Newbie venting and a few questions

mfisher1967

New member
I own a 2007 Civic LX sedan, which is a dark blue color. Since the car was new I have washed it about every 2-3 weeks, usually with Meg's NXT wash. I rinse, use a microfiber mitt to apply the soap, rinse, apply more soap using a fresh bucket and then dry with microfiber towels. All mitts and towels are washed and dried after each use. I apply wax by hand using microfiber pads, then remove using clean microfiber towels. I have applied wax about every 2-3 months using either Rejex, NXT 2.0 or Klasse AIO.



This weekend I was out driving around after applying some Klasse AIO. Under my carport the paint looked pretty good, especially on the doors and panels. In the direct sunlight, however, I saw light swirls and holograms. These were really obvious on my hood, roof and trunk. I also have some minor/moderate etched H2O spots on my hood, roof and trunk. This car is my daily driver and is usually kept under my carport, but sits in an open lot during the day while I am at work.



I am fairly disappointed because I have always washed and waxed my car using high quality non-abrasive products. After all, what is the point of regular washing and waxing if the results are just not there? Would my car have fewer swirls and holograms if I had washed and waxed less? Perhaps I am doing something wrong? I am considering purchasing a PC 7424 to remove the swirls and holograms, but am left wondering if I will be chasing my tail trying to keep this car looking nice since it is kept outside. Any thoughts or feedback is both welcome and appreciated.



One last thing, why is wax not fully able to protect against bird bombs and H2O clear coat etching? It seems like it should.
 
sounds like you need to re-examine your washing & drying technique (for starters, use 2 buckets with a grit guard, soft wash media, and good quality microfiber/drying towels). i have an 03' civic and the paint is soft so correction is pretty easy. i would invest in a PC, UDM, or Flex as machine polishing will remove the defects easier and more efficient than your hands ever will...



How to Wash Your Car (ShowCar style!)



Car Detailing videos - How to detail, polish and wax your Car



by the way... :welcome !
 
Unfortunately, Honda clear coat is very soft. It's true that it takes something rubbing on your paint to cause swirls/defects/marring. And please don't take this wrong, but your washing is what caused it. If your car had never had anything touch the paint, it would still look like it did from the factory, albeit very dirty. :) Just about *everyone* except true Autopians mar/swirl the crap out of their cars by washing them. Hondas are *great* cars, but they are very well known to have soft, easily swirled clear coats.



If you can master the technique from here...http://www.autopia.org/forum/detail...accumulator-s-non-marring-wash-technique.html you stand a much better chance of being able to wash your car without causing swirls/marring/holograms.



It's very frustrating to learn that what you think you have been doing to keep your car looking nice has actually caused the problems you're seeing, but we've all gone through that very thing. Correcting the swirls and then maintaining it can be a very fun and rewarding hobby. Hope you stick around. :)
 
Just to play devil's advocate, do we know that the swirls didn't come preinstalled from the dealer? I have known no dealer to not provide this free service, unless you get the car straight from the truck (and the last one I got that way had some lovely scuffs on the side from the driver squeezing past the dirty car). Not that I enjoy going off on a tangent :rolleyes: but I remember looking through the back lot at a Chevy dealer a few summers ago when they were having model year-end incentives to clear the lots. There was a stand of woods adjoining the lot, and the cars parked at that end were just covered with bird crap and tree debris...ahh....nothing like a new car...
 
Oh, for sure, Setec. It's about a sure bet that the dealer is responsible for some of it. I was at a Honda dealership a couple weeks ago. There wasn't one car on the lot or in the show room that wasn't swirled to high heaven.
 
I would agree that it's very possible that the swirls were dealer induced and went unnoticed because of LSP filler product and an owner that kept it clean and 'waxed'.



Just my $.02....

I am gonna deviate from accepted thought on swirling and marring - I don't think it comes from washing as much as is thought. There's typically a lot of soap and water in washing making a lot of lubrication and the technique is most often not the harsh cirular swirl motion. I think most swirls and marring comes from paste 'waxing' a surface that is not sqeaky clean. Cleaning agents in most paste products grinding grime from the surface in circular motions...

(I remember in the 70's a kid that worked for me then said 'I get more dirt off my car when I wax than when I wash the car!'. Before clay and polish, there is without question a layer of grime, contaminants and tar that all act as nasty abrasives when 'waxing'.



Sure, washing can be a negative, but no where near as much as 'wax on, wax off'. You need a super clean surface in order to safely apply an LSP.



(I just did my spring detail and was reminded...even after a pressure wash, an ONR wash, claying and wipe down, polishing still removed a level of grime not touched by the previous procedures.)
 
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