Re: Best Car Wash & Wax
Swirls are caused by wash guys tired, hot, who are using a dirty sponge or cloth. You won't believe it. Oblivious or not, they sometimes drop the drying cloth, that is probably not microfiber to start with, on the ground, pick it right back up, and resume drying your car with the same cloth that is now effectively a piece of sandpaper. Do it your self. Its the only way to get it right. You are the only one who cares about your car, your gun, your family....all that. And doing it yourself right is fun.
Swirls are also caused by using the wrong cloth to dry the car. Also, they are caused by using too much pressure on the surface to clean and dry the surface. We're not cleaning a dump truck, remember?
I have a black Cayman I bought new in '08 and I wash it a coupla times weekly. Has no swirls that I know of.
Do not run your car through a touch-free car wash. The detergent is extremely strong and dries the window rubber seals, not to mention stripping any wax off the paint surface. Any bug splat or bird manure right after that wash will stick and the acid will harm the finish.
In a shade area, hand wash your car with a soft, new, wool or micro-fiber mitt using little pressure on the paint's surface, and little or no soap. Soap is a degreaser. Your car is not the draw-works on a drilling rig. Use one mitt for the top surfaces, another for the running boards and lower sides where dirt gets slung upon by the tires. Try hard to spray that crap off before rubbing it into your pain finish. Yes. Two different mitts. Never switch them. Top. Bottom. Once finished wash the mitts along with your clothing and dry them as well. They're just as important as your boxers. Your car cost how much? Your boxers cost how much?
Wheels are another project altogether.
Immediately rinse.
Because you're in Kentucky and the air is dry you might need to commence drying immediately since some water contains sediments hard to remove if the water dries on your car's surface. Down here its so humid sometimes we can't get the surface to dry not matter how many times we go over it.
Holding it at one end with one hand on either side, drag a full size towel over the surface from one end of the car to the other, or side to side, removing the bulk of the water. While your at it dry the glass completely.
Using very little pressure, finish drying the whole car with microfiber towels in circular motions, one in each hand. They wring out easily too. If you run across a grimy spot you missed low near the running board, toss that towel in the wash. Its now a piece of sandpaper.
Or
After dragging the big towel, with a damp mitt and little bit of Mother's California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax applied to the car, dry the surface. The surface will have the right amount of water to spread the Wax. Dry to a haze. Microfibre the dried wax off and you've now washed, dried, and waxed your car.
This wax comes off easier than any I've used, the last being Maguire's Deep Crystal Liquid.
Double-coat wax the frontal surfaces not forgetting the exterior mirrors making bugs easier to remove. Any time get bird shit ends up on your car, get it off asap.
New cars look new because nit wits don't know how to wash cars. Every time a car gets washed the finished gets a fine sandblasting. Remember, car washing is a money making business, not a business to preserve the finish on your car.
