swirl marks

I really want the GTI in black magic but ive heard its really hard to maintain a black car w/o getting swirl marks...if this is true...how can i get them out and is it worth not getting the car in black if the problem is bad??

I have a black car and i dont think its realy to much of a problem, IMO black looks the best when its clean, it does how ever leave water stains on the car but thats not a big deal, I almost got red but im very happy i ended up with black, Go for the black dude you will love it....just my 2 cents

thanks i appreciate all the .02 i can get

the car i just traded in on my MKV was black. 2003 impala ss. It did loook sweet when it was clean. One trip to work and back and it looked dirty. Every bit of dirt/dust shows up on a black car. So far the Tornado Red still looks clean even when its not so clean. You have to get close to see the dirt/dust.

yup on the tornado red, i love my tornado red, and everytime i look at it im glad i got it. but swirl marks come with the territory of ANY paint. not just black, its just more appearant.

personally i love the united gray and red, white and black just seem too boring...

also silver looks nice as well.

alf

i use kitchen paper to dry my car when i finish washing it..
i have one cloth for washing.. one for wiping the soap away and the kitchen paper to dry all at once..

WEWO said:

I really want the GTI in black magic but ive heard its really hard to maintain a black car w/o getting swirl marks...if this is true...how can i get them out and is it worth not getting the car in black if the problem is bad??

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If the paint surface has "swirl marks", it is due to poor maintanance technic.

Never use a buffing machine on a paint surface.

Never hand wash a paint surface in a circular pattern. Move only in the direction water would flow off the surface.

Never wax a paint surface in a circular pattern. Move only in the direction water would flow off the surface.

Never wash the surface with dust/dirt/grit on it. Pre-rinse the surface with high pressure water spray just before hand washing.

Never use a sponge or wash mit on the paint surface. Use only a freshly washed towel and lots of soapy water. Use a 5 gal bucket full of the soapy solution and rinse the towel in the solution between each wipe of the painted surface (to keep grip out of the towel)

Never touch the paint surface in the dry state unless just washed within the hour.

Ah! Black Paint care and feeding....

I agree with much of what NorthGTI states here. I have a few exceptions because they work for my and my 3 Black cars.

Point #1 "If the paint surface has "swirl marks", it is due to poor maintanance technic."
This is very very true. Every mark on my vehicles I know and I continue to work on. Dings, scratches from a coat or someone's carelessness.

There are a few things I'm going to add here. Use as MUCH WATER as you can. Flush off as much dirt and grime as you can. Start washing from the top and work your way down. If your bucket water looks dirty or if you are in a Salt/Winter conditions, CHANGE WATER before doing the sides of the vehicle.

If you drop what you are washing the car with, Mitt/Sponge/Towel, whatever, STOP put it away and use something else. NEVER EVER use something that is not clean on the surface of your paint.

Take care or your towels or product that touch your car. Wash them with NO FABRIC SOFTENER or BLEACH. All of my towels are 100 % American Made Cotton towels. Even the thread for the seams are cotton. Some of the off brands will use a poly cotton thread for the seams. If I find some of this, I CUT OFF the Seamed portions.

Do NOT wash Microfiber towels with Cotton Towels!

Use better quality products on your Finish. Basic Turtle Wax just won't cut it on a black vehicle. Use Zainos, Meguiar's, or my favorite Zymol Wax Products.

To keep a Black vehicle looking it's BEST, you need to wax it at LEAST once every three months. This is a MINIMUM. In the climate that I live in, and with three black cars, it's almost impossible for me to do this myself.

Use Microfiber towels for taking wax off the vehicle.

Chris

P.S. All of my cars are Daily Drivers. None are "SHOW" cars. But when freshly detailed look NEW even after many years of service.

Here's an interesting car care website. It addresses swirl marks, polishing, waxing, etc.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158378

Check this link out to my post over in the DIY forum. Also here is a response I posted about sun "scratches" in that forum. Note, that I own aJet Black MINI and it is very har do keep clean, but very worth it.

High Points:

1-I use microfiber only, no cloth towel. No lint and no risk of nylon strings on stitches if you use high quality ones like sold on autopia.org

2-I use Zaino. the Z-5 will fill some minor swirl and scratch marks

3-You need to polish your paint 2x per year at least. More if you live in a windy environment. As everyone says swirls ar eprimarily from technique but just dust and wind will do it too. NOTE: polish is what I am talking about, NOT waxing. If you think these are the same, you aren't ready to owna black car that you can keep the finish in tip-top shape.

