[WickdGin]

Everytime I wax my car, it never seems to want to totally rub out and looks very streaky. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if it could mean the paint is oxidizing. Is there anything I can use to stop this?

If anyone needed to know my car is black.

 

[MAZDA KID]

it means that your car is not as clean as wut u think it is first wash it with sunlight or dish detergent but quickly b/c the longer it sits in the sun with that on it it might damage the clearcoat so do that then wash it again with car wash soap then wax

if this doesnt work reply to me again and i will try to help u out
but u can give it a shot

 

[xeon]

What kind of wax are you using and are you doing this in sunlight, shade or what? My car is black too and its hard to keep clean, so I know what you are talking about. I use two buckets to wash mine, one with soap and the other with clean water. I use the Absorber to dry with as it is pretty good to dry with and not make swirls. Anyways, you never go from the car back to your soap bucket, you rinse in the water, then get more soap. Never do anything in circles, especially on a black car, you can make swirls even with the best non-scratching thing like a lamb's fleece mit. To detail my car I do a polish, glaze and wax job. You don't have to do this everytime you wash, but it really helps your car look its best, so about every two months or so. When you wash in between though, just remember to use a car wash that does not strip the wax, so dish detergent is out, actually it should be out anyways. Some other tips, never do anything in circles on a black car, go in vertical strokes whatever you are doing. To get more info, there are many great detailing sites on the net and the pros are usually more than willing to talk to you about your detailing questions.

 

[WickdGin]

I use an absober to dry too, nothing else really gets all the water marks off after washing. To wax I use Turtle Wax paste wax. Having a black car is a little harder than I thought, gets dirty so easily. I end up washing it every 2-3 days.
Thanks for all your help, I'll see how it goes next time I wax.

 

[ct6er]

xeon
mines black too
& when you say - dont do anything in circles ....
do you mean including waxing ?

so what then - do you apply the wax horizontaly or vertically
or either ?

thanks

 

[xeon]

Detailing....

I'm not a pro, but here are some guys I learned from and quotes...

Well let me tell you that my favorite one to use is the wool mitin. Nice and soft. Dont use in a circular mochen. Thats the mistake most dudes do when washin their vessel.

Your friend, Willie

One of the least areas people tend to forget is the basic washing or what I only use is the word "bath". While you are giving your new Jetta a bath, always take a glance in the bucket of water that you are soaping the vehicle with. See all those little particles on the bottom of the bucket. You don't think that they just stay there the entire time do you? they will mix around in the wash bucket & get lodged in your wash mit that you are applying the soap on your car.
And yes, the smucks at the dealerships hardly know how to apply anything but water & probably caused the marks in the first place. While you were spending four hours signing all of that paper work, they were washing it for you they just happened to drop the chamouis on the ground & used it again to finish drying off your newly scratch car. Words of wisdom.

Although many pros will disagree with me, the practical and realistic solution for a normal, daily driven car is to HIDE those swirls as much aspossible with multiple layers of glazes/polishes that claims to be able to do it. Although the swirls are there, you won't notice it as much.
Still, this method is better than grinding away a thin layer of your
clearcoat to get rid of something that will most probably return....unless you're a fanatic who know how to detail professionally or to let a real top notch detailer wash and detail your car forever so that swirls will never never recur.
Cheers!

Wet sanding is not needed! here is a way to effectively remove the swirls and its simply by burnish the finish with a variable speed rotary buffer and a foam poishing pad. Follow up by sealing the finish and then take care not to make any more swirls by improper washing or waxing techniques.
A skilled detailer can do this for you.
Keep in mind to always apply wax in straight lines, never in circles. Wash the car with clean wool wash mitt in straight lines. Dry with a soft synthetic chamois, the Watersprite.
Throw that turtle wax away, its junk product. although your car is black, your top coat is clear so your filling in the micro sratches in clear with black and also coating the entire clear with black. Even if you did manage to get it flawless looking with this temporary fix it would eventually wash away so why even bother in the first place? Fix theproblem, dont cover it up.
Clay will not remove swirls in any way. It removes contaminants that lie on the surface of the paint.

100% cotton will minimize swirling....if it ain't 100% cotton I don't use it on my car. As for the 3m PERFECT IT, you could do it by hand. Don't press that hard, and use back and forth motions. Also use a foam pad. You should have great results. After that you could use a swirl filler like Zaino Z5 or imperial hand glaze for perfection, but the IHG offers no durability and you have to wax over it.

Black is a nightmare of a color, excuse the pun! Sounds like you did nothing wrong. Black will show imperfections more than any other color. Those deep wet black finishes you see on the Freeway are usually on near new cars that have few surface scratches or light abrasion marks. Eventually, every car will develop them. Continue to use your Meguires, and follow the suggestion of rubbing and removing the polish in a back and forth manner rather than using circular motions. This will minimize the "swirls" which are probably not swirls at all. Afraid perfection is a hopeless task particularly with a black car. Compare your auto to another well cared for car of the same vintage and I think you'll find the paint to be in the same condition. Good luck, enjoy your hard earned shine,

Whenever I do a wax/polish I strictly use straight back and forth motions

Swirls on Black Paint are diificult to remove by hand. You may have also put some back in when waxing/polishing. You could have done this by using circular hand motions, or picking up a piece of grit with your applicator. Does this sound possible?

These guys are pretty cool for the most part and are pretty helpful. Anyone interested should visit http://64.33.32.111/ , they know their stuff and can point you in the right direction...

 

[RacerX51]

This isn't too relevent to the thread... but while we are on the topic of washing; If you are in the sun and get sun spots, use a couple of gallons of REAL spring water to give it a final rinse. It's what the streak free car washes use Hope this helps someone.