Get a DA Polisher, you'll be surprised with the results you can achieve with it and how short a time you can get the results. Just practice, and when you get the techniques, you'll forget you ever said "I'm done detailing. Forget it" and do it more frequently.
I wouldn't be surprised if the scmitt caused some of the damage. If its a flat foam pad, there's nowhere for the dirt to go and gets rubbed in, causing swirls. (I could be wrong though). It may be a combination of dealer glaze and the wash mitt. I'm glad you got it fixed though. Looks great. I like fluffy wash mits myself, and I hate to say it, but the Megs MF doesn't really do it for me.Originally Posted by Agent 99
Poor wash techniques can and will put in swirls and shorten the life of any paint protection (wax or sealant) dramatically. And combine that with using glazes to hide swirls (some work better than others), then you will get the real picture of the paint which is bad, especially if swirls are being added at the same time.
Now all you need are proper paint care steps to keep your car swirl free. It won't be easy, especially with dark paint especially black paint. Use quality products combined with proper techniques, and you'll have swirl free finish (well, mostly) for a long time.
For me, I'd still use glazes occassionally. There will be a point where you can't keep on correcting the paint every time the lightest or shallowest of swirls need to be compounded or cleaned. Instead, I'll use something to hide the swirls on a regular basis. Sometimes it would be OK to just hide them instead of removing them at every opportunity especially if there isn't enough time.
Watching videos from the web will help you prepare for your Early spring 2013 detail. Paint corrections are impossible to do on a HOT Day. Product drys too fast. Always do paint corrections when the car surface is cool and follow up with Wax. 50 degree works best for me. May I suggest the Meguiar's Videos, and Meguiars YouTube Channel, Autogeek.net , Adam polishes video , and the JunkMan videos to help you get started.
A DA Polisher will get you awesome results and you will use less product. Took me 6yrs to figure this out :-)
Well at least you figured it out. I had a conversation with one of the guys at Meguiar's a few weeks back... Think of how many people are on this forum and then think of how many cars there are in the US, and then think of how many people have their car waxed regularly.... the numbers are insane....people don't take care of their cars and it's one of the most expensive things someone will ever buy in their lifetime outside of their house.
Just based on what you said, I would bet the dealer's detail shop just put a quick wax over the swirls, etc and when it was washed, everything bad showed up. Happened to me with my wife's black Mercedes. Ya just gotta get use to going that extra mile with any black vehicle. Once you get your ride in perfect shape, start a morning routine where you can either use a CA duster or do a WW on it. I do that to the wife's Mercedes and with this new, daily routine, her car is never dirty. Yea, it's a PITA but well worth the effort because you have a nice looking ride. I just traded in a new BLACK RAM 1500 truck for a new dark silver Ram Diesel truck. Couldn't handle doing two vehicles each morning. A WW, each morning, takes me about 15 minutes.
I also suggest spending the money on your own DA polisher. I bet it is still less than what your detailer charged you.
Its not hard to learn how to use, i taught my naive 11 year old sister how to do it, and if she could reach im sure she would have done a
great job! All Im saying is you wont know unless you try. "Most" detailers will tell you that you paint has some sort of "catch" as to why
you should not really do the whole work yourself. Meaning you need his services and will come back in the future. Just my .02 cent.
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