Could use some advice

[DetailGk]

So I got into detailing last summer. I bought the DAPS, did a lot of research and detailed my Black Yukon (big/ a lot of paint to practice on!). I did a 2 bucket wash with Dawn soap to strip previous wax, clayed, then used ULC with the DAPS, followed by ULP and finally ended with ULW. The result was amazing and I couldn't believe I got it right the first time.... Or did I? The paint was deep and wet looking, with very minimal swirls, only seen in extreme direct sunlight. Well, it's about 5 months since the detail (last wax application was 2 months ago) and winter has hit. I went from a 2 bucket wash to Meg's D115 in a spray bottle with amazing results (don't have indoor space to heat and use a hose). It snowed a few times and it just wasn't an enjoyable experience trying to remove salt with D115, so I went through a brushless (not touchless) car wash on 2 occasions. I didn't let them dry it, instead I finished drying it with D115. Well, I can see a lot of swirls now in sunlight, however the color is still deep and wet. Im guessing my first detail wasn't as good as I thought initially, and the carwash washed away any fillers from the Meg's products. Vehicle is 14 years old and I don't want to use ULC again bc I don't know how thick the clear is at this point.
Should I use Meg's black wax or just apply ULW again? Which has more fillers? I also noticed turtle wax has a black box product that looks interesting.

Thoughts?
Thanks

[The Guz]

Re: Could use some advice

To avoid swirls you would have to not touch the paint. So minor swirling will happen especially if this is your daily driver. You could use ultimate polish and see how that handles swirls. If the swirls are bad you may have to use ultimate compound to remove them. A few products you may want to invest in are M205. It has more cut and correcting ability than ultimate polish. Really a great polish. If you are looking for more of a one step look into white wax. It has more cleaning ability than black wax. You could then add a coat of ultimate wax after 12 hours of applying white wax. Black wax has more polishing ability and may fill in the swirls to your liking (same 12 hours wait period prior to using ultimate wax). You should also look into getting ultimate quik detailer and ultimate quik wax to maintain the wax throughout the months until you wax again.

[DetailGk]

Re: Could use some advice

Thanks. I figured since I use D115, I don't need a detailer or spray wax.
Yes, this is my daily driver. I will look into the white/black wax. Thanks

[Stephan]

Re: Could use some advice

In the words of Forrest Gump, Car Washes are like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.

No way to know what kind of junk is on the material from previous vehicles. I always imagine the worst, and thus I don't go to car washes. They use chemical cleaners in their process so it's a safe bet there are no Meguiar's products left on your car after a wash.

I will go to to a DIY with a spray gun when necessary, but just use rinse setting unless I want to strip all product off the car. Then I would use my D114 to get it clean.

If you fear rubbing the salt around with D115 and nice MF towels, just think of that car wash material smashing the salt around on your car.

[DetailGk]

Re: Could use some advice

I didn't fear using D115 on the salt. It's just that it was caked on all over and how would I clean the undercarriage? Back/inside of the wheels, etc etc. This stuff was thick and kicked up all over in crevices. I guess I have to find a DIY in my area.

[Stephan]

Re: Could use some advice

I didn't fear using D115 on the salt. It's just that it was caked on all over and how would I clean the undercarriage? Back/inside of the wheels, etc etc. This stuff was thick and kicked up all over in crevices. I guess I have to find a DIY in my area.

I had a hell of a time finding a DIY near me in this area of jersey. They don't advertise or have website usually either. The undercarriage is a problem, I guess a touchless can assist in that. I do what I can with the sprayer at the DIY.

They do make angled attachments for using a pressure sprayer underneath if you have one.