how to prevent swirls on new paintwork?

To be honest, I don't like the methods on that video.

Water is being sprayed directly at the paint, not sliding along it the paint

mitt being used with not enough solution and covering too larger area between mitt cleaning in second bucket.



Best thing to do. Don't worry about the water pre wash rinse.

Go straight to a foam gun, use two to seven mitts (one per panel), blot and gentle glide motions with the mitts. Dunk each mitt in bucket, apply a big drop of shampoo to it and before starting each panel, wring all the solution out.

Then re dunk and first blot and finish with a gentle glide



Rinse with flooding method. Spray any QD or spray sealant (can't be AJT), wait two mins then rinse again.



Dry glass and door jambs. Then go over the paint.

It should be spot free and bone dry in some sections of each panel.

Only blot with a waffle. never glide or drag.



For all newbies reading this. Use the search function and PM any of the true pro's on here if you need more info or cannot find what your looking for
 
ben_r_ said:
Guys where can I get a good sheepskin wash mitt? It seems thats what everyone swears by but I cant seem to find a nice real one... I have been using the white Megs MF wash mitts...
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haven't used these particular brands but there's a lot of people that like their sheepskin washmitts by viking and eurow (i think walmart carries these).



i have 2 - the one i'm currently using is thick/superplush from boater's world (you can also get it direct from their website)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/summa...2-8001511?ie=UTF8&orderID=104-9019051-1687916

another much lighter but very soft one which is part of a kit of great towels/mitt from exceldetail

Excel Supreme Kit



BMW_M - i don't know if these suppliers will mail you these items but i can vouch that they're good. between accumulator's advice and the video link, i hope you can figure out how to prevent swirls on your car.
 
I am currently learning, but I think that on black car will always be visible washing marks. I haven't seen 2-3 years old black car without washing blemishes.:wall
 
BMW_M- IMO *any* vehicle it gonna get *some* marring after a while, but with good techniques it won't be anything all that noticeable or hard to polish out. Yeah, black shows marring readily, but other paints get scratched too and you can see it in the right light; I'm disappointed if I have to polish once a year, and I do the most rigorous inspections imaginable. When I had the black rent-a-Suburban (I gave it a *good* detail as soon as it was delivered), I was able to wash it without marring, and that was during an Ohio winter. But sooner or later, something happens...just the nature of the thing.



tradephoric said:
Anyone know if someone has performed a long term test comparing the blotting dry method verses the gliding dry method? ..

I've heard that blotting is probably better, but who really knows.
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Sometimes a theory is *so* good that you can count on it working in practice (heh heh, that's what makes for a good theory anyhow ;) ). This is one of those good theories.



I gotta admit that I never end up only blotting for long :o I consider myself a pretty self-disciplined guy, but *never* gliding/wiping is a pretty tall order, at least if you do large vehicles, and I always end up doing a bit of wiping after a while. So I can't say it's worked for me in practice over an extended period because I don't stick with it.



But if you blot (direct downward motion) any residual dirt might get pressed against/into the paint but it won't get dragged *across* the paint, and that dragging is what causes noticeable marring. Blotting with reasonable pressure (i.e., virtually *none*) shouldn't do any damage that you can see, and I've used that technique to remove dirty water from paint without inducing any marring that I could see with the naked eye. Might it have caused some minor pits in the surface? Perhaps, but if I don't see any damage I'm not too inclined to get out some magnification and go looking for it all over again ;) And there's no question in my mind that wiping that dirty water across the paint would've made for some *nasty* scratches.
 
more questions::p



is time come to put some wax on my car? I watched turtlewax at my dealer and Sonax for dark coloured cars?

And those swirls, light scratches etc...how to remove them? By hand or machine?

I am afraid of doing that myself, cause I haven't done that before. What products are the best to use and is there any guide for begginer? :thx
 
I am in Croatia, so I can't find those products here.

Only I can find is: turtlewax, eagleone, sonax, ma-fra, 3M...

So i need advice on those...

