinced three times prior to washing and used Rain X soap with Carnuba wax beads.

They have progressively gotten worse. So what has everyone done to fix the swirl marks? I am currently considering paying a detailer to polish them off and opticoat my car, I just wanted to see how many people are having similar issues.

[akyp]

A little over 1 year and no swirls at all. Perhaps review your carwash procedures?

Rock chips, on the other hand...

[smbstyle]

Exactly why I went with white; because if I develop any, I can't see them lol.

It's pretty damn hard, if not impossible, to never develop any swirl marks.

I've had several black cars, and people always asked me, "how do you keep the swirls out". My response - I don't touch it.

After I bought it and spent about 12 hours on a full paint correction process, I would wash it when it was absolutely necessary, and even so, after a while, I would see some very light swirls.

[mfbmike]

People don't realize how counterproductive their car washing methods are to reducing swirls and marring in their paint.

2 bucket method with grit guard, high quality soap and very soft sponge, soft microfiber for drying will go a long way.

[Foobar]

I had Opticoat on my DGM car since the day after I drove it home and got a proper correction done. I have maintained it with 2 bucket/grit guard/ONR/bunch of microfiber rags that I wash after every use. Aside from some scratches caused by rocks or other similar mishaps, the paint continues to be swirl-free.

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by mfbmike

People don't realize how counterproductive their car washing methods are to reducing swirls and marring in their paint.

2 bucket method with grit guard, high quality soap and very soft sponge, soft microfiber for drying will go a long way.

exactly.

I use the same method, as well as one time use grout sponges, since I can get a 10 pack from HD for less than 10 bucks.

You'll see that all the cleaning and washing detailing products out there say they help reduce the risk of introducing swirls, but I haven't seen any product say it'll "prevent" swirls.

[mfbmike]

Nothing prevents swirls entirely. It's almost inevitable to a certain degree. However, yes, you can definitely limit or slow down the appearance of them with proper car washing techniques.

Once your paint is marred and or laced with swirls, then yes, paint correction via compound/polish is needed. At the end of the day though, it's pointless to spend the money on paint correction if you're just going to back and wash your car in such a way that is going to reintroduce swirls to it.

Correction is just that, correction. Proper car washing is like maintenance.

i.e. you change your engine oil as a maintenance item to prevent the need for correction or in that case, replacing a blown motor. lol.

[Wonderbar]

Satin white pearl. I could see swirls on my color if I wanted to.

[gily25]

If this is your first dark car then it can be panicking to see the scratches, with practice people will be asking you what products you use and how you keep it nice. Swirls happen, even with the best practices...there's going to be times that you're in a rush or the wind picked up while you were washing.

Agree with others that a good polish and wax goes a long way. In my researching this forum and others, I decided to go with the following for the BRZ clearcoat: Griot's 6" DA Polisher, 5.5" Uber pads, Menzerna SF 4000, Adam's Machine Super Sealant and any slight swirls I had were corrected.

[ZionsWrath]

I have a small amount of swirls after more than a year of ownership.

I'd say it is an acceptable amount for self washing.

[mfbmike]

Originally Posted by gily25

If this is your first dark car then it can be panicking to see the scratches, with practice people will be asking you what products you use and how you keep it nice. Swirls happen, even with the best practices...there's going to be times that you're in a rush or the wind picked up while you were washing.

Agree with others that a good polish and wax goes a long way. In my researching this forum and others, I decided to go with the following for the BRZ clearcoat: Griot's 6" DA Polisher, 5.5" Uber pads, Menzerna SF 4000, Adam's Machine Super Sealant and any slight swirls I had were corrected.

I actually just picked up a Griot's DA and 5.5" uber pads through detailer's domain deal of the day.



I figure I'll run through the Adam's polish and wax I have before investing in some other stuff. I don't need correction yet but the stuff I have will be plenty for maintaining my paint for now.

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by gily25

If this is your first dark car then it can be panicking to see the scratches, with practice people will be asking you what products you use and how you keep it nice. Swirls happen, even with the best practices...there's going to be times that you're in a rush or the wind picked up while you were washing.

Agree with others that a good polish and wax goes a long way. In my researching this forum and others, I decided to go with the following for the BRZ clearcoat: Griot's 6" DA Polisher, 5.5" Uber pads, Menzerna SF 4000, Adam's Machine Super Sealant and any slight swirls I had were corrected.

How did the SF4000 finish down with the Griot's 6", or did you follow up with a light polish after it? Did you use the uber MF pads?

[gily25]

I've used maguiars and turtle rubbing compounds in the past for deeper corrections (bumper scrapes, a door scuff), the SF 4000 was super smooth by comparison. I started with a small patch on the hood where I saw a few scratches and it took them off in one pass (S-shape, 8 times), there was one area near the rear "hips" of the car I had to make 2 passes for, if you have just light swirls, I don't think you'll need a lighter polish but that's entirely up to you.

I used a green (for the Menzerna) and a black (for the Adam's) Uber foam buffing pad. Got them all from Detailer's Domain and the Griot's directly from them.

I would recommend you paper your windshield, I was glad I did, some got on the paper even though I was careful.

[BRZNutt]

Originally Posted by Wonderbar

Satin white pearl. I couldn't see swirls on my color if I wanted to.

Fixed that for ya. Yes, SWP is the best color car I have had to date that doesn't show swirl marks. I also did not let the dealership wash my car and am religious with my 2 bucket wash method. So far no swirls...