Swirls after washing

[fiveoh]

I've gotten halfway decent at using my DA polisher and removing swirls.  However, it seems that EVERYTIME I do this after 2-3 washes the swirls are back again.  I assume I am doing something wrong that is causing this. 

 

My washing technique is:

 

Prepare my 2 buckets with grit guards, I use an adams jumbo pad and adams car wash soap

Rinse down the car with a hose nozzle

Use a glimour foam gun w/ adams car wash soap to get a coating of foam on it

Use the jumbo wash pad on the car, working my way from the top to the bottom

Rinse with water/hose

Mist with Detail Spray

Use 2 adams MF big white drying towels

 

Feel free to critique/give me any tips or suggestions.  Should I get a power washer to knock off more dirt initially?

 

The car is a 2011 mustang gt candy red metallic.  It is my DD and gets driven 5-6 days a week.  Is it possible to have a swirl free daily driver, or should I not worry about it?

 

 

[Chewy]

It looks like you're doing it in the right order, I would only ask how many swipes you take with your pad before rinsing and starting over. I take one swipe on one side then flip and take a second, rinse, repeat.  

 

Try using waterless wash as your drying agent, and look into buying some rinseless wash and adding a little to your soap bucket.  The extra lubricity may help.  

 

What waxes are you using?  Adams? 

Chris

[GerryC]

It is of course possible to get a daily driver 100% swirl-free, but unrealistic to maintain it as 100% swirl free since it will be driven and washed often. However, you should be using more than one wash pad in order to minimize the amount of dirt that gets put back onto the car. At least two, one for the top half down the the midpoint of the doors, one for the lower half where the majority of the dirt is. They're cheap enough that I use three.

 

Do you have a coat of sealant on your paint?

[fiveoh]

It looks like you're doing it in the right order, I would only ask how many swipes you take with your pad before rinsing and starting over. I take one swipe on one side then flip and take a second, rinse, repeat.  

 

Try using waterless wash as your drying agent, and look into buying some rinseless wash and adding a little to your soap bucket.  The extra lubricity may help.  

 

What waxes are you using?  Adams? 

Chris

What do you mean by a swipe? 

I'll have to try the waterless trick, I have really hard water and heard that helps for that too. 

I use MSW when I polish 2x a year and in between use adams buttery wax(still using old formula bottle)

 

It is of course possible to get a daily driver 100% swirl-free, but unrealistic to maintain it as 100% swirl free since it will be driven and washed often. However, you should be using more than one wash pad in order to minimize the amount of dirt that gets put back onto the car. At least two, one for the top half down the the midpoint of the doors, one for the lower half where the majority of the dirt is. They're cheap enough that I use three.

Good to know.  I actually have an extra, so I will start using 2.  How long do you think its realistic to expect the car to stay swirl free after removing them?  I wash the car about once a week sometimes every other week. 

[GerryC]

My G8 is a daily driver; I did a full correction last year and then applied two coats of sealant. With proper washing (and snow removal ) techniques, I would say that the paint still looks about 95% as good as it did last year. My wash frequency is about the same as yours. It all boils down to how you touch the paint. Obviously, the less you touch it, the better it is. But when you have to touch it, how you touch it is also important. When you are washing and drying, you don't need to apply any pressure whatsoever. Let the weight of the pad or towel do the work. Pressing down will just grind the dirt in and start causing swirls to re-appear.

[Feets31]

It could also be that you are not getting rid of them entirely when you polish the car and they stand out more when you are out in the sun washing the car.  Polish the car inside where you think you have gotten the swirls (mine are really tough to see and every once in awhile I will find them in the bright sun if it hits the car right) and when you drive it you aren't really looking, but when you wash it outside the sun hits it just right and you can see the swirls.  Likely made at the dealership.    

 

As far as I can tell I have no swirls, but straight line scratches. 

 

Just a thought, your situation may be different. 

[Timmy8784]

Being a DD, it is very hard to have the car remain swirl/scratch free. I live in AZ so I constantly have to do waterless/rinseless washes to keep my car clean.

 

The art of washing is to reduce scratches as much as possible, but it's nearly impossible to not have them return at least a little.

