emps

Some people use blowers, or you can 'sheet' the water off your car so most of it rolls right off, then use your waffle weave towels to dab those spots that remain.

sack5000

Surprised to see that a microfiber towel will add swirl marks if you move the towel as opposed to blot the water up, never heard that before tonight! Thanks for the information.

rb23lb

keep studyin for them exams, hope u got a spelling book

rb23lb

can you please explain in better detail your dust off after you get back method??? if there is dust on a dry car, just wiping it off without water will for sure create swirls or small scratched in the clear coat from the dust particles you are draggin on your paint, CORRECT?????

I assume you spray quick detailer first then wipe off the dust to avoid scratches?? can you please explain better, thanks!

emps

The california duster will pick up the loose small particles on your car. The brush has a waxy adhesive on it to pick up dirt. And you're lightly dusting, not applying pressure to wipe it. Again, if there's stuck dirt accumulated on your car, dusting won't work you need to do a full wash. Poorboy's spray and wipe is formulated to lubricate the dirt on your car so that you can wipe away dirt without scratching your paint.

The ideal situation is you wash and detail the car, apply several coat of glaze/sealant. I use at least 3 coats each spread 24 hours apart so the glaze chemically bonds to the clear coat. Now i'm good for at least 6 months without really needing to glaze again until 6 months later. So, i go out and come back from wherever, I dust the car off with the duster. If there are places where there a bit of buildup I use the Poorboy's Spray and Wipe on the area, then follow up with a quick detailer. In the winter, it's harder to keep clean but I typically rinse the car off after a drive if there's rain or snow/salt then follow up with some spray and wipe in the garage. Just to get by winter. Spring and summer are easier. I detailed the M3 every 2-3 weeks, but they're quick sessions since I did them often. Check those links I posted, tons of info like this on there.

RLE

<<MB using the nano particle ceramic polish is better than BMW or any Japanese car, but you will still get swirls on occasion.>>

Nano particle refers to the clear coat paint, not polish.

The experts will tell you never to use cotton towels and never rub the dirt off dry which seems unbelievable but somebody was advocating such a thing. After four years of fighting "swirls" on my Obsidian Black C320 I discovered random orbital buffers and Micro fiber drying towels ( I now have two) from Griot's Garage and cut down my swirl removal polishing sessions by half to perhaps four times per year. I use the "towels" only one time and then into the washer.

So far, at two months, my Barolo Red C300 has no swirls so it looks like the advertised advantages of nano-particle clear coat seem to be working.

webada

There is absolutely nothing wrong with 100% high quailty terry towel (no nylon stitching or tags and not those towels you get from target/walmart). I wonder what those experts were using before microfiber came out??

In either case, the important thing to remember is to use clean towels and folding the sides as you go along (something I find hard to do with the micros)
You will pick up dirt as you dry, so fold often.

emps

thanks for the correction. That's what I meant to say, thinking about the polish further down the post.

emps

True, just make sure that the 100% cotton towels are really 100% cotton or it will scratch your coat. It's the same premise with the cheaper microfiber towels you find in Target and Costco. Regardless of the technique, find the best quality towel/mf from a good dealer. I use Pakshak Microfiber towels for all my detailing needs.

Here's a good thread over at autopia about terrycloth towels http://autopia.org/forum/car-detaili...ght=terrycloth

stephensong

Zaino and the swirls are gone, check it out at Zaino.com.

lx Raven xl

Can you give the exact link. Zaino.com does not work.

webada

http://www.zainostore.com/


IMHO, best stuff out there. The z2 is unreal stuff. no abrasive whatsoever, perfect for a new car finish.

Granted, klass is easier to use but zainos smells like strawberry!

Here are some before/after pix of what you can do with a DA with some Z5 on a long neglected black bmw (notorious for tough finish).... one pass. Zaino is probably not the best product for this job (needs something stronger, like meguiars 83 or even 5) but I was experimenting...

emps

Ha! Ever smell the poorboy's stuff? Natty's Blue paste smells like bubblegum!

oblu

It's not the towel ... it's the crap that gets between the paint and the towel. I've learned over the years that this is all just a useless waste of time. If you buy black, learn to love swirls or you'll just be wasting a whole lot of your free time chasing the latest in hermitically sealed cleaning environments.

Zaino sucks, it's just an optical filler. Swirls are very much still there, just light's not bouncing off of them so you can't see them.

