Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

[Kyle R]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

You only clay bar when necessary. The time between full waxes varies with the environment, amount of upkeep, technique, etc. Generally, when QD or UQD becomes a little more difficult to wipe off then it is time to rewax.

If you use proper technique when washing or QDing then the swirl marks you removed should not reappear. Remember to use two buckets when washing a car, a rinse bucket and a wash bucket. Soap solution in one and fresh water in another. Look in the Meguiars Quik Tips video series in the How-to-Videos section of the forum for proper technique on several car care items.

When I wash, I use a cotton hand mit, and a foamaster foam gun. I wash a pannel at a time, then rinse. I always apply a spray detailer after I wash. Thanks for all the replies everyone!

[akimel]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

Just out of curiosity, how often do you guys clay bar and wax your cars? After this, I am hoping to get out a descent amount of the swirl marks with the ultimate compound and waxing. I don't want them to reappear, so I am willing to wax it often as needed. Every three months? I wash my car every week or two.

I clay our cars twice a year. During the non-winter months, I wax my S2K once a month and seal the CR-V every two months.

As mentioned by Coop, the best way to prevent swirls is to refine and improve your wash & drying technique. Use the two-bucket method with grit guard, rinse out your wash mitt frequently, use soft microfiber waffle-weave towels to dry the vehicle, etc. Washing our cars is a necessity, but we risk the creation of swirls (i.e., micro-scratches) every time we touch the paint.

[Kyle R]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

I clay our cars twice a year. During the non-winter months, I wax my S2K once a month and seal the CR-V every two months.

As mentioned by Coop, the best way to prevent swirls is to refine and improve your wash & drying technique. Use the two-bucket method with grit guard, rinse out your wash mitt frequently, use soft microfiber waffle-weave towels to dry the vehicle, etc. Washing our cars is a necessity, but we risk the creation of swirls (i.e., micro-scratches) every time we touch the paint.

What wax do you use when you wax the S2K?

[akimel]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

What wax do you use when you wax the S2K?

Ahhh, there's a question. As the MOL brethren know, I went through a wax phase one to two years ago, where I purchased several different boutique waxes in search of the holy grail. I still haven't tried them all (in fact, I've decided to sell my unused, unopened tubs of Chemical Guys' 50/50 and Lusso Oro, if anyone's interested). My Luthien (my name for my S2K--a special prize if, without doing a google search, if you can tell me the meaning of the name) seems to look darn good in all of them!

Anyway, my current favorites are: Pinnacle Souveran, Wolfgang Fuzion, and P21S 100%.

[chris328]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

i found a 15 pack of microfiber towels (the plush, good kind) at walmart for only ten bucks

[Kyle R]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

Ahhh, there's a question. As the MOL brethren know, I went through a wax phase one to two years ago, where I purchased several different boutique waxes in search of the holy grail. I still haven't tried them all (in fact, I've decided to sell my unused, unopened tubs of Chemical Guys' 50/50 and Lusso Oro, if anyone's interested). My Luthien (my name for my S2K--a special prize if, without doing a google search, if you can tell me the meaning of the name) seems to look darn good in all of them!

Anyway, my current favorites are: Pinnacle Souveran, Wolfgang Fuzion, and P21S 100%.

Ill have to check into a few different ones. For now, i'm going to use the gold class with carnauba wax, but ill be waxing my car every 2-3 months now, so ill have to try a few different ones.

[akimel]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

Ill have to check into a few different ones. For now, i'm going to use the gold class with carnauba wax, but ill be waxing my car every 2-3 months now, so ill have to try a few different ones.

Be careful. Waxes can become an expensive addiction.

If you're happy with GC Carnauba Plus (I haven't used it yet, but it's received excellent reviews here on MOL), you may want to just stick with it. At least in terms of appearance, the differences between waxes are mere nuances and perhaps even imaginary. But I'm sort've committed to the waxes I have purchased. It will take me two and a half life-times to use them all!

[chris328]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

why dont you wax then take pics then use soap detergent then wax again with a different product and take pics again, rinse and repeat that would be the best way to compare.

[Kyle R]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

Be careful. Waxes can become an expensive addiction.

If you're happy with GC Carnauba Plus (I haven't used it yet, but it's received excellent reviews here on MOL), you may want to just stick with it. At least in terms of appearance, the differences between waxes are mere nuances and perhaps even imaginary. But I'm sort've committed to the waxes I have purchased. It will take me two and a half life-times to use them all!

Yeah, the good thing is that the GC Carnauba plus wax isn't too expensive. I'm going to try it out tonight, and ill be sure to update on how everything went. Ill also try to upload a few pictures of the car too, before and after the clay bar, ultimate compound, and waxing.

[Kyle R]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

All I can say is WOW! I wshed it, clayed it, used the ultimate compound, then waxed it with the gold class carnauba plus and it looks incredible! 90% of the swirl marks are gone and the black paint doesn't look "dry" anymore! My dad bought the car new 4 years ago in 2006 and was the one that never had it waxed, and always took it through automatic washes. He was shocked that the swirl marks were gone, and claimed that it looked as good if not better than new. I really cant thank you guys enough, all these marks were really bothering me, and they are literally almost completely gone!

By the way, I used almost half of the Gold class wax. Is this way too much to use? I applied a fairly generous amount just for the reason that he had not had the car detailed before. No wax for 4 years..... The car literally looked "dry".

[akimel]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

Watch out, Kyle--it sounds like you are close to catching the detailing bug!

Congratulations on a great beginning with your car.

If you used up half a bottle of wax, then you probably used way too much. Check out this article by Michael Stoops. Wax that is applied to thick can cause problems like streaking and hazing. A thin coat allows the wax to dry properly, which also makes it easier to buff off.

Now that you have polished and waxed your car, you now want to maintain it properly. Check out this article: Your Daily Driver: A Simple Wash & Wax Regimen. Also, you might want to pick up a bottle of Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Wax. It's EASY to use and will help maintain the shine in-between regular waxings. After you wash your car, just mist on the UQW and wipe it off.



Have fun!

[akimel]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

Kyle, also check out this article by Michael Stoops on applying a paste wax. I prefer paste waxes myself. It feels like "waxing."

[Murr1525]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

If the paint looked dry, whenever you detail next, you may want to do something like SwirlX, DC Polish, and wax. Even though SwirlX and Gold Class Wax have polishing oils, it will just get some more polishing oils into the paint.

[Kyle R]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

Hopefully I wont catch the bug I want to try and avoid further swirling, so i'm going to follow the proper washing steps religiously. I am also going to wax the car every 2-3 months just because of the results I saw last night, and to protect it. Thanks for all the help!

[Golden]

Re: Swirl marks? New to detailing and need help!

If you get bored with the Gold Class wax (trust me, you'll want to try all different types of products), I'd recommend Meguiar's M26 Hi Tech Yellow. I swear it makes black so deep that it could swallow the sun. If you're more into a reflective look over a deep look, I'd recommend NXT 2.0. Just remember, keep the wax thin.

And welcome to the addiction. Now that you've been satisfied with your results....you've been bitten by the detail bug.