Turtlewax in can, is it difficult to remove? Probably better thing for beginner is liquid one?
 
Accumulator said:
BMW_M- IMO *any* vehicle it gonna get *some* marring after a while, but with good techniques it won't be anything all that noticeable or hard to polish out. Yeah, black shows marring readily, but other paints get scratched too and you can see it in the right light; I'm disappointed if I have to polish once a year, and I do the most rigorous inspections imaginable. When I had the black rent-a-Suburban (I gave it a *good* detail as soon as it was delivered), I was able to wash it without marring, and that was during an Ohio winter. But sooner or later, something happens...just the nature of the thing.



Sometimes a theory is *so* good that you can count on it working in practice (heh heh, that's what makes for a good theory anyhow ;) ). This is one of those good theories.



I gotta admit that I never end up only blotting for long :o I consider myself a pretty self-disciplined guy, but *never* gliding/wiping is a pretty tall order, at least if you do large vehicles, and I always end up doing a bit of wiping after a while. So I can't say it's worked for me in practice over an extended period because I don't stick with it.



But if you blot (direct downward motion) any residual dirt might get pressed against/into the paint but it won't get dragged *across* the paint, and that dragging is what causes noticeable marring. Blotting with reasonable pressure (i.e., virtually *none*) shouldn't do any damage that you can see, and I've used that technique to remove dirty water from paint without inducing any marring that I could see with the naked eye. Might it have caused some minor pits in the surface? Perhaps, but if I don't see any damage I'm not too inclined to get out some magnification and go looking for it all over again ;) And there's no question in my mind that wiping that dirty water across the paint would've made for some *nasty* scratches.
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Are you using any form of drying aid or a hydrophobic QD?

If you are not, give it a try.



You should find that you will only need to do a couple blots per guard and four on the hood and in some cases none at all as the water has vanished.

I will never glide a towel on the bottom of doors. blotting only there.

Glass gets some gliding but to be honest, after a foam gun soak and a wash with my showcar suds (volcanic suds and lubrication), there shouldn't be any grit on the paint and towels are inspected thorougly before use
 
Forgot to add - do you sheet the water with the hose right before drying? Most of the water should come off the car, making it easy for you to dry it using minimal passes with the towel.



From the Washing & Drying Section of Autopia Learning Library:

"Remove the hose nozzle from your hose, and turn the water on with medium pressure. Rinse your car, allowing the water to flow freely over the surface (do not spray the water). The free-flowing action will cause the water to sheet off, carrying 80% or more of the surface water with it."



Another description by Greg Heumann in this link:

http://autopia.org/forum/hall-fame/5120-perfect-drying-technique.html



IIRC, Mike Phillips also demonstrates this in the video link I mentioned earlier.



If you decide to go after your swirls, these links may be of help:

http://autopia.org/forum/hall-fame/77859-test-swirl-removal-hand.html

http://autopia.org/forum/hall-fame/...marks-scratches-your-porter-cable-7336-a.html
 
SVR said:
Are you using any form of drying aid or a hydrophobic QD?
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Yeah, most of the time but I dunno how hydrophobic the QDs I use (Griot's SpeedShine, FK425, 4* UGE) really are.



You should find that you will only need to do a couple blots per guard and four on the hood and in some cases none at all as the water has vanished..
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Even with the AirWand, I always end up with enough water still on the vehcile that blotting becomes real PIA (imagine doing a minivan with endless water coming out of nooks and crannies as I blow it out with the compressor). Gee, don't *I* sound like a whiner :D



zippyginer said:
Forgot to add - do you sheet the water with the hose while drying?
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Sheeting is great when you can do it (as I did in my previous shop). The design of my hose feeds/sillcocks and my water pressure preclude doing the sheeting rinse, it just won't come out of the hose that way in this shop :(
 
Huh? You're saying I'm not a true "pro"?? Give me a break.



As for the methods in the video--we never said it was the ONLY method to wash a car, it was one method that was demonstrated, and by the number of comments I've received from it, it's obvious that quite a lot of people had no idea about even using more than one bucket to wash a car nor the importance of using car wash soap.



