Swirles in Paint Finish

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Steve Patterson

New Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2018
Posts
3
Reaction score
4
Location
Northeast
I purchase a used 2015 Black expy. It has lots of swirles in the paint (or clearcoat). It is especially noticeable on a sunny day. Is there anyway to remove them?
 

Adieu

Full Access Members
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Posts
3,700
Reaction score
786
Location
SoCal
Ford paintwork is generally disappointing

I thought it was the low end SSV trim on my '09, but my '12 Lincoln Gator L also has swirls and orange peel galore
 

Trainmaster

Old School Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Posts
3,392
Reaction score
1,919
Location
Rockaway Beach, NY
Talk to someone in the professional autobody business. Swirls are the result of bad buffing or waxing, not something that comes from the factory, unless some after-assembly touchup was done. There are professional products by major suppliers out there to remove the swirl marks. You'll have to learn to use them, but they work very well and will remove the swirls completely.
 

gixer2000

Retrofit or Bust
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Posts
1,467
Reaction score
642
Location
Massachusetts
I purchase a used 2015 Black expy. It has lots of swirles in the paint (or clearcoat). It is especially noticeable on a sunny day. Is there anyway to remove them?
Any detail shop can handle swirls without issue also there are plenty of "how to" videos on youtube for doing it yourself also. I do my own paint correction but I have a white car so if something isn't perfect I'll probably never notice but a black car in the Sun shows everything.

As for poor paint from Ford, all manufacturers use machines to paint now so you see orange peel on pretty much every new car. I miss the days of a hand painted car where the painter would inspect his work. Now its just an allotted amount of paint/clear per car and it ships unless its really screwed up. Kinda sad
 

rexster314

Full Access Members
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Posts
371
Reaction score
42
Location
Texas gulf coast
Swirls are induced by drive through car washes, detailing the car without washing, using rough towels. A buffer and swirl remover is about the only thing that will completely take them out. I buffed out my XLR 2 years ago, and I'm just starting to get swirls back.
 

1955moose

Full Access Members
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Posts
5,981
Reaction score
1,336
That and have a shop or yourself do a color sand wet with 2500 grit sandpaper, followed by a quality compound, and a buffer with a foam or sheepskin wheel. If your using drive through car washes, stop, and start hand washing, followed by drying with soft towel. As far as wax I use a German wax in the red bottle that's super. Been using it for over 25 years. Name is Klasse.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk
 

gixer2000

Retrofit or Bust
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Posts
1,467
Reaction score
642
Location
Massachusetts
That and have a shop or yourself do a color sand wet with 2500 grit sandpaper, followed by a quality compound, and a buffer with a foam or sheepskin wheel. If your using drive through car washes, stop, and start hand washing, followed by drying with soft towel. As far as wax I use a German wax in the red bottle that's super. Been using it for over 25 years. Name is Klasse.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk
Color sanding is awesome but you gotta be very careful on the newer cars. The clear coat is really thin so you need to measure the clear coat depth before even thinking about a color sand.
 

Adieu

Full Access Members
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Posts
3,700
Reaction score
786
Location
SoCal
As for poor paint from Ford, all manufacturers use machines to paint now so you see orange peel on pretty much every new car. I miss the days of a hand painted car where the painter would inspect his work. Now its just an allotted amount of paint/clear per car and it ships unless its really screwed up. Kinda sad

Nah, Kia has great paint quality control for the cheapies, and the german luxuries are pretty decent about theirs as well
 

gixer2000

Retrofit or Bust
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Posts
1,467
Reaction score
642
Location
Massachusetts
Nah, Kia has great paint quality control for the cheapies, and the german luxuries are pretty decent about theirs as well
I've honestly never looked close enough at a Kia and the German luxuries I would expect nothing less than perfect or very close. Everything else is half assed
 

Adieu

Full Access Members
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Posts
3,700
Reaction score
786
Location
SoCal
I read an article lol.

About how Kia overcame image concerns to rise to the top ratings, and how their (American!) production facilities prioritize QC now... including checking for something like 38 or 39 different checklist points on the paint work on each panel
 
Top