My paint has swirls and scuffs

Its hard to say without actually seeing your paint. I am assuming you are going to be doing this by hand. Meguiars has a new cleaner wax out called ColorX, it is fairly agressive and will remove light swirls and oxidation. Just keep in mind that your are limited in what you can remove by hand. When you apply ColorX think of it as scrubbing your kitchen counter. You don't just wipe it on, let it haze and wipe it off. You need to use some elbow grease when you apply it in order for the cleaners in ColorX to remove anything. Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

It might just need some wet-sanding and then a paint cleaner and wax...it sounds like the car is old enough that you should probably do this anyway if you've never done it before

Wet sanding should be your last ditch effort to save old tired paint. Try eveything else first. Wet sanding is going to remove a significant amount of your clearcoat and reduce its effectiveness at preventing your paint from oxidizing. Once you do it, you can't put the paint back without paying to have it repainted. Wet sanding is a bit extreme especially since none of us have even seen the guys paint. Swirls are well within the capability of paint cleaners available these days.

Try using Meguiars number 2. Its called "Fine cut cleaner". Its meant to be used with a rotary or orbital buffer/polisher. I used it on my car and it will remove almost any stubborn scratch or swirl mark. Be sure to use a foam bonnet w/ it. Avoid terry and wool bonnets. They have a cleaning action and with a cleaner/abrasive like this, they'll only add more swirls. If the scratches and swirls are too deep for this to get it out, then Meguiars has one more prodcut you can try called "heavy cut cleaner". Its number 1 I believe in their line up. Its a 7 on the scale of aggressiveness but it might work if the fine cut cleaner fails. You can follow up either of these formulas w/ Meguiars number 9 fine swirl mark remover and then some number 7 polish to make it luster. Then, just coat it with some wax and you should be set.

EDIT: Here is my overall recommendation.

Orbital buffer/polisher w/ foam bonnet
Meguiars number 2 - fine cut cleaner(if the swirls are so deep this can't remove it, then try number 1 - Heavy cut cleaner)
Meguiars number 9 - fine swirl mark and scratch remover(this will remove any small swirls the number 2 leaves behind)
Meguiars number 7 - show car gloss(its a pure polish that will make the car luster)
Meguiars number 26 - Hi tech yellow wax. This is just a pure wax that will protect the work you've done

It's a bit of work, but the results will be great.

I am not trying to be argumentative here so I hope you don't take it the wrong way but, Meguiars #2 Fine Cut Cleaner and #1 Medium Cut Cleaner are both Rotary ONLY products. You just can't build up the heat necessary for them to work with anything but a rotary. Guys, none of us have seen his paint and going the agressive route with suggestions like wet sanding and very harsh cleaners like #1 and #2 are just doing him a disservice. It is always safer to start mild and if that fails move up the agressive scale until you get to something that does the job. If I could see and feel his paint I could tell him what to use right off the bat but, without seeing the paint it is best to start off mild. Meguiars ColorX is a very good cleaner wax and is more agressive than the regular Meguars Cleaner/Wax and would be the best place for him to start. If that fails there are other routes to go but, why use a sledge hammer for a job that might just take a screwdriver?

Agreed.....
#80 thru 83 are probably safe bets as well........
CoorX is excellent, but better for oxidation as oppossed to swirls, i just dont see chemical cleaners as great swirl mark reducers, you really need an abrasiveness for that.....

I agree. I only stated numbers 2 and 1 if all else fails and he can't get them out. If something else "less aggresive" works, then have to it.

exceldetail said:

Agreed.....
#80 thru 83 are probably safe bets as well........
CoorX is excellent, but better for oxidation as oppossed to swirls, i just dont see chemical cleaners as great swirl mark reducers, you really need an abrasiveness for that.....

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It didn't sound like he had access to a PC and those are really products best used with a machine. Now that you mention it though

92Frankenstein,

Go by http://www.properautocare.com/porcabpolac.html and take a look at the Porter Cable dual action polisher. You can get it cheaper elsewhere but, they have a lot of good information on the machine, how it works and what you can do with it. You are really limited in what you can remove by hand and this machine is really foolproof.