Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

[SqueekyKleen]

Hello everyone,

I washed the brand new car two time so far (through a Laserwash 4000 touchless car wash, nothing touches it, no cloths) and when I go to dry the spots that are left over using Meguiar's Microfiber or Water Magnet, I'm a little disappointed that I've been noticing that minor hairline scratches have been appearing from the drying.

Both the water magnet and microfiber towels are brand new. I usually only use these products only on areas in which the air dryer didn't do a good job on. Of course when you look at the paint at a certain angle in the sun, I see the hairline clearcoat scratches.

I'm extremely careful. I realize nothing is perfect but what could I be doing wrong? I've also been using the Quick detailer to clean up some of the water spots and wipe down with the Microfiber cloth.

So question is, is this to be expected? Should I be taking any other necessary precautions?

Also, for these clearcoat hairline scratches (which are barely noticeable) would a quick application of Scratch X or Swirl X will remove it?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

It doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong at all. Here's what we suspect is really going on with your brand new car:

Go to any dealership and look at the cars on the lot and in the showroom. Try to find one that doesn't have swirls and we're willing to bet you'll be looking for a very, very long time. Sure, the dealer will prep the car, but rarely does that mean they'll do a full detail with total paint correction. Such a process takes a lot of time and it's simply not cost effective for a dealer to do this. What they can do very quickly and quite inexpensively is to apply a couple coats of a wax that is very good at concealing fine swirls, or even putting a couple layers of glaze on the finish - that'll hide all kinds of stuff!

Now you take the car to the car wash a couple of times and, if it's your typical tunnel wash with brushes that are poorly maintained, the car will be loaded with swirls in no time. Or you wash at home using very poor techniques, as we see so many people do, and the swirls start to show up pretty quickly. But you've taken the car through a fully touchless wash, so no brushes, cloths, towels, hanging strips, etc have physically touched the car - so what gives? The only way such a wash can really clean the car is with fairly harsh detergents, and those will strip wax and glazes quite effectively. Once those are gone (and a couple of passes through this type of wash will do it) the swirls are revealed in all their glory. Or horror.

How effectively you can correct these light defects by hand with SwirlX or ScratchX 2.0 will depend on how soft or hard the paint is, how hard you're willing to work, and just how bad the swirls are under whatever the dealer used to conceal them. But that is exactly what those products are designed for, and so it Ultimate Compound except that UC is just more aggressive than the first two. Keep in mind you will need to apply a fresh coat of wax after using any of these paint cleaners. And if you continue to run the car through a touchless wash, you'll want to wax pretty regularly too.

There is an alternative, however, depending on what you want out of the finish, how much time you're willing to devote to maintaining a perfect (or near perfect) shine, etc. That alternative is Ultimate Quik Wax. UQW has been shown to very effectively hide these fine swirl marks, and you can use it very quickly and with little effort. In fact, your process of spot drying the car following a wash is the perfect time to apply UQW. You can exit the wash, pull out of the way of other customers, and spray a panel at a time while drying off any errant drops of water - no need to fully dry the car first, use UQW while drying. You may find this serves your needs quite well, and that is extremely cost and time efficient.

[RGP]

Re: Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

Don't know anything about Laserwash, but if you're not agitating the finish with a totally clean wash mitt or whatever, there's certainly some remaining contaminants left on your paint. i.e. Spraying the vehicle with a soapy solution, rinsing and merely drying. This will add considerably to your dealer installed paint defects.

There isn't a drying method out there that'll not scratch if you've got even the tiniest of contaminants remaining on your paint. It's hard enough not to do even with the best washing technique.

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

If you have been drying the car by dragging the water magnets across the finish, try pat-drying instead. Lay your water magnets across the surface of the hood/roof/trunk and gently pat-dry with your flattened palms (one of my neighbors describes it as me giving my car a Shiatsu massage).

For doors and fenders, fold the WM into four squares, bunch the open ends together and hold in one hand, and gently pat the folded towel against the vertical surfaces. After a few times, you develop a rhythm and the pat-drying goes rather quickly.

And flood rinse before you begin to dry! It cuts drying time in half.

