Preventing Swirls!

[Paperer]

We have a new Camaro on the way with the Cyber Metallic finish. I'll be the one keeping it nice and clean. I've been washing and waxing my cars for a while now, but I want to know how do you prevent swirling?

I dread the first wash and wax I do to the new Camaro, for the fear of swirling.

[Gibb]

There is a product made by 3M the number is 5990. I had a new 1990 Mustang. Sold it when it was ten years old. It had never been waxed and still looked new. It had 125,000 miles on it and the only thing ever used on it was 5990. It's cheap and does the job. Regardless of what you use do not rub to hard

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by Gibb

There is a product made by 3M the number is 5990. I had a new 1990 Mustang. Sold it when it was ten years old. It had never been waxed and still looked new. It had 125,000 miles on it and the only thing ever used on it was 5990. It's cheap and does the job. Regardless of what you use do not rub to hard

How do you use this product? Are there any video's or online tutorials?

[CTS]

No. 1, in my opinion, Never let the dealer people wash or wax your car. Or at least go lurking around in the new car detail area and watch what they do.

Use a 2 bucket method to wash it. One with soap and another with clear water. Always rinse the wash mitt in the clear water before dousing into the soap. Buy a good wash mitt not the el cheap's found at many discount stores.

I prefer Mother's Products as I find them of consistent quality. My CTS has a $995 optional paint (Blue Diamond) and when I used Mothers I swear the finish improved 100%.
Btw-I insisted my salesman make sure my car was not touched, he said he complied with my wishes and ran it thru a touch-less car wash instead of having his goons wash it.



Mothers Detail Guide

[FirstLSK]

Originally Posted by Supermans

How do you use this product? Are there any video's or online tutorials?

3M 5990 is just a glaze. It doesn't really remove swirls, it just hides them.

1) Swirl marks will happen. They can be reduced by methods described above. Always wash your car by hand and try to keep the washing materials as clean as possible. Use only quality real cotton cloths or tested microfiber cloths.

2) You will eventually get swirl marks. If you want to remove them, use the following 3M products that actually remove them and not just hide them:


Apply it with a setup like this for optimal results:


3) Protect your finish with a high quality protectant and polish, such as the Zaino system.

.

[Flynbyu]

Originally Posted by CTS

No. 1, in my opinion, Never let the dealer people wash or wax your car. Or at least go lurking around in the new car detail area and watch what they do.

Use a 2 bucket method to wash it. One with soap and another with clear water. Always rinse the wash mitt in the clear water before dousing into the soap. Buy a good wash mitt not the el cheap's found at many discount stores.

I prefer Mother's Products as I find them of consistent quality. My CTS has a $995 optional paint (Blue Diamond) and when I used Mothers I swear the finish improved 100%.
Btw-I insisted my salesman make sure my car was not touched, he said he complied with my wishes and ran it thru a touch-less car wash instead of having his goons wash it.



Mothers Detail Guide

I totally agree.

I use an ultra soft wool mit, and a very soapy solution. I make sure the mit is washed after every use. I use clear water to rinse the mit in between.

I use Meguiar's NXT 2.0. It's around $14 per bottle, and it makes the car look wet after you're done! The results are awesome on dark cars. I use cloth diapers to remove the wax. I also use a 3M finishing spray to wipe the car down in between waxes. To knock the dust off, I use a California Duster.

I use a Mother's Powerball and polish on the wheels and it works really well for me.

Most scratches in the clear are caused by dirty mits, or dirty chamois used to dry the car. Of course make sure to keep people away from your car if it's dusty. Running a finger across a dusty car is just as bad.

~Brian

[Moose]

Your Camaro's paint should be in pretty good shape to begin with.

In order to prevent swirls, it's very important to use only a high quality wash mitt, high quality towels, both for polishing and drying.

I'd recommend a separate wash mitt for the lower sections of the car, and maybe even the wheels...never use the wash mitt that you wash the lower sections of the car with to touch the hood, roof, trunk, doors, etc...

Invest in a good quality wax/polish.

Never use an automated car wash.

And a good rule of thumb; the more you wash, wax/polish, re; "touch" the surface of the paint, the more chance of creating blemishes. So, wash when necessary as well as polish when necessay, but don't overdo it.

Just take your time when washing, waxing/polishing, use good quality products, and take the extra steps necessary, and you'll be just fine.

[tejesh83]

Don't swirl during washing and waxing (wax on wax off method like from the Karate Kid movie). Instead, use front to back motions for horizontal body sections and use top to bottom strokes for vertical sections. Don't rub back and forth either, instead when you finish the stroke/wipe, lift up the cloth, check for debris, and move it back to the front or top and repeat.

Use 100% cotton (Made in USA) towels or something equally soft and apply only light pressure. Keeping a good coat of polish on the paint helps too. Even following all this advice though, you're still going to get some fine scratches and swirls, but the goal is minimize it and help keep them hidden.

The darker the paint the more visible these fine swirls and scratches become and the more care you will have to take. Black shows them the worst, but damn it looks sexy when clean and shiny =)

[PoleCat2SSRS2010]

Not sure if anyone is looking for a source for detailing products. These folks are friendly and always ready to help.
http://www.topoftheline.com/index.html

[Nexus6]

http://www.dftowel.com/video.html

how to for car washing

[91CamaroRS]

I would listen to moose, All i would add to be more specific is that when waxing use only microfiber cloth to remove the wax. When drying get a smart brite shamois, they seem to be the best at drying and softness (Detailking.com). and avoid avoid avoid automatic car washes. You should not have to polish/buff this car to remove any serious swirl marks for at least 5 yrs.

[91CamaroRS]

Oh and that 5990 or 90 as we used to call it in the body shop is just a glaze, it works similar to wax but has no silicone this is why body shops use it, to prevent fish eyes in the paint. this glaze will discipate after one wash or even a hard rain. This glaze is used as a wax over brand new paint.

[WeeZee]

When your cars rolls off the line or unloaded from the truck take it to Ziebart for the Diamond Gloss Coating, that helps alot when it comes to swirls. That 3M stuff listed above is the real deal

[Nexus6]

Why do people insist that microfiber is good for paint ?