Originally Posted by LastDetail

OK so now that you have yourself a top notch finish free of swirls, micromarring and other generally lame stuff how do you keep it looking great? Your only have a finite amount of paint and every time you buff on it you are actually removing some clear coat. So in reality you can only buff your car completely down I would say 8-10 times before you are going to thin the clear out so much that it causes problems.

There are lots of things that cause swirl marks and small scratches. One of the things that causes the most amount of swirls, (if not the thing that causes the most period), is improper washing techniques.

First and foremost NEVER EVER take your car through the tunnel wash system available at most gas stations. EVER! There is a reason it only costs five bucks. The weight of the pads just rubs the dirt into your finish, scratching it. And that is the best case scenario where there isn't already dirt on the things from the enormous amount of filthy cars to have gone through it already that day. Do yourself and your paint a favor and stay away from the "swirl-o-matic" as it known in the detailing industry.
Here is a good example of what going through the tunnel wash system does to your paint.


To do a proper wash you will need:
2 good quality wash mitts
2 Buckets (I like 5 Gallon variety)
Some dedicated car wash soap (leave the dawn in the kitchen)
A good water supply (garden hose sucka)
Some shade.

First fill up 1 of the buckets with water and soap and wash your wheels and tires.
Dump out that first bucket and refill it with clean water and mix in some soap.
DO NOT USE THE SAME WASH MITT ON YOUR WHEELS THAT YOU USE ON YOUR PAINT! Brake dust is acidic and will ruin your paint.
Take your second bucket and fill it with just clean water, NO SOAP.
Hose down the car front to back.
Now take your wash mitt and dunk it in the clean water, wring it out. This will help to get rid of the particles of dirt and whatnot that are in your mitt. Now dunk it in the sudsy water and start washing the car, from the highest point to the lowest point. Each time you finish a panel dunk the mitt in the clean water and get it as clean as possible before switching to the soapy water, this will prevent the dirt that you just washed off the car from getting into the soapy water and then back onto your paint where it might scratch it. There is no need to press hard when washing the car, the weight of your hand should be more than enough. Don't let soap dry on the paint. Now rinse the whole car car off.

Stage 2 Drying the car.
I like to use Microfiber Waffle Weave towels to dry my car. DO NOT USE BATH TOWELS. Now take your towel and BLOT the car dry, just lay the towel down and soak up the water and repeat. Try not to wipe the car as this contributes to swirling the paint. General rule of thumb is if it will scratch a CD it will scratch your paint. Got it?

If you use the two bucket method and the blotting method for drying you will take the washing process to the point where you are doing the least amount of damage to your paint and should maintain your finish for quite a long time.