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Correcting hood swirls/haze

Hayden

Love/Hate Relationship
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Car(s)
2016 GTI
Hi,

I recently picked up a '16 GTI used with 14k KM's. The PO never washed the car and i assume only the dealer did shitty washes.

The hood has haze/swirl/line marks (not too sure what to call it) and I am wondering what is the best course to get rid of this. I am trying to figure out if I need to get a professional to take care of this, or if it is possible to DIY it.

I have done lots of claybarring and waxing but I've never touched polishing or polishers..I do have a power polisher new in the box in my garage but I just don't know where to start.





Here are some photos, I am just looking for some suggestions on what products and techniques to use, the hood is the worst, but there is a couple other parts on the car.

Thanks,
 

CHarmer

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Kdub,Canada
Check out products like Meguiar’s swirl x / scratch x 2.0.
Easy to use/find & cheap.
Available at crappy Tire & can be applied by hand if you have an idea what your doing.
 

SweetJones_29

Ready to race!
Location
Dallas
Go to harbor freight and get a DA polisher and pads. Get some compoud and polish at autozone. Watch some DIY videos. It’s a time consuming process the first time doing it.
 

SM075180

Ready to race!
Check out products like Meguiar’s swirl x / scratch x 2.0.
Easy to use/find & cheap.
Available at crappy Tire & can be applied by hand if you have an idea what your doing.



+1 on the swirl x. It’s fairly idiot proof (not to call you one of course)

If the polisher itself is intimidating you can do it by hand with an applicator.

However you go about it just don’t overdo it, not that it’s all that fine of a line between good and ruined. The haze should come out quickly, maybe two passes? No need to dig into anything- just prime up whatever pad you’re using and let the weight of the machine or equivalent with your arm do the work.

That’s my two cents at least. Never used the product on VW paint but it did wonders on a dodge I had.

Best of luck. Show us how it turns out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

CHarmer

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Kdub,Canada
Go to harbor freight and get a DA polisher and pads. Get some compoud and polish at autozone. Watch some DIY videos. It’s a time consuming process the first time doing it.

We are in Canada, so i don’t believe that is an option.
& personally i would not advise anything from HF.
Especially a D.A, check out griots garage, torq or rupes, for some quality.

Im a tradesman & always say Lifes too short to use shitty tools.
You want to make the job as easy/enjoyable as possible

Theres always an exception for a one time tool or in a pinch, but a think a good buffer is an investment worth making!
 
Last edited:

cbenjes

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Bel Air, MD
Take a look at Adam's clay bar, scratch removal, machine polishing and sealant/wax videos here:

https://adamspolishes.com/video

I like Adam's products and use a lot of them. I like the simplicity of his products, because he typically sells one product for each detailing step, unlike Chemical Guys and others that have many products that do similar things, so you never know what to buy or which is the best product for your application.

So I also shop around and use similar products from other places, like Chemical Guys or Griotsgarage. Many products from various companies are very similar, but Adam's Polishes is always a little pricey. Sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it's not. YMMV.

You can definitely do the paint repair yourself, but it's going to be a lengthy process and involve hours of work, or you can pay someone a nice sum to do it for you. That's up to how much research and learning you want to do, how much labor you want to put into it, how much money you want to put into equipment and chemicals, and whether or not you have a good location for paint restoration, like a clean garage.

Frankly, I got hooked on making my cars look as good as they can, so I enjoy doing the work myself.

Prior to me becoming a paint snob, I used to think my cars looked good when I just waxed them with Meguiars or NuFinish. Then I started watching videos to learn paint restoration techniques and decided to buy a Porter Cable 7424XP dual action polisher. It's amazing what you can do to eliminate scratches, swirls, haze with the right tools and chemicals. Yeah, it's a multi-step process, but I love it when people say, "Your car looks like the paint is still wet. Is it new?" "Nope, it's 6 years old and it has 120,000 miles on it."

Best of luck!
 

PouncingPanzer1

Go Kart Champion
A good pad and finish polish would probably do ya. Only one way to learn how, DO IT! I would just try somewhere other then your hood first to see how your pad/product react to the paint and weather and such.
 

russiankid

Drag Race Newbie
Location
PA
Don't cheap out on pads, get a good set of pads and some good polish products. Take your time doing it and watch plenty of tutorials. What I see in the pictures is not hard to correct.
 

Hayden

Love/Hate Relationship
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Car(s)
2016 GTI
Is it a DA polisher? Pretty hard to mess up using it. Just watch some videos on youtube. AmmoNYC is good.

