Are there any tips and techniques to seeing swirls on a cloudy day? I have a DS car which seems to hide the swirls from the camera as well as the naked eye. I wanted to polish today but its cloudy out.

 

500w halogen might work...

i'd do the polishing inside the garage though. you never know wat
dust could fall on it while you're working on the paint.

if you have a desk lamp (those clip on types) you can use a 33w twisty
white (blue hue) flourecent bulb and it reveals swirls well. the soft white
twisty flourescent bulb does not.

i sometimes use a mic stand to hold the lamps.

 

per OctaneGuy, get a Brinkmann dual xenon light. Recharges from the wall or lighter. About $25.

Don't remember the post, search on this forum should turn it up.

EDIT: ahh, here 'tis: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...6&postcount=20

 

or that jockstrap headlight.

 

Forgot all about that one!

 

The best way to see defects on a silver or dark silver metallic car is to view it in a dark environment with a single bulb. High powered bright lights or diffused light cause the reflected light to spread out masking the defects. A single light--say 55watt halogens is enough to see the swirls in the paint.

Richard

 

how about outdoors on a cloudy day?

 

I will park Foamy inside the garage with the door open and look at the reflection of the outside world in the paint. Works better for the sides of of the car, vs front/back.

Dark Silver is a toughie. I'm still finding little patches of Epic weeks after detailing.

 

Even so, the diffused light is still to strong--it overpowers most artificial light sources.

Best to go into the garage--and inspect the condition of the paint there.

 

yah, that was a question from the OP, i dont check swirls outside unless
i pull it out in the direct sun.

 

Oh I understand that--he also PMd me before posting the question, and the answer is that unless the swirls are very severe and not readily visible, he's going to have a hard time, so he might as well just take it inside where they will be readily visible.

 

Without a doubt they are hard to see. In passing when the sun hits it just right I have seen a few swirls so I know there are some there. I polished really well last year so its in pretty good condition.

As much as I like DS I think my next car will be a paint that can look brilliant once polished. The DS looks good but never brilliant. On the upside waxing usually is sufficient to make it look great since it hides defects so much...

Update: I tried a halogen bulb in a dark garage and was unsuccessful at taking a picture of any swirls. I am going to get an LED flashlight and see if photos will pick up any swirls better with that light source.


Oh also... Is it at all possible that clay would take out light swirls? I know for a fact after my car was washed at the dealer one time I saw swirls on a sunny day but possibly after claying the entire car there are fewer swirls? I doubt it but you never know...

 

Clay does NOT remove swirls. I will repeat. Clay does NOT remove swirls.

Clay does one thing only and that's remove above surface bonded contaminants. Swirls are below surface defects that can only be polished out or concealed with a product that contains fillers.

Photographing and viewing swirls on DS are two different things. To photograph swirls, put your camera on manual focus and turn on the flash. Put your finger on the swirl, and prefocus the lens on your finger--remove it, then take the picture. Auto exposure usually works fine as well. But I would try practicing on a different color to get a hang of the technique first.

Try taking photos with and without the flash. Often times the flash will act as a light source similar to a light and you will see more swirls--sometimes it will overpower the existing lighting and hide the swirls too, so try them both.

 

<I wonder if clay will remove swirls ...>