CPD SLK

Okay...

I am idiot...I made the biggest mistake buying a black car given my **** retentiveness. I am going to be paying a very good detailer about 350 bucks to get all the swirls out of my paint and do a full detail with two coats of zaino. How can I keep my car looking good and not cause swirls once I have this detail done? He advised not to dust the car with a california car duster and zaino Z6. HE told me that that causes scratches and that I should just drive it and wash it every week or two.

Is using a microfiber wash mit and towels to dry good enough? Argh!!!! I wish I had a tectite grey or silver or white car...but the deal I got on this car was too good to pass up. Please tell me what I should be doing. Thanks in advance.

Inf4life

If you have a full time job then quit now and take a part time one because your other time will be spent trying to keep it clean.

GL Troll

There’s a car washing thread here. But, this one is a little better:
http://www.detailuniversity.com/foru...-properly.html

Post #12 lists steps. Try sheepskin mitt.

sleewell

although other colors don't show dirt as much, there is nothing like a shiny jet black car when its clean - its a thing of beauty and i would be hard pressed to own any other color. unless i didn't have a place to wash my car or was disabled or something where i couldn't wash my car as much as i wanted. black = sexy power in my book, call me weird.


to the OP: get the best micro fiber wash mitt and micro fiber towels you can afford, those are very important. wash your car weekly and afterward use a quik detailer, but use it sparingly, a little goes a long ways. this will help maintain in between waxes and give you that shine you get when you leave the detailer. i would clay bar and wax once every 2-3 months or once the water doesn't bead up as much.

trust me i am just as **** retentive as the next person; see me out in my driveway meticulously drying my door wells, gas well, and using a tweezer to get all leaves and stems from the trunk and hood wells. but i can take pride in my clean black car because that's the color i really wanted and i didn't compromise bc it would have been easier to get another color.

Greg@DI

Here are some of my biggest tips, some of which have already been mentioned. Washing and Drying is where most swirls are added so try to make sure you are using good techniques with quality products. I would highly recommend you read our Detailing Guide - Washing and Drying section. I would also recommend looking at our Washing and Drying Starter Kit. This kit will give you many quality products so you can minimize the chance of adding swirls to your paint. I also would want to make sure you paint is well protected year round. I would reapply a quality sealant every three months or so as well to protect the paint. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you any further.

Greg @ Detailed Image