 

Keep doing things the way you are and be as careful as possible. When the scratches appear after time, you can polish them out.

[Numbr3t]

when you say you are working from top to bottom, are you first doing the whole top half of the car then moving to the bottom half? Or are you cleaning top to bottom of the first panel then moving to the next panel?

[Numbr3t]

Also, something that really helped me was the time spent doing the initial rinse. I used to do a quick rinse then start washing, now I spend a good amount of time getting as much dirt off as I can with rinsing first. Like mentioned earlier, 2 wash pads will also help, one for the top and one for the bottom. Hope this helps.

[fiveoh]

when you say you are working from top to bottom, are you first doing the whole top half of the car then moving to the bottom half? Or are you cleaning top to bottom of the first panel then moving to the next panel?

Top half and then bottom half. 

[THE Mook]

That paint is not your friend.  My wife's Mazda has similar clear coat to it, and without the use of a Merino Mitt or other high end wash media, I will get marks back in it, with even brand new, clean wash pads--11x11 or 9x9.

[fiveoh]

That paint is not your friend.  My wife's Mazda has similar clear coat to it, and without the use of a Merino Mitt or other high end wash media, I will get marks back in it, with even brand new, clean wash pads--11x11 or 9x9.

I had a suspicion this was the case.  Just did a little test.  Taped off a square in the driver side door that had the marks.  Washed, clayed, swirl remove, polish, and waxed this little portion.  No swirl marks left.

 

  I then went and washed JUST that square with a full bucket of soap/water just like I normally do.  Then I blew the panel off with a electric leaf blower and didn't touch it with the towel.  Some of the marks are already back, and yes I am 100% sure they were gone before, I took before and after pics.  UGH.

 

After this I went and sprayed some detail spray and used the great white MF towel on part of the spot that was still swirl free.  No swirls.  This leads me to believe it is the wash pads. 

 

Where can I buy a merino mitt from?  I thought adams offered one but don't see it on the site. 

 

I stand by my suggestion to add some RW in the soap bucket! 

[Chewy]

http://www.amazon.com/Aussie-Merino-Wool-Wash-Mitt/dp/B00IKMTXXU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397848617&sr=8-1&keywords=merino+wool+wash+mitt

 

You can also check out some Adams dealers.  The Adams mitt and pad were nice!  Remember to clean them WELL with APC before using.  The natural oils in them KILL suds.  

 

It's the main reason why I use the synthetic pads and sold my black car for a silver one. lol 

[fiveoh]

http://www.amazon.com/Aussie-Merino-Wool-Wash-Mitt/dp/B00IKMTXXU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397848617&sr=8-1&keywords=merino+wool+wash+mitt

 

You can also check out some Adams dealers.  The Adams mitt and pad were nice!  Remember to clean them WELL with APC before using.  The natural oils in them KILL suds.  

 

It's the main reason why I use the synthetic pads and sold my black car for a silver one. lol 

Thanks for the link!  Do I need to clean them with APC every time, or just before the first use?

[Ricky Bobby]

My wife's Rav4 is similar, Toyota clearcoat sucks for lack of a better word.

 

Did a full polish with another brand's equivalent Paint Finishing polish (just to get swirls out) in the winter and then sealed it, they are already back after 5 months, and I have GOOD wash technique.  Truth be told though I should have gotten the deeper marks out first.

 

This time around I'll be using compound, then polishing, IPA wipe and sealant.  Then just using topper wax (Buttery or Americana) every couple months just to keep a fresh looking surface that doesn't show the small scratches as easy.

 

 

I HATE BLACK CARS, and I HATE BLACK JAPANESE CARS even more.

[Ricky Bobby]

Thanks for the link!  Do I need to clean them with APC every time, or just before the first use?

 

Just before first use and then as needed, i.e. if you wash a really dirty car with the Merino or wool wash pads you may want to spray them with APC first.

[Chewy]

Thanks for the link!  Do I need to clean them with APC every time, or just before the first use?

 

I soaked mine in a bucket overnight with a bunch of APC in it.  Then sprayed it and hand washed it.  It's better, but I still prefer the sudsing ability of the synthetic wool.  I use very little pressure when I wash and I do so in straight lines.  

