How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

[spikepaga]

Hello guys, first post here.
About a year ago I had my 25 yr old-british racing green jaguar rag-top stripped and repainted at the dealership. I managed to really swirl up the paint thru poor washing/ drying methods. So I end up taking the car to a reputable detailer recommended by the jag dealership. After 700$ he removes *most* of the swirls/scratches. I continue to take the car to him for wash and wax since I am scared to touch and ruin again. Finally got tired of paying 100 dollars a month and bought a mid-line buffer this weekend. Carefully washed and airdried car and proceeded to use SWIRL X followed by NXT 2.0.....I have done a much better job than what my detailer ever did. Swirls are 95 percent gone with this product. How often can I use it? Will I ruin my paint if I use it every time I detail my car? (That can mean 2x a month for me)

Thanks a lot!!

Mark

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

How often you can use SwirlX versus how often you need to use it are two very different questions. If you find you actually need to use it every month, that tells us you need to look into how you're taking care of the vehicle and why it needs correction that often. While you should be able to safely use SwirlX several times a year, you really shouldn't have to do so if you're using proper technique when washing and maintaining the finish. You mentioned poor washing/drying technique in the past - what have you done to correct that process?

What kind of buffer did you buy? What pad(s) are you using with it? The SwirlX alone isn't really an issue as how you apply it can make a huge difference in how aggressively it works against the paint.

If you made the car look better than the detailer you've been taking it to then that's awesome. But honestly, it sounds like we can help you better by offering assistance in getting your washing/maintaining process dialed in.

[spikepaga]

Re: How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

Hello Michael, thank you very much for your reply!!

The cleaning process has been corrected to the best of my abilities. to clean I use Gold Class/water on spray bottles, I agressively spray the car and and let it soak, then I rinse with low pressure. I do this for quite some time until all dirt is gone. I then take a new sponge on a bucket with more gold class shampoo and lightly pass it thru any areas that may have more dirt-I then rinse low pressure again. To dry I try to let it air dry and help it along with new microfiber towels-.

I bought a random orbital buffer that is 6in'. I used microfiber pads to apply the SWIRL X and several new microfiber towels to remove it, and the same for the nxt wax.

All advise is welcome !!!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

You may want to trade the wash sponge for a quality microfiber wash mitt or even a natural lambswool mitt. Rather than using spray bottles initially you would be better off washing with the two bucket method where one bucket contains your wash solution and the other is filled with just plain water. After thoroughly rinsing the vehicle with the hose to remove the very loose dirt you pick up soapy wash water with your mitt and proceed to cleaning one panel of the vehicle, then rinse the mitt in the plain water bucket and wring it out before picking up more soapy wash water for the next section. You do this so that any dirt you've pulled from the first panel is removed from the mitt and deposited in the first bucket - this keeps the mitt, and the soapy wash water, free (or very reasonably so) of loose dirt that may mar the paint. A Grit Guard in the bottom of each bucket with further prevent loose dirt from floating around in the water and contaminating the mitt.

After going around the vehicle section by section you should fully rinse any residual soap from the surface. Frankly, you should be rinsing as you go to avoid any soap drying on the surface. As a final rinse it is best to remove the nozzle from the hose and just let a steady stream of water flow over the paint. This will sheet off the vast majority of the water, provided you're keeping a good coat of wax on the finish. This way, instead of having to dry those millions of beads of water from the surface, you have just a few larger puddles that need to be blotted up. This minimizes how much you actually touch the paint, and the less you touch it, the less you mar it.

Finally, rather than letting it air dry you should make use of a couple microfiber waffle weave drying towels, like our Water Magnets. These are a microfiber weave but in a way that is unique to a drying towel, meaning they are far more absorbent in this context than are traditional microfiber polishing towels.

Read through our 5 Step Paint Care Cycle for more tips on not only washing, but all other steps involved in keeping your Jag looking great.

[Murr1525]

Re: How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

How to Wash Your Car Show Car Style

[spikepaga]

Re: How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

Thanks for your help!!

[searle]

Re: How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

I guess if you really want to, you could "detail" your car 2x per month. But I would suspect that weekly washing (carefully, good 2-buckets plus gritguard) topped-up with spray-wax would be more than enough for almost anyone, with maybe a monthly re-wax (NXT) on top of the currently detailed finish.

I would guess that most folks only full-detail (including claybar and SwirlX or other paintcleaners and optional glaze/polish) every 2-6 months. If you have time and really want to, in betwen full-details you could do an easy monthly mini-detail by using All-In-One ColorX which has cleaner+glaze+wax and just top that with NXT as your 2nd coat.

Unless your car is subject to significant environment issues, a 2x per month full detail (including paint cleaners etc) seems like an awful lot of work (and probably no perceptible gain). Just my $.02, others might disagree.

[JaguarXj6L]

Re: How often can/should I use SWIRL X?

You've got to love a Jaguar in BRG. I know I do. With the clay bar, I would only recommend doing it every 6 months unless you buy a much less vigorous clay kit. Kits like Meguiars and Turtle Wax are only meant to be used every 6 months, although I suppose you could go every 4 months.

What I'm looking to do is use a paint sealant, and then a wax over that which is supposed to have the long lasting effects 4-6 months of paint sealant, and the beautiful deep gloss of wax (lasting 4-6 weeks). I haven't done this, but I will this weekend.

I myself wash my car nearly two times a week in the Summer, and I'll spray wax it with Meguiars gold spray after almost every wax just to give it a fresher look in between full detailing.