MBfan21

I took it for a hand wash and the guy was drying the car with a towel and doing the wax on wax off motion. Doesn't that create swirls in the paint? I do see some swirls already in the paint if I look closely.
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. I guess I should find a car wash that uses a sponge for the hand wash.

howie

if your car is black you will get those swirl marks no matter what. If not then I'd advise you not to go back there. You shouldn't use a "towel" in the first place. Shammy is ok but I till go up and down instead of swirlin around. Either way get the car buffed after a while and the swirl marks will disapear

PoaMike

^+1 on the whole black car thing... I hate it lol.

howie

I had totaly forgot about it when I recently purchased my black clk. Took it home washed it up, put it in the sun looked like it had a swirl paint job. Friend of mine has a body shop and he's swirl mark removing today!

PoaMike

what i do... once you get home from the wash or when your car is bone dry. take a nice 100% cotten towel lay it out nice and wide and just message the car kinda. you get lil fibers sometimes if its an old towel but once u got 20+mph they blow off. works for me?

Now back to my exam studying lol.

-Mike

webada

black is the hardest color to maintain. I should know, I drive one now.

if you care about your car paint then don't ever take your car to a car wash, not even a hand car wash.

Drying car with a towel is fine but it should be high quailty 100% terry towel with no nylon stitching and labels ripped off. I doubt these hand wash would use something like that.

The only person who cares about your car is you. Best way to keep it swirl-free and shiny is wash/wax yourself with high quality stuff.

Do a google search on: Zaino Brothers, Mothers, and Meguiars wax products. Those site will give you some basics on how to wash/wax your car. Based on how much time and money you willing to put into it, you can find a product that's best for you.

good luck!

PoaMike

^My problem... to lazy and dont have the time to do a full detail every week on my car. so a run through at the wash and a touch up when i get home with my towel (like you said, no tags and such) and its just all shinny... till i drive it again lol.

oblu

Get a 'big blue' waffle weave micro fiber towel.

Instructions for drying black car.
Step #1. Spread out and place on black car.
Step #2. Blot water off; never ever ever under any circumstances move the towel over the surface of the car. Just blot the towel on and off the surface of the car.
Alternate Step #2. Skip physical drying and use an electric leaf blower from the top down.
Step #3. If you absolutely must move the towel ... because you're special or something? ... only do so in straight lines; this will at least minimize the visibility of the eventual tiny scratches you'll put in the clear coat that will be visibile in bright light.
Step #4. Take to a referred detailer ... or do yourself ... each spring to have the car machine polished.
Step #5. After a few years of doing this dance, vow to never under any circumstances no matter what, buy a black car again.

Instructions for drying light colored car.
Step #1. Do whatever gets it done ... you'll never see the swirls except under mega harsh/bright light and even then only fleetingly. So have at it.

PoaMike

Lol I never knew it scraths 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.

AsianML

Microfiber!

emps

Wow, good to see a fellow detailer on the board. I cringe when people mention brushes, costco/target microfiber towels, etc...

This is my second black car, and if you want your car to always look pristine, it takes some effort in keeping it that way. You need to wash and detail your car yourself and do it correctly or you *will* get swirls regardless, just slower than going to a 'hand wash' place. MB using the nano particle ceramic polish is better than BMW or any Japanese car, but you will still get swirls on occassion. Those looking to detail your MB yourself, look into Menzerna polish, glaze and/or FMJ products. This line is the same one that your car comes with from the factory. MB has been using Menzerna on their nano particle cars for some time now.

emps

The dust you'll get from the drive home will scratch up the paint when you rub the towel over it. If anything, use a california duster, then some Poorboys Spray and Wipe with a good microfiber towel.

howie

save yourself the headache and just deal with the swirl marks until you get it polished. They'll keep comin back no matter what.

hyukki

With the California Duster, do I just buy it and start wiping down my car with it? Nothing else needed?

crow944

If you live in a place where you get the harsh winters, your kinda forced to bring it to a car wash. I always bring it to a "touchless" car wash as the jets go around your car rather than brushes flapping on your car and the wheel track that pulls you may scratch your rims. The touchless won't get really tough dirt around the side your wheel well or rims off, but good enough.

hyukki

Touchless are as bad, if not worse.

Touchless use very harsh chemicals since it has to get the job done without scrubbing.

Lakerz4sho

any regret in not choosing black for my c300 went right out the window after reading this thread.

sou98

Try this article on cleaning the car...use chamois...or find another shop that do better job than the one you currently used.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/clean.htm

Hope this help.

MBfan21

Thank you for your responses. I only took it to a hand wash because it was convenient. I have no problem washing it myself but they don't allow us to wash cars on the premises. Plus being on the east coast, standing out there in the cold washing a car is kind of rough... It's easier to let someone else do it.
But after seeing what he did today, I won't go back there.

webada

What are you trying to do? Califorinia duster do just that, dusting. Its basically a cloth duster with wax. It picks up dust that sits on top of your car, sort of like those swifter cleaning sheets, using electrostatic concept. It will not protect your car with any finish nor remove any swirl marks. It will not even remove dirt that's been settled and harden/dried over days.

Try Meguiar's ultimate quick detailer if you are really lazy and do not want to "wax" your car.

Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6yd4r-oGKk

I've one of this bottle and it works by sheeting off water. It does not bead up the water like a wax or polish.... its ok but I prefer layering Zainos....

CarGuru

I use this, I can dry the entire car in about 60 seconds

-Ryan

AsianML

I'm only worried about using that because I'm afraid it'll kick dust up and whatnot.

Kar don

asianML, u drive the car on the hwy right? Same exact thing.

AsianML

Not when wet though! Doesn't dust and dirt have a greater chance of sticking and drying to the car when it's still wet?

emps

The goal is to always keep your car in great condition so that each time you come back from wherever you're going you can dust off the dust on your car, then use a waterless wash like Poorboy's Spray and Wash (http://www.poorboysworld.com/spray-wipe.htm) like I mentioned earlier. Use a quick detailer after that to keep the shine. But if it rains, bird poops on your car etc... you'll need to wash the car and not just dust it. If you're serious about detailing there are some really good resources on how to properly wash, polish, glaze/seal, and top off your car. It's not for everyone because it takes alot of time and you personally want to take pride in keeping your car in pristine condition. I'll be switching from using Klasse to Menzerna now that i've switched to MB.

Old thread of my just detailed M3 using Klasse polish and sealant glaze:
http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showt...ghlight=klasse

Here's a pic of the hood:


Here's some sites with good tutorials and info on detailing.

http://autogeek.net/detailingtips.html
http://autopia.org/forum/guide-detailing/
http://www.autogeekonline.net/
http://detailcity.org/