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

Don't know anything about Laserwash, but if you're not agitating the finish with a totally clean wash mitt or whatever, there's certainly some remaining contaminants left on your paint. i.e. Spraying the vehicle with a soapy solution, rinsing and merely drying. This will add considerably to your dealer installed paint defects.

There isn't a drying method out there that'll not scratch if you've got even the tiniest of contaminants remaining on your paint. It's hard enough not to do even with the best washing technique.

I think RGP has a very valid point - a totally touch-less car wash will not remove all of the dirt and grime from the surface. The relatively small amount leftover will then be dragged over the paint and cause fine swirls.

Also, do you immediately pull out of the touch-less car wash and dry it on the spot? Or do you drive home?

Even moving a vehicle 15 feet on a dirty driveway or parking lot will kick up dust that will cling to a wet car - let alone a full drive home.

All that said, it is not realistic to expect a finish to remain 100% flawless when washing and drying. Over time the finish will develop at least minor swirls, no matter how careful you are. It's just the limitation of the finishes themselves.

The use of high quality products and proper technique will make a world of difference in limiting the damage, however.

[SqueekyKleen]

Re: Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

Thank you very much for everyone's input.

I'd like to follow up with some more questions:

1. Unfortunately, I don't have access to doing my own wash regiment, that being hose, bucket, etc. I realize car washes are very bad, especially ones that use bristles, cloths etc.! I thought the Laserwash system would be a good compromise. For those that don't know what that is, you drive up into a bay and the car gets cleaned with a high pressure rinse, soap, followed by another rinse. The laser calibrates the size of the car so everything is applied around the car with nothing touching the car at all except for water and soap and of course and air dry.

2. Someone mentioned that perhaps the soap should be agitated more into the paint. There are some self-serve car washes that are in my area. Basically you pull in and you can use the high pressure wand guns for rinsing and soap. I would never use the brushes they have to put on the soap. Perhaps a compromise would be that once I apply the soap with the wand, I can use my own wash mitt to work the soap in?

3. I will definitely try blotting using the microfiber cloth and water magnet. I have been doing that to a certain extent. I only use the cloths to areas in which the air dry didn't do a good job.

4. Question about the Spray Wax. I have the NXT Spray Wax. Would this suffice? And I can apply this with not even completely drying the car? What should I use to apply this with? My guess is just a simple applicator pad or microfiber followed by polishing it off with another microfiber towel? And to clarify, it will just "cover up" the scratches but not necessarily remove them... That's when the Scratch X or Swirl X comes into play... followed by a fresh coat of wax to protect.

5. Also, would Paint Cleaner also help reduce the current hairline scratches? Should I use that in conjunction with the Scratch X or Swirl X or one of the three products should be fine?

Many thanks to all!

[RGP]

Re: Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

Now you're talkin'! Bring your own wash mitt and make certain to continually rinse it so it doesn't transfer any loosened contaminants onto your next panel.

The only time I ever used a "quarter wash" was in the depths of a Cleveland Wnter just for a "wet wash" before I bought my own home. It wasn't ever really totally clean, but it probably was better than leaving the road salt on the vehicle all Winter long.

It may "quarter" you to death, but you'll no longer be compromising your new car's finish. Or, move to Orlando!

[RGP]

Re: Using Mequiar's Water Magnet and Microfiber to dry but...

Don't mean to rock the proverbial boat, but I've yet to see any paint additive really do much to cover up visible scratches. M07 may be a slight exception, but I've also used this extensively and it really doesn't improve the scratch situation. Nice gloss and depth, but I've found no appreciable scratch improvement.

Once you stop the hemorrhaging by using proper washing techniques, you can try some manual correction of those scratches with Swirl X or Scratch X 2.0 or Ultimate Compound, but you've got to be Charles Atlas to apply the consistent power required.

Believe me, I've tried it, and just on one single panel, and it's entirely no fun and the results are normally pretty insufficient.

As I did, bite the bullet and invest in Meg's new G110v2 Dual Action polisher and do it right the first time.

Once you've got it where you want it, it's no biggie to keep it there if, again, proper washing and dusting regimens are followed.

Compare the couple hundred for a DA polisher and supplies to the cost of your vehicle. The resulting conclusion becomes obvious. Plus, the DA polisher is a total blast to use!