Finally, everyone has overlooked something. If this car was freshly painted 3 months ago, chances are the swirls or long scratches he is seeing are from the body shop that painted it. The cars are painted, wetsanded, glazed, and delivered. Successive washings will remove the glaze and the fillers that hid the buffing job by the shop.





SVR said:
To be honest, I don't like the methods on that video.

Water is being sprayed directly at the paint, not sliding along it the paint

mitt being used with not enough solution and covering too larger area between mitt cleaning in second bucket.<SNIP>



For all newbies reading this. Use the search function and PM any of the true pro's on here if you need more info or cannot find what your looking for
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Question: is it completely neccessary to label your two sheepskins, e.g. one labeled 'B' for bottom, one labeled 'T' for top and always use each one for their area?



Would it be sufficient to just wash them both after each wash and next time use them wherever (although still using one for the top and one for the bottom seprarately)? By accident I got my two mixed up today.
 
BMW335i said:
Question: is it completely neccessary to label your two sheepskins, e.g. one labeled 'B' for bottom, one labeled 'T' for top and always use each one for their area?



Would it be sufficient to just wash them both after each wash and next time use them wherever (although still using one for the top and one for the bottom seprarately)? By accident I got my two mixed up today.
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I don't label mine, I just keep 'em clean. But then again, I'm only doing my own vehicles and if you're doing ones in unpredictable condition that might be different...



For that matter, I use BHBs for anything really dirty, their free-rinsing nature prevents them from retaining abrasive [stuff]. By spraying foamgun output through the bristles, they clean *VERY* gently and the foamgun's suds keep the bristles rinsed clean. After using the BHBs, I can switch to a mitt with far less chance of nasty contamination getting stuck to the mitt.
 
OctaneGuy said:
Huh? You're saying I'm not a true "pro"?? Give me a break.



As for the methods in the video--we never said it was the ONLY method to wash a car, it was one method that was demonstrated, and by the number of comments I've received from it, it's obvious that quite a lot of people had no idea about even using more than one bucket to wash a car nor the importance of using car wash soap.



Finally, everyone has overlooked something. If this car was freshly painted 3 months ago, chances are the swirls or long scratches he is seeing are from the body shop that painted it. The cars are painted, wetsanded, glazed, and delivered. Successive washings will remove the glaze and the fillers that hid the buffing job by the shop.
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You are a true pro, I never challenged that or said you were not. It's just this particular wash method that I do not like. It's probably just a basic wash of yours that you were demonstrating

I am sure that you have a terrific wash technique that you would use on darker coloured cars or your own pride and joy.



why are people touchy and quick to anger these days.

life's too short to be like that
 
You might want to practice using the water sheeting method of drying your car. Most of the water can be removed by using the hose without a nozzle and low water pressure to sheet off the excess water, then dab the remaining drops with a waffle weave microfiber towel.



Anything and everything that touches your paint can potentially cause marring.
 
a few years ago when first starting i scratched my uncles g35 in a similar method with drying it, using a calafornia water blade, i thought it was clean, but must have had a little dirt in it somewhere, only use jumbo MFs to dry now
 
im obviously new here..but im just wondering y nobody uses an air compressor to dry the car...does it spary particles that will scratch it or what?...cuz that seems like the easiest/safest way to dry ur car...hmm..let me know

thanks
 
basketball_0001 said:
im obviously new here..but im just wondering y nobody uses an air compressor to dry the car..
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I use a compressor to get the water out of nooks and crannies, do it at every wash. But trying to do the whole vehicle that way is a real PIA and it takes forever. The small, concentrated blast of air just isn't efficient (but is is effective though). Large areas need a broad flow of air (which is why the AirWand beats a leaf blower's regular nozzle) to do the job efficiently.



...does it spary particles that will scratch it or what?....
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I have filters at every air station, where the air lines connect to my reels, so no worries about particles doing any sandblasting.
 
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