[Blue04SSS]

Yea, I'm sure it has a lot to do with the paint or the pressure you apply while drying or washing. Just try less pressure like other have said. Let the wash pad and drying towel do the work. It shouldn't take pressure to remove dirt or especially water. If dirt is stuck let some soapy water dwell on the area for a while maybe even try some waterless wash. I heard that works well for stuck on bugs. When drying try laying the towel and dragging it off and less of a buffing action maybe. The car that I just bought has super soft paint and noticed some swirls already after just one wash. So my technique needs a little work. My 04 Silverado had a lot harder clear coat than the new wrx I just got.

[Adam]

It could also be that you are not getting rid of them entirely when you polish the car and they stand out more when you are out in the sun washing the car.  Polish the car inside where you think you have gotten the swirls (mine are really tough to see and every once in awhile I will find them in the bright sun if it hits the car right) and when you drive it you aren't really looking, but when you wash it outside the sun hits it just right and you can see the swirls.  Likely made at the dealership.    

 

As far as I can tell I have no swirls, but straight line scratches. 

 

Just a thought, your situation may be different. 

 

Good point, and getting the paint corrected 100% first is key.  Are you Using the Microfiber Paint Correction Pads and the Paint Correcting Polish, followed by the Orange Foam Pad, Paint Correcting Polish, then the White Foam Pad with the Paint Finishing Polish?

 

It's possible to minimize visible flaws with Brilliant Glaze, Sealant, or Wax.   Removing the damage 100% might be the next BIG step!

 

Let's get this figured out, as a swirl-free finish is our goal too.

[Feets31]

I only correct mine once Adam and that was with the PC and the foam pads and the original polishes.  I haven;t hit it yet with the Flex or Cyclo.  I want to practice on my wife burgundy car first with the Flex to get my technique down and either it or me have been home much together on the good days so far this spring.  There is no doubt in my mine that part of the trouble was my polishing.  

[eric@thompsonracing.us]

I always use two wash pads.  I use a Jumbo Wash Pad or a Merino Wool Pad on the top and a 9x9 Pro Wash pad on the bottom half.  There are two reasons for this.  1: you never want to use the "bottom pad" on the top half of the car and vice versa.  This includes the car wash next time.  The size or material difference will alert you which pad to use where.  2: I like a smaller pad for the bottom half of the car.  The large pads are great for covering a lot of paint up top and spreading a lot of suds, but on the bottom half of the car I want to make sure the pad does not touch the ground.  On low cars, like sports cars, this becomes tricky.

 

Also, I use an Air Force Master Blaster or Blaster Sidekick to dry my car.  I avoid contacting my paint when drying, unless on the road and electric is not available.  That said, if you use microfiber, use a lubricant, such as Detail Spray or Waterless Wash.

 

Make sure to have a good coat of sealant on paint and use the pooling technique to reduce the amount of work on your paint to dry.

 

If using a microfiber to dry, go one direction with the wash pad when washing, and go the perpendicular direction with the drying towel.  This may alert you to the source of the damage.

[Ricky Bobby]

I'm going to piggyback on what Eric said (it's all spot on) but I actually prime my drying media of choice (I have 3 Super Drying towels from Detailers Domain in my arsenal, very plush Korean microfiber 470gsm) with a few spritzes of Detail Spray or Waterless (Rinseless 1:16 dilution) before actually touching the dry towel to the car, allows for slicker drying up front when starting out with a dry towel.

 

Priming the surface of the car and the surface of the drying media is like double insurance to ensure less friction when drying, Larry Kosilla of AMMO NYC theorizes that most of our swirls and microscratches actually come from poor drying technique as opposed to aggressive wash technique believe it or not.

[mc2hill]

Priming the surface of the car and the surface of the drying media is like double insurance to ensure less friction when drying, Larry Kosilla of AMMO NYC theorizes that most of our swirls and microscratches actually come from poor drying technique as opposed to aggressive wash technique believe it or not.

 

That makes sense.  Lots of lubrication in the wash process, and very little in the drying process.  The moral of the story is to buy and use more DS!! 

[2quikta]

Or a master blaster!!