Washing and Drying induced swirl marks

explain to me how you guys gets "swirls"

when you wash ..do you use straight back and forth lines?

I can see light scratches if your using hard pressure..but circular swirls????
 
mikesal57 said:
explain to me how you guys gets "swirls"

when you wash ..do you use straight back and forth lines?

I can see light scratches if your using hard pressure..but circular swirls????
Click to expand...

Swirls have nothing to do with scratches in circles. They are straight line scratches (mostly) all different directions. They look like a circular pattern because that is how the light "looks" to our eyes.

The beginning of a swirl is a couple of straight scratches in various directions. Even if you move a mitt or towel back and forth, dirt can also move under the mitt, causing scratches in random directions.

So, its possible to use straight line motions and get swirls.
 
Yup , I have the same problem here..I have a 2010 Camaro SS with about 8000 miles on it as it is my pleasure car...I use a foam gun , two bucket method with the richest suds I can find...I mounted the big blue Metro vac on the wall and added lots of extension tubes...so I blow most of the water off and touch it up with a really fluffy MF towell...I still get really fine scratches on it ...no real swirls though...and I have kept it constantly under 5-6 coats of Z-5 and spritz with Z8...it doesnt seem possible to keep a car perfect...so far though , I have yet to use a machine on it.


:)
 
Correct. Most of the "swirls" that I am dealing with are straight-line fine scratches.
 
Oh, I will inject something here..I will take my large MF towell holding with my thumbs in the top corners and flip toward the windshield...and softly drag it in straight lines...I never dry any part of the car in circular motions...on the doors ,I will go straight down or across
.

If you go buy a cheap TDS meter and check the hardness level of your water...then check at car wash stalls , find the best reading and wash the car there...lots of times I load up my two buckets with soap , put the lids on and do my typical wash job in the stall..lots of them will have a soft water rince too which does help.

Total Dissolved Solids are minerals , if your reading is high , that water when worked under your wash mitt or drying towell will mar the finish. :(
 
RPM - thank you for you response as it has me pondering the possibility of hard water as the culprit of what I feel are far too many fine scratches with all else considered. I do know for a fact that the water is VERY hard. Interesting.
 
1fastTbird said:
OK. So I have done everything possible to prevent adding microfine scratches into my paint's surface and I cannot figure out how to prevent them. The vehicle is a torch red 2006 Ford Mustang.

I am using the two bucket method with grit guards and using a quality soap (XMT Gel Shampoo or Meguiars Gold Class) in the wash bucket with one ounce of ONR added to both buckets. I use two microfiber chenille wash mitts (one for higher panels, the other for lower,) Cobra Guzzler to dry. I wash all mitts, towels, etc throughly after each use.

When I use a spray wax after the wash, I use only new or like new, quality clean microfiber to apply and buff, and wash those separately after each use as well.

I cannot keep the paint free of new swirls/fine scratches. It seems like every time I touch the paint, I am adding new scratches. I do wash every other week or so as the car is a daily driver, but it is garaged when it is at home. I am note sure if it matters, but I use Wolfgang TSR, FG, and DGPS 3.0 as the polish/protection. Thanks to the recent sale, going forward I will top with DP Max Wax.


Do I just have to accept the fact that a frequently washed DD will only look "so" good and swirls are inevitable with bright red paint?
Click to expand...

My Genesis also has very soft paint and from what you described here, it may be from your drying process. I use a leaf blower when i was my car and only touch the towel to the body without moving it around when drying. Because i always follow the wash with a spray sealant or spray wax or detail spray i don't really have to put any pressure down.
 
New member here - I feel your pain 1fastTbird.

I have a black Acura '06 RL and it has tons of swirls. I try not to let it bother me as when I first got it I didn't know about the 2 bucket method and was totally naive and ran it through a commercial car wash.

I recently got my wife a new Mazda CX-9 and am determined not to let the same thing happen as much. First thing she did was eject my car from our garage ;) But one thing I've been playing around with that ties in with RPM's thoughts on water hardness is making a filtering system for my bucket. It uses a variety of micron rated materials to capture and block all particles in the water so at least I know the water is good vs everything else that I'm doing. Going to try this during the winter months and see if it helps or not.
 
If you would like an idea about water quality , dump straight vinegar into the coffee maker inlet and put a fresh coffee filter in the basket...its gross but its reality..imagine rubbing that crap across the paint job.

:(
 
I have a black and a white car. The black Z is a nightmare!!!!! Gets scratches from just looking at it!!!! Never again!!! The white is opticoated 7 years older and way easier to deal with. Although the opti has to be topped or it's tacky and dull.
 
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