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cheesecloth and baby powder???

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Old 07-08-2008 | 06:17 PM
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cheesecloth and baby powder???

So I was talking to my buddy's dad this weekend and he was telling me how nice the G was, and I mentioned that the only thing that bugs me are my swirls on my black paint. He's claimed that while getting his Porshe ready for a photoshoot once, that hey used baby powder and applied it with cheesecloth. he said it was a two day job, going section by section, applying it in a front back motion throughout the entire car. Afterward they applied some sort of glaze and he claims his car had never ever looked so good. It was a black Porshe and he says they used the babypowder to remove all the swirls... He gauranteed every single swirl would be gone...

I don't mean to sound stupid, but I have never ever heard of this, and just wanted some confirmation.... lol
Old 07-08-2008 | 08:20 PM
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Sounds like hes using the baby powder to dull out the finish and then bring it back with polish and waxing. I'm thinking he's doing some version of wetsanding. If it even works you'd have to do some major buffing and polishing to bring back the shine.

I'd stay away unless one of these detailer pros advise on it.
Old 07-08-2008 | 10:00 PM
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I've honestly never heard of the technique nor would I try it. If you're looking for swirl remover there are many products available on the market that are targeted for auto paint, rather than pampering a babies bottom .
Old 07-08-2008 | 10:06 PM
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man now I'm talking to a guy who claims to mix cornstarch into his polish to fill in all the fine swirls ..lol.. idk.. I guess I'll stay away until I see somebody do it with good results..
Old 07-08-2008 | 10:13 PM
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Actually, now you're getting somewhere. Cornstarch has long been used as a sort of polish. And, baby powder is a "weaker" form of polish. That's why they did the car section by section and it took them two days. It's sort of like an old fashioned hand finish. It tends to work best on flat paint with a lot of depth. We never used it on metallic paint, and, I have never used it on clear coat. I have no idea whether it will work on a G's paint. I do know it works very well on old Porsche factory paint.
Old 07-09-2008 | 03:37 AM
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ahhh so there is truth to this.... thank you sir
Old 07-09-2008 | 08:05 AM
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Originally Posted by Don@Migliore
I've honestly never heard of the technique nor would I try it. If you're looking for swirl remover there are many products available on the market that are targeted for auto paint, rather than pampering a babies bottom .
+1 for never hearing of this nor wanting to ever try it. Why would people use products like baby powder and cornstarch to remove swirls when there are application specific products on the market that will do the job better, correctly, and more efficiently?
Old 07-09-2008 | 10:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Garnet Canuck
+1 for never hearing of this nor wanting to ever try it. Why would people use products like baby powder and cornstarch to remove swirls when there are application specific products on the market that will do the job better, correctly, and more efficiently?
+1 well put Shane
Old 07-09-2008 | 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted by Garnet Canuck
+1 for never hearing of this nor wanting to ever try it. Why would people use products like baby powder and cornstarch to remove swirls when there are application specific products on the market that will do the job better, correctly, and more efficiently?
I don't know. Why do people make their own glass cleaner out of common household chemicals when they could just go buy a commercially available product? Why does every local television station have a "Queen of Clean" doing reports on how you can you make your own carpet cleaner, spot remover, laundry detergent, window cleaner, dusting powder, wood polish, etc, etc, which work better than the commercially available products?

P.S. You don't use cornstarch or babypowder to remove swirls; you use them to polish unfinished paint. If swirls are removed in the process, well, so be it. But, these are used to polish unfinished paint, not primarily to remove swirls.

Also, the "new" products are a lot easier and faster to use. Please note the OP said it two days to polish a Porsche by hand.

They may not work on two stage clear coat paint, but as the OP said cornstarch really seemed to work on the old Porsche.

Last edited by notalk; 07-09-2008 at 03:10 PM.
Old 04-09-2018 | 10:23 AM
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I realize this is an old thread but had to chime in after reading some of the responses. Especially the last.

In short, yes, you can use Talc to remove swirl marks. It's been used for decades to remove swirl marks in finishes. Chrome, Aluminum, clear coats, single and yes two part paints. You name it, it'll remove them.

Why spend a ton of money on a "specialized" swirl mark remover when a $2 bottle of talc will do the job beautifully would be my question.

You guys have been watching way too many infomercials on pads and products it seems... And bought the hype.

Anyone that needs a special product and a special orbital buffer with a special plastic foam pad to remove swirl marks doesn't know to polish. Not with a high speed buffer at any rate.

They bought the hype, or are selling it.

I buff out everything from racing boats to 260 foot yachts and I don't use any special tools or pads. And when someone is paying $20 mill for a vessel they don't want to see swirl marks all over it. And racing vessels bottoms have to be like glass.

A few wool pads, good product and not skipping steps is how it's achieved.

I'm polishing out 260 foot vessels without issue and you guys and others on the net are way over complicating polishing a 10 foot car.

Seems a little rediculous to me.
Got swirl marks. Use Talc, and go get a better finishing product and learn how to handle a HS buffer a little better.

Problem solved.

​​​​​​
Old 04-17-2018 | 09:07 PM
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Weird stuff here.
Old 05-30-2018 | 01:09 PM
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Start by washing the car.
Claybar the car until the bumps are out of your paint.
Wash the car again. Then dry.
Get a DA (dual action) polisher...It's fairly hard to burn paint with one.
Get a good swirl remover (menzerna 2500) using a medium polishing pad go up and down, back and fourth a few times in a 2ftx2ft section until the swirls are gone.
Once that's done, seal the car.
C2V3 is easy to use. (spray on towel, wipe car down) repeat that a couple of times.
Stand back and enjoy your paint. (preferably with a beer in hand)

Autogeek usually has all the products you need.
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