D115 smearing ?

[Don]

I've been using D115 (Express Wash & Wax) for about 2 weeks now and so far I'm loving it. This is the first bottle I made and I made it to about 1:7. It works great as a waterless (on LIGHTLY dusty cars), a QD and as a spray wax. Today getting off work as I walked toward my car the sun was coming up and I could see some smears (not swirls or scratches) on a few parts of the right side of the car (the side facing the sun).

I didn't want to try and wipe them away because the car has been driven 100 miles since it was last detailed and risk putting real swirls in, or use some more D115 and add to the smears that were already there.

I guess my question(s) are: Did I make the bottle too strong at 1:7? Should I dilute it more? The way I used it was to spray a partial panel, then wipe it with a clean mf then when the car was fully cleaned, go back over it with a fresh, DRY mf to get rid of any smears/blotchiness. The 1st mf cloth DOES get extremely wet during the process and I start with it dampened w/water but wrung out, and I wring it out several times during the wipe-down. Could this be causing me to use too much?

Although I've been detailing for years, I've only been playing with this whole waterless/rinseless/drying aid thing for a little over a month and I definitely need some guidance.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Christopher.Brown]

Re: D115 smearing ?

I personally think D115's sweet spot is 1:8 with Distilled water only, so i dont think 1 to 7 is bad at all.

Its kind of hard to offer suggestions when we cant see exactly how you are doing it. To me this sounds like maybe you're still getting your procedure down since its only been a month.

But I think, more likely than not, that the follow up towel should come immediately after the "cleaning" towel. This will remove any left over residue from the area.

I think if you performed your waterless wash in the early morning sun, you would be able to adjust your technique perfectly to leave it streak free.

[Don]

Re: D115 smearing ?

Thanks for your response, your name is legendary in detailing circles and any advice from you will be well taken.

I personally think D115's sweet spot is 1:8 with Distilled water only, so i dont think 1 to 7 is bad at all.

Its kind of hard to offer suggestions when we cant see exactly how you are doing it. To me this sounds like maybe you're still getting your procedure down since its only been a month.

But I think, more likely than not, that the follow up towel should come immediately after the "cleaning" towel. This will remove any left over residue from the area.

I tried this too, but the mf cloths I have don't really absorb until they are damp - kind of like how a chamois doesn't work right until it's been soaked and wrung out, so until the cloth gets damp enough to absorb, I have to go back over the panel a third time to get rid of dried water spots (D115) residue.

I think if you performed your waterless wash in the early morning sun, you would be able to adjust your technique perfectly to leave it streak free.

This is what I do ... if I wait until noon or so, I lose the shade until about 6pm. I know I should have used distilled, but like a kid at Christmas, I just couldn't wait

[Top Gear]

Re: D115 smearing ?

I haven't used D115 yet as I use UWWA, but I have noticed on some occasions it will smear in high humidity. When I look at what I'm doing, it's kinda my fault, as the rag/towel gets too dirty, or I've picked up something like some Ultimate Black residue off the trim which is impossible not to smear. However, the smears are very minor, and as I'm often coming back over with GCQW and a separate rag/towel, disappear with one wipe. Mainly it's this is on the glass, but sometimes on the paint as well, and again, with plenty of Southern humidity. Maybe that was happening to you, Don?

[Don]

Re: D115 smearing ?

I haven't used D115 yet as I use UWWA, but I have noticed on some occasions it will smear in high humidity. When I look at what I'm doing, it's kinda my fault, as the rag/towel gets too dirty, or I've picked up something like some Ultimate Black residue off the trim which is impossible not to smear. However, the smears are very minor, and as I'm often coming back over with GCQW and a separate rag/towel, disappear with one wipe. Mainly it's this is on the glass, but sometimes on the paint as well, and again, with plenty of Southern humidity. Maybe that was happening to you, Don?

In all reality, the smears ARE very minor and probably 99.9% of people would never notice them and if they did, they wouldn't know what they are because they are only visible for a split second at the right angle in the right light ... basically only something a detailing nut would notice + the car had not been touched for 2 days and driven about 400 highway miles, so perhaps it was dust collecting in an area where there was a little excess product. The humidity HAS been rising the last few days since Saturday.