I`m scratching the paint - how?

S

shiny

New member
Over the past few weeks, in my spare time, I`ve been correcting the paint on our red 2007 CR-V. So far I`ve got the front end (hood bumper fenders), rear hatch and bumper, and roof. During this time I`ve also begun using ONR to wash, which has enabled me to keep it clean more frequently.

This car is only driven a 2-3 times per week, usually. Garaged when at home. Washed about once a week or 1.5 weeks.

This week out in the sun I`ve noticed it has some haze from faint scratching in the direction I run the wash mitt, on those panels I`ve already corrected.

Trying to figure out what I`m doing wrong - maybe I`ve overestimated how powerful ONR is at protecting the paint from dirt, and need to be more careful somehow. Or could the scratches possibly be only in the wax?

Original paint correction method was:
Wash with ONR and microfiber wash mitt, the kind with many small long strands.
Clay bar.
CG V32 with CG Orange pad.
CG V38 with CG Black pad.
Collinite 845 with hand applicator pad.

Paint wasn`t totally perfect when done with this, but was pretty good, and it did not have the faint wash scratches that it does now.

Washing since then, I`ve done it two different ways.
Method A-
One bucket, ONR proper dilution for bucket wash.
Spray bottle with QD dilution of ONR.
Spray liberally first, wait a moment.
Wash with soaked mitt.
Frequently dunk & swish the mitt, while also rubbing my other hand across the mitt to help remove more particles.
Dry with MF.
Small sections washed & dried at a time, larger areas sprayed down in advance for soaking/emulsifying.

I wash the mitt between uses, by hand using dish soap. I make sure to get it looking clean, obviously an ONR wash gets it pretty dirty looking.

Method B, when less dirty.
No bucket, Spray bottle with QD dilution of ONR.
Same wash mitt.
Spray liberally, and also spray down the mitt to get it pretty wet, but not soaked.
Dry with MF.

Most of the dirt lately has been pollen.
 
Pollen is the devil !!~! Very abrasive.

Also check your wash/dry media.

If it`s scratches in the wax (which is sometimes seen right after waxing) it should disappear as soon as the paint gets warm/hot and levels out.
 
I don`t know that I would do a waterless quick detail session with just a wash mit

Maybe you are washing off the quality CG polishes that were filling some as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would hose rinse the car first to remove as much of the pollen as possible before rubbing anything across the paint.

This is what pollen looks like.
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The spikes are are designed to cling on to insect hair among other things. Your wash mit is a magnet for these clingy little buggers. They won`t rinse off the mitt easily.
 

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As regulars here know, I simply cannot wash marring-free using only a rinseless.... So that`d be my guess. Do something more to get the big stuff off first and forget that "it encapsulates the dirt so there`s no marring!"-talk that the rinseless vendors suggest in their ad-copy.

Even the most over-the-top variation on the Garry Dean Wash Method (using countless MFs) won`t work for me consistently enough (in the context of avoiding marring) to be viable unless I do at least a thorough rinse (preferably with the pressure washer) followed by one *very* thorough BHB/foamgun wash which involves multiple passes per panel section. That`s a minimum effort for "just some light garage dust", when I`m washing a vehicle that`s been driven and actually needs cleaned it`s a much bigger project.

[INSERT usual..."not disputing your success, glad it works for you" disclaimer for the people who do fine with the Rinseless approach...]

Funny about the pollen issue...using my regular wash techniques I find pollen to be easily dealt with and not at all a challenge marring-wise. Yeah, it looks nasty under magnification, but IME compared to having a vehicle encrusted with sandy grit during the winter it`s a piece of cake; almost all the pollen rinses right off before I start the wash proper. And of course the free-rinsing nature of my BHBs means that, thanks to the foamgun, the pollen never even makes it near my rinse bucket and is long gone before I switch to the second stage of the wash. So for me, pollen is simply a NON-issue. Eh, almost all of it blows right off the LSP anyhow...the Tahoe went from "looks yellowish light green!" to "looks like clean silver again" in the time it took to drive home from the dog park, only had to clean it off the back glass.
 
Pollen can strip wax. I`ve seen it completely obliterate a 6-week old Collinite application. So to that point, like the new guy said, getting the hose out is mandatory.

