Swirl Remover

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by B.K. for webBikeWorld

We've been using Glare Professional Polish for some time now, with great results.  It's slightly more complicated to apply than the typical auto parts store brand polish, but well worth the effort. 

But the one thing that's been hard to remove is the "spider" marks or polishing swirl marks that seem to be so easy to get but so hard to get rid of.  It's ironic that spider marks can be more visible on highly polished surfaces.  Perhaps it's because the more a surface is polished, the greater the chances are of creating swirl marks to begin with.

I've tried rubbing compounds, cutting formulas and other types of scratch and swirl removers for automotive finishes, mostly succeeding in adding more swirl marks than I started with.  The marks are  especially noticeable in dark paint.  My '86 BMW R65 has a fantastic black paint job applied by the factory, but when the sun reflects on the fuel tank, it looks like spider heaven.

Swirl marks, or spider web marks are usually caused by microscopic particles of dust and dirt that gouge the surface of the paint during washing or polishing.  They can also be caused by polyester fibers in cheap towels, sponges used for washing, or even by motorcycle covers which scratch the paint when they're place on or taken off the bike.  Don't ever use a natural sea sponge to wash your motorcycle, because they're usually loaded with grains of sand that can do a real job on your pride and joy.

It's very important to make sure the surface is thoroughly washed and rinsed before polishing, and it's also important to use a clean and well-rinsed wash mitt while washing the bike.  Be careful of powdered soap formulas also, because the grains of soap can also cause spider marks. 

Since we've had such good results with Glare Professional Polish, we were enthused about their new Spider Web and Swirl Remover.  To be honest, I didn't really anticipate that this stuff would be any better than anything else I've ever tried.  And I didn't follow the directions at first, which is crucial for the best results with any type of motorcycle or automotive polish, cleaner or wax.

But the second time around, I followed the directions to the letter, with excellent results.   Glare recommends first making sure the surface is thoroughly washed and cleaned.  I talked to the folks at Glare, and they recommended using a clean micro-fiber towel to apply the product and to buff out the surface.  You can purchase some really nice micro-fiber towels and polishing cloths from Lee Parks Design.  I used one of Lee's micro-fiber cloths for our experiment shown in the photos below.

The Glare Spider Web and Swirl Remover is applied using the same process as Glare Professional Polish.  The first coat must be buffed in to the paint until it all but disappears.  When it dries to a haze, which only takes a few seconds, a light second coat is applied but not rubbed in to the surface.

We used a clean micro-fiber cloth to buff out the finish, and the vast majority of the swirl marks were gone.  Glare recommends an application of Glare Professional Polish, using the same two-step process, for the final treatment, and we agree.  This last step made a noticeable difference in the quality of the finish. 

Glare claims that unlike other products, which try to fill in swirl marks, the Spider Web and Swirl remover is designed to permanently remove the swirl and spider web marks in the paint.  They said that new swirl marks will appear, caused by the usual sources, but the marks that are treated with the Glare product are permanently removed.

I think the results are pretty dramatic, as seen below in the before, during and after photos.  It's usually very hard to take photographs that show the true difference in a polish, but you can see by these un-retouched (except for resizing) photos that the Glare Spider Web and Swirl Remover eliminated about 99% of all the spider marks. 

The photos were taken at about 8" from the surface and the camera was not moved or adjusted during the 5 minutes or so it took to complete the task.  You can see that the sun moved slightly in relation to the reflection of the tree.

Before photo, after washing the bike.  The fuel tank actually had what I thought was a pretty good shine, but it's obvious from this photo that there are lots of spider marks in the black paint.

After the two coats of Glare Spider Web and Swirl Remover, but before the final two coats of Glare Professional Polish.  You can still see some fine swirl marks just above the reflection of the sun.

The final result after the two coats of Glare Professional Polish were applied.  A noticeable difference and the paint really has that deep, wet look.

Conclusion
We're impressed with the results we've been able to achieve with this product.  It's the first commercial swirl and spider web remover that I've tried that really does seem to work.  It's on the expensive side, but how much would it cost to get a professional to buff out that paint?  And if their polishing pads weren't scrupulously clean, you might end up worse off than when you started.

When using the Glare Spider Web and Swirl Remover, make sure to follow the directions, keep a clean surface and use a clean micro-fiber towel.  Try it for yourself and send in a photo and we'll post it for others to see.