Doing something wrong? Or is it inevitable

[soundman98]

Yes, glaze was the term i was looking for

[Tcoat]

[RToyo86]

A paint prep/IPA after polishing is a good way to see exactly what the paint condition is. Fillers/oils can mask what you think is 100% corrected.

Originally Posted by Sam86

Yea I haven't used my detail spray much in the last few months. I had meguiars ultimate detail spray and the only times i'd use it is after the car had been washed and waxed as another layer of protection.

I have 1 pretty big drying specific towel that I use but as I said even whilst flipping to dry sides it's usually soaked half way through drying.

I think based on what i've been told, i'll try fix the current blemishes and then for long term maintenance try a hands off approach.
Maybe instead of washing 1nce a week i'll wash 1nce every month and instead each week just do a contactless water hose down and buy an airdrying machine.

I knew what I was getting into getting a black car but I just love how it looks despite all this extra maintenance

You mentioned you use spray wax? Perhaps a good sealant would serve you better. It'll make washes easier. Better hydrophobics than conventional carnauba waxes + durability.

A lot of the new sealants hitting the market have ceramic like hydrophobics without the more complicated application.

[Spuds]

It is inevitable to get marring/swirls/etc. However, there are some things you can do to slow the rate at which they show up. Keeping it in the garage is probably a good start. Not getting it dirty in the first place is probably good too, but it's a car so...

I recommend a (mild) pressure washer and foam cannon if it gets dirty enough to wash every week. Less touching = less swirls. Not to say you don't need to hand wash every so often, but if you can do it less, that's better.
My wash method is pressure wash, foam cannon, foam a microfiber wash mitt, lightly wipe down the car (rinse/refoam mitt as necessary) then just use the hose to rinse (sheeting the water off). Dry with at least two waffle weave towels, just like how you dry. If the water doesn't sheet off easily, you know you need more of whatever you use to protect the paint.

Next, I recommend using something a bit tougher than spray wax. Sealants work very well and are not very difficult to apply if you have some time. My go to is Klasse (both AIO and HGS), but there are other opinions on what's best. I usually reapply every 6 months (along with a full detail but I'm a bit nutty...).

I've recently discovered that hard water is rougher on paint than soft water when I moved. Not really much you can do about that one though.

Other than that, most everything else you can do is getting into paint correction territory. If you are willing to put in some time, it's fairly easy to pick up, or you could just get it professionally detailed every so often.

[vintagemxer]

Originally Posted by HaXx

like dark said, any kind of physical contact can cause swirls. i think you are washing your car too frequently too. i know youre trying to take good care of your baby, but you might be over doing it. detail nerds even dry thier cars contactless with leaf blowers, i just got an electric blower one from the box store for ~150,use it for the yard too.

something i learned is the importance of the pre-wash. try spraying as much dirt off the car with just water before you even touch it. that way when you finally make contact, hopefully 80% of the abrasive dirt is off the car already. spray it with water, let it sit/soak/soften, spray it again all with just water

Leaf blower user here also, works great

[wolffbite]

Like many have said above you are likely adding swirls during drying, and probably due to lack of lubrication or being too aggressive with wiping. Our paint sucks and even running your finger across it with light dust can be enough to introduce some swirls.

I wash my car every 1-2 weeks all year round. 2 bucket method for paint, and a separate bucket and tools to do the wheels. Always pre-rinse thoroughly to get loose dirt, and I have an IK12 sprayer to foam the car. I leave the foam on if the car isn't dirty for extra lubrication for wash. If the care is super dirty (rare), I foam once and rise, then foam again before washing.

To get the bulk of water off I have a large Gyeon silk dryer microfiber towel and lightly drag it across the paint to get 90% of water off. Then I blow out door handles, trunk, and any crevices with trapped water with a small electric leaf blower. For a final pass I use P&S Beadmaker as a lubricant to dry (Carpro E2cho, ONR, or any quick detailer should be fine) with 500GSM Eagle Edgeless towels. I'll use (6) 24" x 24" towels total in the final drying stage.

During washing and drying, you should not be applying any pressure other than moving the towels or wash mitt across the paint. These extra swirls you are seeing are "love marks" in a sense. It is tempting to rub and scrub to get it clean but you must resist.

Another thought is how you are maintaining your towels. Are you washing them after every use? Are they stored so that they aren't collecting any dust (in a box)? I also cycle them out every 6 months... paint drying --> wheel drying ---> no longer use on the car. They tend to get loaded up with product or the fibers curl after enough uses that they don't grab water well anymore and just need to be replaced. I buy different colours to keep track of what they are being used on. I've found not all microfibers are the same, and you seem to get what you pay for. Dark paint is especially hard to keep swirl free, so I'm willing to spend the extra money to only have fresh towels touching my paint.

I polished my paint 2 years ago and every 6 months I only have a handful of spots with some oxidation or swirls that I touch up with a DA. I use wax on my paint instead of a ceramic coating.

Hope you can get back to swirl free!

Edit: Well I didn't fully read your post and it seems like you have a pretty good wash regimen already including regularly washing your towels. The biggest takeaway from all of this is that light pressure and lubrication are your friend for car care. One thing I would suggest you no longer do is wipe the car down at all between washes... even if it is just light dust and you use a detail spray it is still easy to introduce swirls this way. I hate seeing my car dusty, but I always just wait until the next wash before I touch anything.

[pallen]

I have a red car, which is not quite as bad as black. I will be applying a ceramic coating in the next week after a full clean, clay and polish. My goal is to have a somewhat swirl resistant coating that’s stronger than wax and to also reduce the overall number of washes the car gets. I’ve been there with a black car before. It’s a love hate kind of thing...