Lowejackson

I am reminded of a friend of mine who used to own a Mk2 Land Rover (late 1950's) who could fix most engine problems with a wooden hammer! I agree with Sectec, this is most likely a paint issue. Automotive paints, like car engines have changed significantly in the last 30 years. The products and techniques for the paint from different eras are also very different. Hitting the engine of a 2023 car with a hammer is likely to break something expensive. Ultimately, it is your car and you can use whatever products you fancy, if the Optimum products do not give you what you want and your prefer KOZAK (some kind of cleaner?) then continue using it or try using another brand.

@Jason Montgomery I think the first thing to do is get a bottle of ONR or Opti-Clean or perhaps both and a decent wash mitt. This should make washing much easier and safer in the future. The paint swirls are a bit tougher to fix. Essentially you have you 2 choices, polish the paint to remove the defects or learn not to see swirls and focus on how good your car looks. If you can learn not to see paint defects, you will be a happier person!

I would have a play with building up layers of paper or a few sheets of greeting cards to see what thickness will work.

Indeed. The WOWA sealants should have completely changed the market.

My guess why OPT does not offer a wax is their line has a strong focus on efficiency. As great as waxes such as Collinite are, they are time consuming to apply and therefore not very efficient. Perhaps the wax market is now so mature there is little room for significant improvements. This is all a guess, maybe Dr G just prefers polymers?

Do not recall reading about a stuck trigger. I would contact your retailer for support. If the machine is out of warranty and you are confident about taking apart electrical tools then it could be something as simple as a bit of dirt or it might be more complex like a failed bit of the lock

No idea about vinegar but from experience I know that pet stain removers are cheap and effective. Perhaps Power Clean would work well?

Issues like this are always going to be tricky. The dealer says they will do minor paint correction which to my mind is a polish to reduce the worst of the swirls (rather than any meaningful attempt to remove all swirls) but I accept this could have a very different meaning or expectation to a customer. On a broader note, spending a significant amount of time polishing will remove most swirls but once someone goes looking for swirls, they will always find them. Of course, Ron is right, go and have a chat with the installer.

You cannot just drop in a line about playing with an orchestra and not expand with details

Ron, nice to see OPT posting on YouTube again

@batsai You can go a crazy as you want. Some Power Clean might be useful and tar remover if you have them. If not, wash with ONR, clay and protect with OptiSeal, Wax or Hyper Seal and then use and enjoy your new car. The most important thing I can suggest when it comes to swirl removal is stop looking for them. You will be happier, have more spare time and money.

Just ask away

It is quicker and easier plus it also has the advantage of keeping the mind engaged on the task. When we do something repetitive for a while, our brains loose interest but switching from compounding to polishing the same panel will keep the brain engaged.

When using a compound and polish, it will be quicker and easier to complete one panel at a time i.e. compound and then polish. This requires less effort and avoids any issues of residue drying (I don't know if it does dry).

@Heijneker If there is one thing which is a good predictor of success in improving efficiency it is willingness to change. The various techniques such as 5S, 7 Wastes or SPC charts can all be learned but without the desire to change, they are generally worthless. You have the desire so you will do amazing things in your business. One word of warning, the Lean world constantly talks about waste (things which do not add value), once you start to see them, they are everywhere, in every product or service you buy and you cannot un-see them. Here is a quick video from Paul Akers at Fastcap showing how a simple process can be significantly improved. As an aside, Paul Akers publishes a huge range of stuff on non technical Lean, including free audiobooks.