Hey guys, just had a quick question about washing and waxing the teg. I have a milano red teg - wanted to know if you guys know of someway to take off those little swirls on the paint. there like little scratches. i think from maybe the towels, or buffing. You guys recommend anything to take that out, or to maybe clean it up. And also what kind of wax do you guys use? and do you guys use a buffer machine or just with cloth. ohh, and what type of towels do you guys use to dry off the car after washing, i can never find something good for that. thanks in advance guys! ^_^

andrekun - who wants to make his teg look really nice..

 

Swirls are almost always caused by improper washing, or drying. So before you fix them, figure out what caused them so they don't come back in a week or two.

The best products I have used to get rid of swirls is by 3M
Perticularly
3M Swirl Mark Remover
3M Perfect it
3M Perfect it II.

You can apply them by hand, but it works much better with a buffer. I recomend the porter cable http://www.properautocare.com/porcabuldetm.html. It is the only random orbital buffer I know about, that can spin fast enough to buff out compounds.

Once you decided how to apply it, start with the least abrasive product and move up only if necissary. Essentially you are removing some of the clearcoat to make the swirls less visible. Once you have removed enough of the swirls to your liking, use a very light polish to remove any possible hazing caused by the swirl remover.
Meguiars Swirl Remover 2.0 works pretty good for this.

 

I know your problem my car is black and I cant get those swirls to stop poping up either. Ive been detailing cars for years and Ive tried everything. I hosed it off with a low pressure pressure washer to make sure all the dirt is off. Ive used one of those shammies* to wash it. Also make sure you are using 100% cotton towels to dry it off with. If it has any polyester in it then it will scratch your car if it doesnt say take a lighter to the corner of the rag if it melts it has polyester if it doesnt then it is 100% cooton. I tried only drying with one of those soft squegees I ven stopped drying it all together and the scrathes are still there after getting it buffed out 2 weeks ago. My problem is I live on a dirt road and when it is hot and dry there is so much dust it looks like fog and that is what Im thinking does it now. All I can do is go somewhere and have it washed or pay to have it buffed once a month.

Try my tips though they do work....

 

i kno how u feel my car is black so its probably worse.. anyway i make sure to use different wash mits and rags and never cross use them... in other words.. i have 1 mit to apply soap to the body.. then i use another mit/rag to clean the rims..and dont mix the two... i dont use high pressure or a hose nozzle attachment.. i just let the water flow instead of water blasting my paint.... you can try using Meguirs scratch X or 3M swirl mark reducer... make sure you use 100 percent cotton towels and dont mix them..(ones you use to clean rims, fenderwells, etc..never be used for the body/painted surfaces, etc..).. i have a bunch of diff rags.. for body, rims, fenderwell, glass, armor all, etc..

and after your done washing apply a good coat of wax.. i use Zymol.. I would pay retail.. but lately at my local Costco wholesale.. they have a 2 pack of Zymol for like $15.. which is pretty damn good of a deal for a 2 bottle pack... i also use the car wash soap which works pretty well... and i claybar my car about once every 6 months.. i wash it weekly and wax at least once a month.. i get lots of compliments on my cars finish...

some other good stuff if you wanna spend the money (its worth it.. too bad im too cheap hehe).. is http://www.zainobros.com their products are very good.. but expensive

 

I use a Craftsman buffer and Meguires 3 step cleaner, polish, wax and it takes out almost all the swirls. Actually I was surprised at how well it worked. It may be worth a try if you don't want to spend a lot of money on really good buffers.

 

i was just about to ask about the 3 step deal from meguiers (sp.). I have to admit that i have fallen prey to alot of hype in the past and thought this might be as well. Generally speaking i use the meguiers gold class liquid and get excelent results. Very smooth finish, and very reflective. However, after a good rain 2 weeks or so, the nice finish is gone after a wash. Still beeds up but the finish is back to normal.

How have you found the 3 step program to work for you? Do you find ourself doing it alot? How bout some details on what you have found.

Granted after 8 years and 127K miles of road time, the finish isn't going to look perfect anymore and there are deep scratches. I plan on having the front end repinted due to all the small nicks from rocks, gravel, etc so that will help some. But for the rest of the car the paint (black) i think is in pretty good shape for its age.

 

You guys acutally have time for the Meguair 3 step cleaner/polish/wax thing? I know I don't. I use Zymol and it work just fine.

 

The three step dealey from meguiars really doesn't work great with many cars.

The cleaner does an okay job removing swirls, but it doesn't get the heavy ones even with a buffer. The polish is actually a glaze, with nothing but heavy oils to produce a wet look afterwards and temporarilly hide swirls. The polish will only last a week at most.

You would be better off using a clay bar, swirl mark remover, than a high quality wax.

 

I think I am going to switch to this. The 3 step from Meguiers works OK with my car but it takes a while. I want to try the claybar and a good wax. A historic car buff recomended using Furniture wax. Its 100% carnuba and very durable. The only problem is the wax must be stripped with a cleaner or strong soap before re-waxing. Johnsons Paste wax in the cleaning isle at wal-mart is what he uses. I may give it a try on 1 section of the car and see what happens.

 

wow, thanks alot guys for the tips and stuff. ill take your guys advice and hope this will help me out. hehe

 

tried the clay bar thing. Felt like i was doing more damage then good. Might work better on a newer finish though, but just did OK for me.

 

clay bar shouldn't feel like it is doing damage? Did you use a good lubricant?

When using the clay bar, the first few passes of an area should feel like there is some drag. There should also be a "swishing" sound. After 3+ passes the bar should beging to glide with out resistance and the sound should go away. Then you move on to the next part.

 

I'm still curious about this clay bar stuff. Do you still have to wax your car afterwards? What type of protection is it providing for your paint?

 

the claybar is supposed to remove impurities and contaminants in the paint... i always clean my car before and clean/wax my car after claybaring it... the paint feels really smooth.. but then i bought my car new and never neglected the paint/finish.. I use Zymol wax and its very smooth/shiny

 

I use the 3 steps. Twice a year. It takes a Full days work.

 

what about inbetween? What wax (if any) do you prefer to use??

 

The clay bar should be used as a prep for polishing and waxing. After I wash my car I dry it with the Absorber. This thing is awesome. It holds a ton of water, doesn't scratch, and doesn't leave any dust behind like a real chamois can. I highly recommend it.

 

when i do claybar i usually wash, dry.. then claybar.. wash, dry, wax...
I use Zymol or Mothers wax all the time...