lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

guitarman

i have 99 black onyx

everytime i wash my car and dry i have some swirls , i have tried using waffle weave towel from pak shak , 100% usa cotton towel , pak shak micro fiber i even tried one of your suggestions and used meguiars quik detailer to lubricate while wiping water off

i still get some swirls when the sun hits it , i end up each time after washing having to give it a polish to even out the finish , it looks breathtaking but man it takes to damm long everytime when i wash

could it be my wash mit maybe the fibers are getting corrutpted filled with dirt or something


what do you reccomend before i pull the rest of my hair out

the finish on my car is really deep always shining and last week after 3 days using meguiars scratch x got 95% of hairline small scratchs and deep swirls out but i get that surface type of swirl in the black after i dry



please give me a idea on black what is the best cloth or mitt material to use to wash and minimize the swirls

Baby ///M3

Perhaps you can use either Scratch X or 3M's Swirl Remover to remedy the situation?

Personally, I think swirls are just part of the things that we have to live with. I used to hate them very much but I've come to an understanding that most of these swirls are simply inevitable.

If you go to a car show next time, try to lean close to the Ferraris and Lamborghinis on display and you'll see that even these cars (new and old) have tiny hairline scratches under lights.

For some reason, I felt so much better after seeing these $200k cars with scratches.

Jon

Guitarman

Jon isn't too far wrong lexforlife -it's very difficult on a black or dark - colored daily driver to get them to the point where you won't notice them, simply because the cars are subjected to everyday grime and constant washing etc. Anytime you touch the paint with ANYTHING, it's possible to mar it if 100% cleanliness isn't in the mix.

Show cars can get away with it easier because the guys that know the drill try to avoid touching the car or even washing it, if they don't have to. They also use glazes on them, which hide the few that are left. But yeah- a discerning eye can pick them out on just about ANY car, even show cars. It's merely a matter of degree, and instead of thinking you can eliminate them, start thinking more in terms of minimizing them.

It sounds like you are doing the right things, with the right towels etc. and spritzing with some QD when removing the residue does help( glad you picked that one up!)

One thing that may pertain; Meguiar's Scratch X is a fairly abrasive polish, bordering on a compound (anything that can remove scratches fairly easy is highly abrasive), and that alone *may* cause swirls if not followed up by a finer polish. Most of the swirl removal being done by pros would involve something along the lines of 3M's Machine Glaze or Finesse-It II Finishing Material. They are pretty close in abrasiveness, but much finer than the scratch removers and thus gentler to the paint. Gentler means less marring. Marring is fine swirling and scratching. 3M swirl remover for dark cars, or Meguiar's #9 are very fine polishes made just for minor swirling, but they also contain some fillers in them, which only hides the problem rather than solving it. They may be a good LAST step, but I think the other 2 products would be better at actually leveling the spider webs and swirls. So...You really may want to work a finer polish after your Scratch X etc. and see if that helps. Multiple steps are usually in order for perfect paint-no way around it, and 1 product cannot solve it. It's more like a recipe of products, and they will vary by car and paint concern. But you must ALWAYS go from coarse abrasives to the finest ones, everytime. And Scratch X just isn't fine enough to finish with.

One more key; when you work your panel or small area with the polish, make sure you REALLY lighten up with your hand pressure or your buffer when you're just about finished and the polish is beginning to dry up. Your last couple passes should be of very light pressure and stop just as it begins to dry. Working dry polish by itself can cause marring. It's REALLY tricky and so many fine points must be adhered to, from materials used to technique, to lighting.

Lastly, you also need to see if the swirls are in the paint, or the sealant/wax. To do this, spray some quick detailer on the car in the sun and see if the swirling changes. If the swirls change by wiping in a different direction, they are in the sealant or wax. Some spritzed distilled water and directional wiping (lightly) usually solves this.


But the fact that really expensive show cars can have them should make all us mere mortals feel a bit better if we have some too. Good luck.

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

thanks guitarman

i am also going to get a new wash mitt , i have a feeling the one i have is getting worn out , i think i have had this one since last year summer and i wash 2-3 times a week to keep the dirt and rain from drying in the hot florida sun