Swirl Marks!?!

SWIRL MARKS!

It's probably not the washing, it's the drying. What did you dry with? As for getting them out, I have had good luck with an orbital polisher, soft foam pad, and a polish followed by a wax. In fact, living in Chicago, tomorrow is my first wax day of the year (I was out of town the other TWO days that would have worked so far this year - I hate this climate).

I got my set-up from Griotts, but you can buy the same orbital polisher for less from other places and just use thier pads. It wasn't cheap, but the car is worth it. I may never get black again though . . .

Oh yeah, I have been a lurker for awhile. Mentioning my hated number one nemisis swirl marks brought me right out of the closet! Hi everyone.

Re: SWIRL MARKS!

rwg said:

It's probably not the washing, it's the drying.

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Yep, it's probably your towels. I would suggest using a California Water Blade to avoid microscratches and swirls. Microfiber towels are also available to sop up the remaining water, if you're so inclined.

As for your existing swirls, you have two options:

HIDE THEM: You can use a filler, like 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, to fill in the scratches. Then you would wax over the filler. If you use Zaino, Z5 is a half-way decent filler/polish.

REMOVE THEM: Much more difficult, especially on the entire car, but you could use a buffer (as mentioned), or if it's localized you can use a McGuires product, like #9 Swirl Remover or ScratchX (Does anyone know if these are the same product?). You can do this by hand, but it's a ton of work.

--gary

Maybe drying...

I use a california water blade and a microfiber towel to dry the car. I have been careful when drying. The towel could be a source of swirl marks, but I believe it is the wash mitt based on the way the marks are set into the paint.

One other possibility is the swirl marks could have been there when I bought the car, filled in by the dealership detailing job.

Unfortunately, as I am in an apartment, I have to use a do-it-yourself car wash. The soap used at these car washes may be striping away wax, facilitating the swirl mark process. This may continue to be a problem for a while.

Re: Maybe drying...

jm8571 said:

I use a california water blade and a microfiber towel to dry the car. I have been careful when drying. The towel could be a source of swirl marks, but I believe it is the wash mitt based on the way the marks are set into the paint.

One other possibility is the swirl marks could have been there when I bought the car, filled in by the dealership detailing job.

Unfortunately, as I am in an apartment, I have to use a do-it-yourself car wash. The soap used at these car washes may be striping away wax, facilitating the swirl mark process. This may continue to be a problem for a while.

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Yep. Car washes are very bad. The PH of the soap is very high (like dishwashing detergent), so it's likely to strip your wax -- probably after one wash or two. Then there are those nasty nylon brushes -- ouch!

If you're going to continue going to the car wash, I would recommend polymer instead of wax, to avoid having your wax stripped off each time. Polymer (Klasse, Zaino, etc.) is more durable.

--gary

Why not brings some buckets, wash mitt and decent car wash soap? You can just use the car wash place's water. I know some folks have been saying that people or the car wash have complained about folks taking a long time. Just go at off hours when it isn't busy.

Eric

I will have to do that.

eboller said:

Why not brings some buckets, wash mitt and decent car wash soap? You can just use the car wash place's water. I know some folks have been saying that people or the car wash have complained about folks taking a long time. Just go at off hours when it isn't busy.

Eric

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