Washing=Scratches...help!

[maximus20895]

I am a bit annoyed to say the least. A week ago I got done doing 105/205 on my car and everything was fine. It still had micro marring from 205 on it.

So today I was going to wash it and use 85RD to take the marring away. After I was done washing it was like I never even polished the car at all! :(

There were tons of scratches on it that 85RD wouldn't fix and since I went over them with 205 and it was in pretty much pristine condition..I know that washing the car caused them!

I don't understand how it happened. I used the two bucket method, sheepskin mitt, grit guards, Gold Class shampoo, washed a little sections at a time..everything.

So any more advice on how to prevent scratches when washing so I don't have to polish with 205 every time I wash my car?!

I am just feeling down right now since I did everything I have read about washing a car and they scratches still appear..alot of them.

I also went over the entire car with IPA after 205 a week ago so I know it's not just the polish coming off either..

It is a Honda Civic '07..it has very soft paint..ahh

Thanks for anyone who can help. This is getting sad.

[mcpp66]

Do you have a black car? I do, and even after careful washing with the two-bucket method I always end up with a few new, fine scratches somewhere. I've just come to the conclusion that when anything comes into contact with the paint the possibility for scratches is going to be there, and that no matter how careful I am there will be new scratches introduced into my paint. After the past couple of washes the number of new scratches have been minimal, but I've never gotten out of a wash completely scratch free. That's why I'll never buy black again, no matter how stunning it is when it's clean.

[maximus20895]

Yea, I have a black car which is no fun for scratches, but it's great when it's clean and scratch free.

I am not talking about just a few here and there..i'm talking about a TON..everywhere..i'm starting to think it's the mitt since it wasn't even that dirty to begin with..

[CEE DOG]

Hang in there man! First off it is inevitable you will add scratches. But with the right technique it will be a rare occurence and their won't be many of them.
It could be either your washing or drying.Some of the comments I am about to make I am sure you already know and they aren't the problem. Just throwing some things out there.

1.-Add a cap of ONR to your bucket of wash
2.-Pre rinse the car well.
3.-Never rub hard in fact don't rub at all! Drag the face of the mitt over the paint without even allowing the full weight to be on the vehicle. Unless of course the wash media is very light. A heavy mitt doen't need to have it's full weight on the paint. And don't drag crazy fast.
4.-If you have soft paint or the time on your hands (you aren't doing this to make money) be sure to spray the dirty mitt out after each section you wash. In other words you wash a section/ spray the mitt out with hose/ rub the mitt in your rinse bucket/ ring it out/ drop it in the wash bucket / repeat
5.-Start at the top and work your way down.
6.-Always ring out your mitt after rinsing and before dropping it back in the wash bucket (As mentioned) This allows it to soak up more of the lubricious solution.
7.-Use a seperate Mitt to do the rear of the vehicle, the front bumper, and the "skirt".
8.-Don't use the same mitt on the windshield as on your paint unless your windshield has some type of selant or wax on it as well.
9.- Wheels have a seperate bucket and tools as I know you know (but for new people who happen upon this....)
10.-Sheet the water from the vehicle with the open hose method.
11.-Use a good QD or spray wax while drying the car. Spray a couple times on a section and then dry that section slowly and gently. On a horizontal surface I open my WW towel and spread it across the hood (for instance) With this method it is VERY important to drag it back to you slowly.

Btw: what towels and mitt are you using?
I know Matt at AG has the super soft paint like you. Maybe he has some additional tips.

[Mindflux]

Sounds like you washed away some fillers fom m105/m205. An IPA wipe after each step should have revealed these.

[Da Fats]

Make sure your Mitt's cuff is also a soft material... Mine not and i found that it dragging across the paintwhen i wasnt paying 100% attention was giving me linear scratches. another diagnostic tool is to wash in one direction adn dry in the other..

So wash with front to back strokes and dry with side to side... then you can tell what part of ur process is causing the issue... once you get it all ironed out you can go back to moving 100% with airflow as many have suggested on here when washing and drying

CeeDog: How do you clean the stubbourn spots if you never use any pressure? I know it's bad technique but i find my self doing it from time to time... but you know what i mean... to remove a stubborn spot of who knows what that hangs around after your first or second passes washing lightly?

