Washing & Drying without getting any swirls

[kastanaras]

I am looking at finding the best way to wash a car without getting any swirls and here is what I am going to purchase from autogeek and few things I already have.

I have

2 Buckets with 2 grit guards
Meguiars NXT Tech Wash

I am going to buy

Shmitt
Cobra Guzzler and also some waffle weaves locally to try out aswell.

Now washing is pretty easy starting with wheels, then do top to bottom of paint using two bucket method.

Now problem I have is how do I dry without getting any swirls at all.

Lets say I use the guzzler would I lay it flat on the paint and let the guzzler collect all the water and then go around lightly and wipe gently the remaining water.
Or do I just stick with laying it flat on panels and let it collect all water.

Also I have 1 gallon of Meguiars Last Touch and wondering how much would I need to spray when doing finaly wipe dry to get rid of remaning water spots.

I know about the flooding method which helps out so much and I have a brand new leaf blower which my dad hasn't ever used which I might try out.
Can't really find on forums whats the best way to dry, only best product to use so any advice will mean alot.

 

[BlackCoupe]

I am looking at finding the best way to wash a car without getting any swirls and here is what I am going to purchase from autogeek and few things I already have.

I have

2 Buckets with 2 grit guards
Meguiars NXT Tech Wash

I am going to buy

Shmitt
Cobra Guzzler and also some waffle weaves locally to try out aswell.

Now washing is pretty easy starting with wheels, then do top to bottom of paint using two bucket method.

Now problem I have is how do I dry without getting any swirls at all.

Lets say I use the guzzler would I lay it flat on the paint and let the guzzler collect all the water and then go around lightly and wipe gently the remaining water.
Or do I just stick with laying it flat on panels and let it collect all water.

Also I have 1 gallon of Meguiars Last Touch and wondering how much would I need to spray when doing finaly wipe dry to get rid of remaning water spots.

I know about the flooding method which helps out so much and I have a brand new leaf blower which my dad hasn't ever used which I might try out.
Can't really find on forums whats the best way to dry, only best product to use so any advice will mean alot.

Mike Phillips from the Megs site has a video you can watch on the web (I can give you the link if you can't find it on Google--Google Mike Phillips show car garage how to wash your car--it should come up), for Show Car Garage that goes through washing and drying. On drying, he uses a synthetic chamois followed by a guzzler. He acknowledges that some paints scratch easier than others, and offers some alternatives that method. He suggests laying the drying cloth on the car and then patting it down, or folding it in quarters and blotting the car with it. Obviously having flowed the water off first is important to this method. (I feel a little guilty about doing that at present because we have water restrictions and it seems wasteful).

On washing, he suggests washing and rinsing one panel at a time so the soap doesn't remove your sealant/wax while you are working on other panels, and when using the mitt, he stresses going over an area ONCE or twice, not continuing to wipe aimlessly around on the same area. As for Grit Guards, I think he said that he had never washed a car without using them since they first became available.

I don't recall if he used a QD as the final wipedown, but FWIW, I have been using Liquid Souveran Spray Wax for that. It is just as easy, looks better (car feels and looks amazing) and provides at least a bit of protection.

 

[darksparkz]

You could try to get one of those soft water filters to make the water softer and have less contaminents. They recommend to just lay the guzzler flat and pick it up and repeat on all areas, that way you don't drag the towel across the surface increasing the chances of mic romarring. But then that usually takes too much time, and with washing and drying, you'll almost always have some type of micro-marring, proper techniques just lessen that amount.

Usually a light polish or paint cleaner afterhand would be able to fix the slight marks left behind by washing,

 

[P1et]

When you wash with a two bucket method and have a nice all-white ShMITT, you can rest assured you won't be adding marring or swirls to your paint.

Since I have a nice layer of wax on my vehicles, it's easy to get all the excess water off the surface using my shop vac. Then, all I have to do is gently remove the rest of the water with the Guzzler and PRESTO, you're good to go.

 

[kastanaras]

Thanks for the advice guys. Yeah I know over time will get swirls again but trying make it as long as possible without having to start using some polish again to remove the swirls.

So if you cover the guzzler over a panel a few times will it dry fully, or will I need to wipe it lightly for final wipe. Just trying to swipe the panel the least amount of times as possible.

 

[BlackCoupe]

Thanks for the advice guys. Yeah I know over time will get swirls again but trying make it as long as possible without having to start using some polish again to remove the swirls.

So if you cover the guzzler over a panel a few times will it dry fully, or will I need to wipe it lightly for final wipe. Just trying to swipe the panel the least amount of times as possible.

Honestly, I think it depends on the color of your car. I have black, and I see things on it that you would never see on lighter colors. They are there, you just don't see them. So for my car color and my eye, I need that final light wipe with a QD or spray wax. QD or Souveran Liquid Spray Wax. I was using Meg's NXT Spray wax, until someone bestowed the Souveran upon me.

ALso, and I may be talking through my hat here, but it seems like if you have a good coat of sealant or wax on the car, you may be less likely to instill swirls when washing or drying, because of the protective layer. But that is my hat talking.

 

[Racin10s]

I am with P1et on this one... I use the flood method on the paint, then follow up with a blower to get rid of most of the water. I then follow up with a Guzzler. I don't blot, I do wipe it down.

 

[pt91]

Separate water/bucket/tools for wheels and tires.
Also, I think the metro blower helps me keep polishing to a minimum.
Metro Link

 

[Mike T]

Honestly, I think it depends on the color of your car. I have black, and I see things on it that you would never see on lighter colors. They are there, you just don't see them. So for my car color and my eye, I need that final light wipe with a QD or spray wax. QD or Souveran Liquid Spray Wax. I was using Meg's NXT Spray wax, until someone bestowed the Souveran upon me.

ALso, and I may be talking through my hat here, but it seems like if you have a good coat of sealant or wax on the car, you may be less likely to instill swirls when washing or drying, because of the protective layer. But that is my hat talking.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Black is tough to maintain, sometimes I just want to cry.
After washing I follow up with S&W on the entire car. I then apply either Souveran or AW. I only wash once a week and do not touch the finish in between washes. I still can't keep the finish imperfection free.

 

[BlackCoupe]

You took the words right out of my mouth. Black is tough to maintain, sometimes I just want to cry.
After washing I follow up with S&W on the entire car. I then apply either Souveran or AW. I only wash once a week and do not touch the finish in between washes. I still can't keep the finish imperfection free.

Yeah, its a bummer. What kind of black swirlmobile do you have? My Lexus clearcoat scratches with a microfiber!

 

[scottgt]

ya my stang scratches with micro...just pad dry dont wipe