I am not 100%, I will dig in my garage and try to find it...pretty sure its a black and decker.

Check out products like Meguiar’s swirl x / scratch x 2.0.
Easy to use/find & cheap.
Available at crappy Tire & can be applied by hand if you have an idea what your doing.

Awesome..I will check it out.

Go to harbor freight and get a DA polisher and pads. Get some compoud and polish at autozone. Watch some DIY videos. It’s a time consuming process the first time doing it.

I stopped by a local detailing supply shop, they recommended the polisher, quality pads and their step 2 compound. He said it is relatively easy to do and should disappear in 2 passes.

+1 on the swirl x. It’s fairly idiot proof (not to call you one of course)

If the polisher itself is intimidating you can do it by hand with an applicator.

However you go about it just don’t overdo it, not that it’s all that fine of a line between good and ruined. The haze should come out quickly, maybe two passes? No need to dig into anything- just prime up whatever pad you’re using and let the weight of the machine or equivalent with your arm do the work.

That’s my two cents at least. Never used the product on VW paint but it did wonders on a dodge I had.

Best of luck. Show us how it turns out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Cool man, thanks for the tips. The polisher is a bit intimidating, its my first "new" (2 years old) car and I want to keep this paint beautiful.

Take a look at Adam's clay bar, scratch removal, machine polishing and sealant/wax videos here:

https://adamspolishes.com/video

I like Adam's products and use a lot of them. I like the simplicity of his products, because he typically sells one product for each detailing step, unlike Chemical Guys and others that have many products that do similar things, so you never know what to buy or which is the best product for your application.

So I also shop around and use similar products from other places, like Chemical Guys or Griotsgarage. Many products from various companies are very similar, but Adam's Polishes is always a little pricey. Sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it's not. YMMV.

You can definitely do the paint repair yourself, but it's going to be a lengthy process and involve hours of work, or you can pay someone a nice sum to do it for you. That's up to how much research and learning you want to do, how much labor you want to put into it, how much money you want to put into equipment and chemicals, and whether or not you have a good location for paint restoration, like a clean garage.

Frankly, I got hooked on making my cars look as good as they can, so I enjoy doing the work myself.

Prior to me becoming a paint snob, I used to think my cars looked good when I just waxed them with Meguiars or NuFinish. Then I started watching videos to learn paint restoration techniques and decided to buy a Porter Cable 7424XP dual action polisher. It's amazing what you can do to eliminate scratches, swirls, haze with the right tools and chemicals. Yeah, it's a multi-step process, but I love it when people say, "Your car looks like the paint is still wet. Is it new?" "Nope, it's 6 years old and it has 120,000 miles on it."

Best of luck!

I am kind of the same.. lol. NuFinish and basic meguirs gold wax with a claybar. Got the job done on my mk5 but I didn't have to deal with the hologram type marks in the hood.

I've heard good things about Adams polishes, only thing is its pretty expensive to get into canada. A local brand I have near me is called WaxedShine and they seem to have a good rep.
 

yakuza70

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
San Mateo, CA
Just some further advice:

Once you start doing your own polishing it can get addicting since it's very satisfying to correct your own paint. There are lots of YouTube videos out there about detailing. Search for "Pan the Organizer" videos on YouTube - he's really good about explaining his process.

Also, if you don't want to get those swirls and scratches back, be sure to learn how to properly hand wash your own car. Don't go to those automatic car wash places where swirls are free of charge. Look up "two bucket" method.
 

Hayden

Love/Hate Relationship
Location
Vancouver, Canada
Car(s)
2016 GTI
Just some further advice:

Once you start doing your own polishing it can get addicting since it's very satisfying to correct your own paint. There are lots of YouTube videos out there about detailing. Search for "Pan the Organizer" videos on YouTube - he's really good about explaining his process.

Also, if you don't want to get those swirls and scratches back, be sure to learn how to properly hand wash your own car. Don't go to those automatic car wash places where swirls are free of charge. Look up "two bucket" method.


Thanks, I do currently use the 2 bucket method with a nice soft mitt
 

VancouverGTI1

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Vancouver, BC
Hi Hayden, I do polishing on the side, I'm a ticketed automotive painter during the day. If you want some advice, I can meet up with you. I live in the Lower Mainland.

Based on your photo you are around Langley, me too. I used to work right by that Lordco plaza

Check out Autogeek.net for how to videos and lots of forum posts and step-by-step guides
 
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