Actually, in a way, if your goal is just not to see the swirls then it's pretty great so I take that back. However, if your goal is to not get swirls in the first place it's useless.

My experience with it was that it didn't hold up to rain as well as a good traditional clay with polishing. But I'm in the PacNW ... we get lots and lots of rain.

webada

I really hate to turn this into but I can't help questioning your reasoning....

clay will remove surface containmant, polishing (I assuming you mean the traditional polishing) will remove swirls, not protect the surface from it. The only protectant in the process is sometype of "sealant" or fillers such as pure wax or stuff like zaino, klasse and too many others to be named.

polishing in traditional detailing means applying mild abrasive to "flatten" the clearcoat around the surface to even out the swirls....... while some polish will contain oils to "revitalize" clearcoat by no means it lays a protection.
So which might give an impression of lasting longer but in reality it is just takes longer to create new swirls... while sealants will fall off faster and old swirls are back!


gosh, i might just regret opening up this can of worms......

Raydens

take your car to Prontowash. Better quality, no waiting, at the same time, save the earth. check locations @ www.prontowash.com. I like mine and always take my benz there. Love the results. Shinier than regular car wash with no water drips everywhere. Great Idea!

webada

i should get me one of those then! luv trying out new stuff, especially bubblegum?!

emps

The whole Poorboy's line is great. Top quality stuff and cheaper than most detailing products. I use the SSR swirl removers, Wheel cleaner, top off wax, tire dressing, super suds, etc... And they all have unique scents, unlike Klasse where my hands smell synthetic

oblu

No you're absolutely right. I've just come to the conclusion that the sealers and waxes are marketing gimmicks. I haven't seen them really protect against anything that the clear coat of paint doesn't already, so instead of trying to fill surface imperfections with expensive polymers for optical reasons just use a polish to flatten them out. Of course you're removing the clear coat, but that's how it goes. I haven't found carnuba waxes to really protect against anything, they just get stripped off in the first couple of rains. Same when I used Zaino.

But maybe it's the part of the country I'm in.

Rocco Vespe

I have been using a california water blade to squeegy off the water then I dry with a bath towel.
NE1 else use this method.
Takes less than 5 min.
Rocco

Derspeed

The water blade is good. Chamois leave streaks because of the natural oils.

The first step is take the spray nozzle off of the hose after rinsing the car. Then start at the roof and let a smooth stream of water pull the smaller water pools and drops off in sheets. Then use the blade and finish up with a soft silk-edged cotton towel. Meguiar's make really nice ones. They have a high pile and a waffle version. Both are really good. Also, using fabric softener in your towels = streaks in your paint. Another member also said this, but do not let your towels pick up dirt, sand or any small particles of anything. Don't take your car to a hand wash. You don't know how they clean their towels.

jherbias

I usually rinse the soap w/ a very small stream of water; this makes drying a lot easier. I use microfiber towels to dry the car. I have one for initial drying and another for the second go around. I ALWAYS wash my towels after a car wash. It's very important your tools are clean.

Swirl marks are usually made by dirt particles in towels when drying or whatever. If you want to be really neat, you can write your name or something.

RLE

<<Lol I never knew it scratches the car? I do have my car machine polished about once a month. All this for just black tho... I might go get it painted 'flat' Black for that overly agressive look lol. Plus no scratchs/swirls/watermark glare.>>

Tsk tsk. You have it washed and have it polished monthly.

How is it being a trust fund baby, anyhow?

RLE

<<take your car to Prontowash. Better quality, no waiting, at the same time, save the earth. check locations >>

I see the closest location to me is in Walnut Creek Ca, about a day and a half from here.

Guess not.

RLE

<<I almost had a seizure when I saw he was washing the car with a big brush with bristles... kind of like the kind you use to scrub a bathtub. >>

In a weak moment during bad weather, I asked for the free "courtesy wash" (for my '01 Obsidian Black C320) at MY DEALER which is supposedly "touchless" except that one of their trained apes used a long handled brush across the roof here and there and across the trunk before it went into the tunnel. Since they didn't dry it (thank God) I didn't examine it until I got it home into the garage.

I spent 12+ hours with my RO buffer but was unable to get the worst marks out. And, yes, they heard about it.

Certain types of cars are OK in car washes. Owned MBs and Porsches are not on that list. Lease cars, who cares.