I've gone through this entire ordeal over the past 7 months myself - to the point of even putting in a really low wattage bulb in the garage to minimize my stress level every night when exiting the car. Under really intense light, especially under the kind of lights you'll find at a gas station or in a parking garage, you will find a thousand flaws you've never seen before.

I steadfastly detailed every other day trying to combat these minor swirls and such - especially because my SS was only 4 or 5 months old and I refused to accept the fact that the finish wasn't 110% flawless! How in the hell could the hood and spoiler be that swirled?

I did in fact use the 3m swirl remover and it helped in certain areas that had become somewhat swirled. Namely the hood, spoiler, rear bumper and front nose...actually, the only spots that had swirls whatsoever. And, as I suspect is the case with you, these were *minor* swirls and spiderwebbing - you had to move your head side to side to see them appear.

The nose and bumper cleaned up beautifuly and the hood and spoiler did improve a bit but will both swirl if you so much as look at them. I've accepted that under a flashlight/microscope/parking lot lamp/combo of all of these I will see flaws in both and have just accepted the fact that in normal conditions, she look amazing.

Someting else I've adopted - I'm not sure if you can do the same. I drive my SS daily except during those days in which it rains (rarely snows here in Dallas). On those days, I get my wife to drop me off at the office. A bit crazy? Sure. Do I catch hell from all of my employees every single time this happens? You bet. But I've only had to wash (and more importantly, dry) my SS three times this year. The less I touch the finish, the longer it will last. I use a California duster about once a week with a spot detail of Z6 as needed. About once a month I give her a very in depth detail (Z6, full vaccum, dressing, etc). About every 2 months she gets a full bath - but dried with an Absorber (takes a bit longer to dry but it's well worth it - when I'm finished I only need dab the remaining spots with a towel vs. wiping or applying pressure).

It's discouraging to spend a weekend getting her perfect only to see every imperfection in your black finish when you park under a really intense light the very next evening. I avoid those lights like I avoid the rain now.

Hey Hawkeye - have you had a chance to look for your chromed scoop insert? Hate to bug ya but I just remembered when I saw your post here. No hurry - just wanted to know.

quote:

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Originally posted by NexuSS-6:
Sorry this off topic!!

Hey Hawkeye - have you had a chance to look for your chromed scoop insert? Hate to bug ya but I just remembered when I saw your post here. No hurry - just wanted to know.

Thanks!

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Thanks for asking!!

What we did was take my original and bought some chrome paint and painted it. Total cost
about $8.00 Cdn. I could only find 2 places that would chrome plastic. One wanted $300 and one in British Columbia wanted $65. It looks great and really shows off the hood.