PM me for more info if you would like.

http://www.golfmk5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1371

Been deatailing all my life since I was 17 and ran a detailing shop for M-Benz.

Never use those drive thru car washes. Hand wash from a bucket with a "pure wool" mit. Always dip and swirl the mit in the bucket of car soap and water to release the debris picked up in the mit.
Never wash you car in direct sunlight (creates water spots).

Rinse entire car down first before washing. Start from the very top and end and at the bottom when washing. The heaviest debris is at the bottom of the panels of the car.
Rinse completely and dry with an Absorber or similar device. Cotton bath towels are great as well!
When waxing, never wax in direct sunlight! Always shade or best in a garage. Apply wax with specail pads and never reuse that pad... get new every time. Remove wax with a Cotton Baby Diaper (no piddle pad of course)... it is the best and will NOT scratch the surface!

Meguair's is the best over-the-counter wax out there - use it!



3M makes and excellent swirl remover as well. BTW, circular motion is the best way to apply wax and other protective substances and well as washing the car (keep the mit clean!).

Oh and the biggest no-no is washing the car with dish soap!

And BTW, I did this for a living and my shops Gross (not Net) profit per month was $52,000 and the majority was Retail.

Wild Hare said:

Been deatailing all my life since I was 17 and ran a detailing shop for M-Benz.

Never use those drive thru car washes. Hand wash from a bucket with a "pure wool" mit. Always dip and swirl the mit in the bucket of car soap and water to release the debris picked up in the mit.
Never wash you car in direct sunlight (creates water spots).

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I agree 100%

Wild Hare said:

Rinse entire car down first before washing. Start from the very top and end and at the bottom when washing. The heaviest debris is at the bottom of the panels of the car.
Rinse completely and dry with an Absorber or similar device.!

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Again, I totally agree.

Wild Hare said:

Cotton bath towels are great as well!!

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Disagree. Cotton bath towels can be riddled with nylon thread and stitching, even high quality ones. Spend a couple of bucks and buy microfiber. Even if it is the costco mullti-pack.

Wild Hare said:

When waxing, never wax in direct sunlight! Always shade or best in a garage. Apply wax with specail pads and never reuse that pad... get new every time. Remove wax with a Cotton Baby Diaper (no piddle pad of course)... it is the best and will NOT scratch the surface!!

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Agree with the first hals, see above about my thoughts on cotton use anywhere on a car. A few yeasr ago I would agree, but now with MF being as good as it is, I only use that.

Wild Hare said:

Meguair's is the best over-the-counter wax out there - use it!!

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Subjective, but one of the best!

Wild Hare said:

3M makes and excellent swirl remover as well. BTW, circular motion is the best way to apply wax and other protective substances and well as washing the car (keep the mit clean!).!

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Disagree again. May be most efficiewnt way, but given all the factors, does put the finish at increase drisk.. again, my opinion.

Wild Hare said:

Oh and the biggest no-no is washing the car with dish soap!

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Talk about killing your wax! Don't ever do this, except when planning on applying a sealant like Zaino.

Is it okay to use those "no-touch" high pressure car washes?

commuter said:

Is it okay to use those "no-touch" high pressure car washes?

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Yeah I catually think they are a great option for folks who live in more hostile environs than I do (southern AZ). Just make sure you bring along a couple of drying towels to get all the waterspots off. That way you ar eonly out in the ice and snow for a few minutes. In general you will do better by hand at home, but I grew up in the Midwest and know what winter can be like:biggrin:

My Jury is still out on those no-touch washes.

I have a new one nearly in my backyard. Very High Tech, latest technology stuff and totally touchless. Now I use some very nice high quality carnuba base wax on my Black Cars. I am concerned about the surfactants (Soap) that they use to remove the soil and the wax from the car. Of course I took my Wife's car (LOL) through first just to test it out. The wash did a fair Job, but failed to remove the fine film off the entire car. Winter driving on salted roads is the PITS!

As stated, I live right around the corner from this place and I drove straight home, and used my detail spray and a few micro-fiber towles to get the rest of the stuff off the car. I think that if I had a white car or a silver car I may have been able to do away with this step.

For ME...and this is only ME. I think I'll use this wash when it's mid-winter and I need to get the salt spray off the car. I doubt that after the weather warms, I'll be doing it myself.

On the water spot issue, the one that is behind me uses an Ionized last full car rinse, and I've yet to see any water spots.

Chris