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... Something people are not listing is towels and rags. Remember its what you use on your paint. Alot of people use old towels that can actually be pretty harsh. I actually prefer a water blade,a dn microfiber towels for waxing.
I bought an '86 Saab 9000 Turbo off the showroom floor. It was black, so swirls would show up on it worse than on a lighter color. And it had swirls. During the short bargaining session I specified that I'd only buy it if the swirls could be removed.
Of course they said they could, and admitted that the swirls were likely from the janitor kid who came in after school to clean and dust, including dusting the showroom models.
The dealer was 140 miles from my home, so he told me if I'd bring it in the following week and leave it for most of a day, they'd have it sparkling. So I did. They didn't. They used a buffer on the whole car, so it was much worse. Dealer agreed. He asked if they could have it for a full week to have an expert fix it. He offered my the use of a new Audi, so I did. Again, he didn't (fix it). It wasn't worse this time, but it wasn't much better either.
They didn't know what to do. After another week or so they offered to either buy the car back or refund me $2K. I took the refund, then traded it for a lighter colored 9000 Turbo two years later. I loved the car but hated those swirls! Haven't owned a black/dark colored car since.
I bought an '86 Saab 9000 Turbo off the showroom floor. It was black, so swirls would show up on it worse than on a lighter color. And it had swirls. During the short bargaining session I specified that I'd only buy it if the swirls could be removed.
Of course they said they could, and admitted that the swirls were likely from the janitor kid who came in after school to clean and dust, including dusting the showroom models.
The dealer was 140 miles from my home, so he told me if I'd bring it in the following week and leave it for most of a day, they'd have it sparkling. So I did. They didn't. They used a buffer on the whole car, so it was much worse. Dealer agreed. Bring it back next week and I'll have an expert fix it. So I did. He didn't. It wasn't worse this time, but it wasn't much better either.
They didn't know what to do. After another week or so they offered to either buy the car back or refund me $2K. I took the refund. Traded it for a lighter colored one just like it two years later. I loved the car but hated those swirls! Haven't owned a black/dark colored car since.
Had a body shop respray the hood of a black car of mine... Came back with swirls in the hood... Body shop explained to me that "well... with a black car stuff like that is more obvious"... Explained to body shop that car was black when they quoted the job and should have informed me that they don't know how to paint black cars... I sell black car about 9 months later.
I've had 4 black cars and only ever bought the first one (the one sold above) on purpose. I just got unlucky the other 3 times...
I read an article about washing the car once. It said that whatever material you use to wash the car with will eventually get some grit in it and you will end up with these fine scratches that you do yourself (it said you were almost guaranteed to get those scratches from carwashes).
It said you should start out by using a powerful spray of water all over the car. You want the water to swish away most of the debris - the more debris you can get off without touching the car with a rag/sponge, the better the job will turn out.
Then you use a lot of suds. Apply the suds on gently, not rubbing much. If the suds sit/soak in an area for a bit they will lift and soften some debris - next you scrub where necessary.
Use a powerful spray to rinse. Touch up cleaning where needed. Dry with a clean dry towel. Use as many clean dry towels as necessary.
Make sure all sponges, rags, etc, are thoroughly washed and rinsed after each use. Don't just wring out.
It's a war with fine particles of grit.
The only time I noticed those swirl marks on my car was after I had been to a car wash, frankly.
Hosing down the vehicle is the first, and most important step, and the second is NEVER USE SOAP ON ANY VEHICLE SURFACE period!
Soap eats any wax on the vehicle.
Third, never use a sponge because it causes scratches.
Having said all this, swirls are something none of my vehicles have ever had.
True, I spend a lot of time detailing, and very careful as to what I use on the surface.
With a good coat of wax, hosing down is all that is necessary.
Dry the vehicle with a leaf blower, not rags.
Once the vehicle is dry, spray a light detailer spray, and buff by hand.
There is an old saying, "the proof is in the pudding".
The Thunderbird has always looked like this because of the methods I discussed above.
My pickup, and Corvette look equally as good, with no swirl marks, ever.
Reading other forums specific to car detailing make me think that it is way too easy to get swirls in your topcoat.
I've also heard that swirls are easier to see on darker cars. I have a silver car that is 10 years old. I have been through the car wash hundreds of times. Just looking at my car, I don't see swirl marks. Now, maybe they are there. But I'm not going to spend the money to buy a swirl finder nor am I going to lose sleep over this. It's kind of like swirls can be a fact of life.
give the car a good cleaning, waxing. so , buff out the swirl marks, and scratches, with clay bar and paint cleaner wax, then apply a good wax paste and buff to a shine. Do this twice a year.
during the year-
Always keep a bottle of quick detailer in the car, and wipe down with a clean rag once a week.
i restrict the car wash, if I must, to once a month, unless I can hand wash at home. If you use one of those self service car washes with the wand, bring you own car wash detergent, and dry with clean towels.
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