Accum: I`ve come to the conclusion that you simply start with much dirtier cars than some of us waterless/rinseless advocates do.
 
My .02 is to buy more mitts. I wouldn`t feel safe using the same mitt over and over with only a hand wash in between. Buy a couple more so you can do a small proper wash with proper wash products instead of dish soap.
 
I use a new mitt per panel. I even mark which mitt goes with which panel on the inside with a marker.
 
Thanks guys. I`ll experiment with the suggestions. Might need to go back to two-bucket until I can pick up more mitts. I also would like to figure out a "foam cannon" substitute that doesn`t require an air compre$$or or a pre$$ure wa$her.
 
I use a mix of soapy water. I fill up the cup and use plenty of it on the highest setting. You have to use several cups worth to get enough lubricity on the paint. A lot of soap and water, yes, but it`s worth it for marring free results. The soap acts as a barrier between the mitt and the paint.
 
Bill D said:
I use a mix of soapy water. I fill up the cup and use plenty of it on the highest setting. You have to use several cups worth to get enough lubricity on the paint. A lot of soap and water, yes, but it`s worth it for marring free results. The soap acts as a barrier between the mitt and the paint.
Click to expand...
I mean, what is your actual foam gun? I am under a (seemingly mistaken) impression that foam gun type things all require either air compressors or pressure washers.
 
This is all you need. No pressure washer necessary. It`s one of my favorite accessories, I never bucket wash without it. when I`m bucket washing I usually just need one bucket for rinsing the mitts, all the soapy water comes out of the foam gun. I do pre-soak and rinse before soaping again and using the mitt. Blast soap in front of the mitt as you go.

Autopia Quart Foamaster Foam Gun
 
Rinse off.
Foam Gun Yesssssss ! Rinse
Then 2 BM, rinse, dry.
You should look at a couple quick releases, so it`s easier to swap nozzles.
I have a nice sheeting sprayer for the final rinse.

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Quick release at each end of nozzle, plus a heavy duty shut-off valve at hose end, with it`s own QR.
 
Mary:
I sounds like from your description above that you are actually "washing" the vehicle twice:
1) A "touchless" soap soak and rinse, for the "big easily removeable stuff"
2) A 2-bucket wash with some type of wash media (sponge, microfiber chenille mitt, wool mitt, boar`s-hair brush), rinse (see question below), and then a dry (blow-off? and waffle/fluffle weave microfiber towel) for the "smaller adhering stuff."

What are you using (or doing) that acts as a "sheeting sprayer" for the rinse step??
 
I probably wash the vehicle at least three times per wash, and that`s if each stage only requires one pass (seldom happens that way). Well, four if you count the pressure washer pre-rinse. Pressure washer rinse; foamgun/BHB; foamgun/mitts; rinseless.

How hard to press? NOT enough that the shafts of the BHB bristles bend over and touch the paint. With mitts, I`d *NEVER* wear one like a glove, but rather I fill it with soap solution, hold it shut at the cuff, and gently whisk it across the panels. I have to do the numerous passes because each one is so gentle that the cleaning happens very incrementally.

And I *ALWAYS* have foamgun output spraying at the point of wash medium-to-paint contact whenever I use a BHB or a mitt. (Well, not when using a little BHB in the doorjambs and the back sides of wiper arms..). It`s all about "Dislodge and Flush".

Dirt in my rinse bucket indicates mistakes on my part.

No Sheeting Rinse capability in the current shop, the water delivery is just wrong for that. Don`t really miss it actually.

Other foamgun-centric stuff that regulars here are probably quite familiar with:

I find foamgun resoaks do little actual cleaning, but they do prime the panels and probably soften up the contamination a little bit.

I replace the pistol-grip sprayer on the foamguns (I like the one with the sliding brass mixing bar) with a shutoff valve that I operate with my thumb. Far more comfortable, especially while doing the "spray foamgun while moving BHB/mitt a certain way".

Wash media is moved in short, interrupted, jiggling motions so the foamgun`s output can better flush the dislodged dirt away and also so that any marring that *does* happen will be short little scratches rather than longer (hence more obvious) ones.

I mix up a few gallons of concentrate (~7oz. shampoo + ~121oz. water) and fill the foamguns from that.

The more spare foamgun bottles you have the faster the reloading goes.
 
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