are swirls inevitable????

[Envious Eric]

every time i wash and dry ny truck i get swirls on it....not a lot at once, but over the last 2 weeks, I have washed it twice and now it looks like I have to polish it up again....this is rediculous....



here is my step process...



pre-soak with water hose

wash with meguiars soap (2 bucket method) with a chenile mitt

rinse off with hose

use one waffle weeve towel to get the majority of water off, then a 2nd ww to dry it up...all in the shade/garage

pull it out into the sun and notice all the swirls

pull it back in the shade, let it sit for 10 minute until its cool again

then get out the QD with meguiars MF towel

then pull it out into the street and marvel at all the swirls that are back in the paint still and get pissed

wash all my towels and plan a day to repolish my truck again....



its getting old real fast



I only use MF towel and WW towels on the truck, and a chennile mitt....I used a sheep skin mitt on one fender only and threw it in the trash....marred the whole fender before the last time I polished it up



what am I doing wrong???

[mcnab]

While this may not be solution to the the marring it`s actually DOING to your car. You could try putting some protection on there.. IE use a synthetic sealent that will give you a little more durability than a carnubca. Give KSG or Menzerna FMJ a try. This will atleast stop it from marring your CC...Then just top of protection..



Given what you`ve said about, it does sound like something is up there. I mean slight swirls and and micro scratches are sort of inevitable on a daily driver. You can do your best to prevent putting many in there, but you will get small amounts. You should be able to avoid having to polish your car for atleast 3-6 months depending on the protection you`re using.



In your case, however, it seems like it`s putting an unusual amount in your paint given the method of washing / drying you are using (which seems to be fine). You`ve probably checked all the obvious things like making sure there`s no grit in your WW clothes/ mits.



Other than that, perhaps trying a different wash mit / MF drying combo. See if you can narrow it down to which products are putting the swirls in your paint...Then try a different product and see if that changes.....IE start on one panel...Wash the panel with Wash Mit 1 - let it air dry and check for swirls...Use Wash Mit 2 on on panel b - air dry and look for swirls. Compare what`s happening..This is the only way to narrow it down...





As I said, adding a little synthetic sealent may help reduce the amount that`s it`s happening...



Btw, what colour paint is this and what kind of car? Sounds like a very soft clear coat. Were any panels re-sprayed? Shouldn`t be THAT easy for it to mar like that.

[racingbeat]

Frankly I was in the same boat and I believe (not a popular one) that MF with open loops (prickly ends) is the culprit.

1-pour soapy water (Optimum No-rinse or equivalent) over the dirty surface.

2- use a sea sponge and more of that Optimum No-Rinse. (sea sponge sucks sediments into the sponge) and keep a rinse bucket handy with Optimum No-Rinse mixed in as well. makes the grit heavy and it sinks to the bottom.

3- Don`t dry the car without first spraying it with FK 425 (the towel and the car). Be very methodical about your drying style. Downward passes fip towel, repeat.

4- Don`t wax or polish your paint wihtout first spraying the paint surface and applicator with a Spritz of the same type. If you are sealing with Klasse SG use something like Sonus acrylic spritz if waxing with Carnauba use the Carnauba sprtiz.

5. Try to minimize the number of pases until you get the Buffing towel stage (when the paint is the cleanest). Top whatever you are using with 425, it will repel dust and reduce your cleaning.

6- Stop quick detailing between washes unless it a bird dropping or bugs, tar.

7- Don`t use a dry duster like the California Car brush. You basically don`t ever want to touch the paint when its bone dry unless its CLEAN.



if you want to show off your car and its dusty. Pour some spring water over each panel and make sure that waffle weave is damp.



I recommend only using short nap non-hook fiber towels like the Sonus Der Wunder polishing towel and don`t buff the car with a polishing towel. BUY LOTS OF TOWELS so you are always working with a clean towel.

[hjuan]

Try to isolate where you`re getting the marring. Is it from the washing phase or the drying phase? If it`s washing, you can try using a foam gun as it gives you that extra layer of suds or just be very meticulous in your 2 bucket method. I`d say use multiple washmitts etc. As far as drying, WW towels are not idiot proof but I don`t think they will really mar your paint unless there`s exisiting contamination or dirt after you wash. I guess just be extra careful when your wiping down your car.

[brwill2005]

I second the sea sponge. Never had any marring issues with a sea sponge.

[White95Max]

The marring is most likely from the dirt you`re washing off, not the mitt/sponge that you`re using to wash it with. Make sure you`re not applying pressure to the mitt, and clean a small area at a time. Then thoroughly rinse the mitt/sponge in the rinse bucket. Get a GritGuard...that may help.

[spotter]

Are you sure the swirls were not there before you washed and dried? Maybe your polish is only filling in the swirls and not removing them.....then when you wash you are removing the fillers and the swirls show up again. What process did you use to "remove" the swirls?

[3Dog]

Are you sure the swirls were not there before you washed and dried? Maybe your polish is only filling in the swirls and not removing them.....then when you wash you are removing the fillers and the swirls show up again. What process did you use to "remove" the swirls?

BINGO!!!! Always start from the beginning. :bigups

[Accumulator]

I`ve tried pretty much everything over the last 30 years, but the only way I can avoid wash-induced marring is by using the foamgun and numerous mitts and/or top-quality BHBs. And by keeping a healthy coat of slick LSP on the vehicle and washing before the dirt really bonds to the finish.



Issue: much of the dirt is abrasive- it`ll scratch the paint if it`s pressed against it and then moved (imagine dumping diamond dust onto a plate of glass- how would you get the dust off without scratching the glass?). Dirt does *not* (in my experience) really migrate away from the paint and into the brush/mitt/sponge; enough remains pressed against the paint that you get marring. What you need to do is a) dislodge the dirt, get it to quit sticking to the paint b) move the dislodged dirt off the paint without pressure- this is the tough part. Well, not so tough if you use the foamgun ;)



[Insert Accumulator`s usual lecture about foamguns and wash-induced marring here]

[Bill D]

I`ve always followed Accumulator with an "amen" on this topic. It really works!

[Neo62381]

I can only agree with Bill D and Accumulator. I have had my foam gun for about a month and a half now, and my mitt feels a LOT slicker going across a panel.

[SVR]

Are you pre soaking with the hose straight at the paint or from side on thus gliding the crap off the paint not pushing it into it and causing impact marring

I had to polish every nine to fifteen weeks but now can get away with it for far longer and I use four star`s paint cleanser and clearkote moose range by machine first with edge blue and white and this usually takes care of new marring and removing virtually no paint



Thanks to accummulator and 95max, my new marring is so ultra fine it takes a month to get any swirls and they are really tiny

Had a look at my machine at a BP servo last night before a meet with other falcon owners and under their excellent lighting, my roof and most of the car has hardly any

The boot of my car was bad for ages until I found a way to get the makita rotary around my bi plane double spoilers setup

Polished a few months ago and most sections are virtually free of swirls

Four buckets and six MF mitts are my method and double rinsing (medium to high pressure and then low) before I start washing which includes a soaking with shampoo on the first panel



Nothing will stop them but you can cut them down to a bare minimum

foam guns, lots of water in the mitts and side on rinsing will all help plus lots of sealant coatings

[imported_Neothin]

To some degree, swirling can be preventable. This involves the absolute best washing method (aka accumulator method) and never touching the car otherwise. Instead of going through all that, I`d rather have a good wash method that only induces minor marring every so often and then glaze the heck out of the finish to hide things.