[maximus20895]

Tiss Tiss you didn't read :P I have the sheep skin..I am thinking it might be that but I don't know.

I don't do everything on that list so I will start doing the ones I didn't before. Isn't ONR just to soften the water?

I dry with a leaf blower so I know the scratches are not coming from that.

Matt has an s2k..but I think Rasky said his car has a tinted clear on it so it's different, but it is soft like mine..which is probably the issue here..

When you say 5, do you mean the whole car..like to the roof..duh, but then do like say half the doors on both sides or just do 1 whole door top to bottom and then go to the next door..kinda making it more complicated, but I just don't want any scratches!

I thought 10 was called the "flooding" method? :P

Thanks for your help. I will try to ones I don't do next time. I will be hesitant to even wash it next time though!

[mcpp66]

I just think that no matter what you're going to introduce a few new scratches here and there. Heck, I even introduced a few new scratches with the Wookie's Fist, actually the Wookie's Fist seemed to have caused more scratches than the regular sheepskin so I'm going to go back to that. I've learned that if you go after each and every scratch after each and every wash you're going to end up hating what was intended on giving you joy. I can't say I'm completely over that fact, but I just learned to live with an occasional "line" in the paint. I use the word line because it sounds much nicer than scratch.

[maximus20895]

I understand that, but i'm saying there are tons!!!!! Like a show car ..to a van used by kids difference.

[CEE DOG]

CeeDog: How do you clean the stubbourn spots if you never use any pressure? I know it's bad technique but i find my self doing it from time to time... but you know what i mean... to remove a stubborn spot of who knows what that hangs around after your first or second passes washing lightly?

If it's a bug that's stubborn I use the pinnacles bug sponge. Depending on what it is I'm rubbing, yes I will sometimes rub with the mitt.
Edit: with my Sky I wash it often enough that I don't often get stubborn spots except what needs to be hit with the pinnacle bug sponge. With any other cars I do including my daily drivers I am a little less crazy and it's a bit of a different story


Isn't ONR just to soften the water?

The ONR will help because it actually encapsulates the dirt particles.




When you say 5, do you mean the whole car..like to the roof..duh, but then do like say half the doors on both sides or just do 1 whole door top to bottom and then go to the next door..kinda making it more complicated, but I just don't want any scratches!

Well, I will do the top, the hood, the rear lid, then on the side of the car I will go along the top of the entire side. Then rinse. Then the length of the mitt down I will go along the side. then rinse, And repeat untill I get to the height just above the bottom of the doors. Then I do the other side. Then I switch to my other mitt to do the front bumper, rear of car, and the last bit of the bottom of the sides.



I thought 10 was called the "flooding" method?

You are correct, I was just typing fast and didn't take time to think of the true name.

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Sounds like you didn't remove all the defects from polishing.

[maximus20895]

IDK. I used 91% IPA.. :/

[Mindflux]

IDK. I used 91% IPA.. :/

There has been some discussion recently (on other boards) about how effective IPA is for wipedowns. A lot of folks seem to think it's not 'good enough' and are using PrepSol or Prep Wash. (or some variation of those products)

I'd try MULTIPLE IPA wipedowns on a panel after buffing it, next time. If your scratches are re-appearing and they aren't straight line scratches (like for whichever direction you wash or dry (yes I know you use a blower)) and they are swirls/etc that means you likely corrected SOME of it, but filled the rest of it with oils/lubricants from the polishes. (a side effect of every polish on the market)

[cobalt9123]

As far as getting rid of the polish fillers:
Menzerna Top Inspection, detail spray (http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-top-inspection.html)

As far as washing goes, I actually cut a door up into 4 different parts. I do the top part/window as 1 part, the top half of the "large" painted part of the door as another part, the bottom half of the "large" painted part of the door as another part, and then I switch mitts for the side skirts (which are always the dirtiest).

I am actually thinking about posting up a thread in which people use Microsoft Paint or whatever photo editing software they have to show us how they "break up" their cars into sections for washing.

[Mindflux]

I just do anything below the halfway mark on the doors with an entirely separate mitt. I don't bring that mitt up above the rub strips on the doors or if they don't have rub strips I just draw an line in my mind where the mitt change happens. Keeps the dirtiest parts of the panels separate. :)