Swirl Marks after washing

[duffmancantbrea]

Hey guys!

So I spent a good 4 hours last Sunday spot compounding, polishing, glazing, and waxing. My swirls were removed.

However, I washed it yesterday. I foamed it, rinsed, foamed it again, then used the 2 bucket method with grit guards with a CarPro Wool Wash mitt. Once done, I dried it with a Chemical Guys Microfiber Fatty towel.

I looked at it under the lights at a gas station and saw swirls and mini scratches galore. I have no idea what happened. I thought I did everything correctly. Anyone else experience this or can shed some insight?

Thanks!

[jankerson]

Sounds like you had some grit in the wool mit most likely.

[allenk4]

Did you examine it under the same lighting conditions after your washing on Sunday?

Gas station lights can expose defects that you will not notice under different lighting conditions.

[tuscarora dave]

Hey guys!

So I spent a good 4 hours last Sunday spot compounding, polishing, glazing, and waxing. My swirls were removed.

However, I washed it yesterday. I foamed it, rinsed, foamed it again, then used the 2 bucket method with grit guards with a CarPro Wool Wash mitt. Once done, I dried it with a Chemical Guys Microfiber Fatty towel.

I looked at it under the lights at a gas station and saw swirls and mini scratches galore. I have no idea what happened. I thought I did everything correctly. Anyone else experience this or can shed some insight?

Thanks!

If you can remember where you did the "spot compounding", look at those areas in the right lighting, if the swirls and scratches are not present in those areas your foaming twice and bucket washing probably removed the glaze from when you "Polished" that were concealing what wasn't fully corrected in the first place during your polish and glazing attempt.

[tuscarora dave]

Chances are you were working on some harder paint and only thought you had removed all the swirls, when in reality they were being masked by the glaze.

[swanicyouth]

Chances are you were working on some harder paint and only thought you had removed all the swirls, when in reality they were being masked by the glaze.

I agree. This happens more then I think is realized. If you did all that in 4 hours, I don't think you could have done it all correctly. Live and learn.

[Vidur119]

I'm in the same boat. I went by everyone's recommendations that an Acura's paint is soft so I used the least aggressive solution which made the paint look decent and with two coats of sealant I thought all would be well but it certain lighting, mild sunlight to be exact its crazy how many swirls were left behind. Will have to get aggressive and try again soon.

[tuscarora dave]

I think a lot of folks hear so many unknowing people say stuff like "Oh I used to detail cars when I was in college" and they don't really understand that 95% of the detailing industry uses a "smoke and mirrors" approach to knock out cars in a few hours.

People think it's just washing cars or "wax on wax off".. Annoys the crap out of most of us here at AGO who do corrections that can take countless hours and a real knowledge of what tools and products do what.

Stick around, read some more, practice some more and you'll get the results you're after. You are in the right place to find people who are skilled in doing the work and suggesting the products and processes to help you put together the regimen that's right for your car.

There are a lot of members here and we all are at different levels in our journey through learning proper auto care, and what's proper for one of us might not necessarily be proper for the next guy so the more you actually "discuss" what you want to get out of this site, the better off we all are for it.

[jankerson]

I think a lot of folks hear so many unknowing people say stuff like "Oh I used to detail cars when I was in college" and they don't really understand that 95% of the detailing industry uses a "smoke and mirrors" approach to knock out cars in a few hours.

People think it's just washing cars or "wax on wax off".. Annoys the crap out of most of us here at AGO who do corrections that can take countless hours and a real knowledge of what tools and products do what.

Stick around, read some more, practice some more and you'll get the results you're after. You are in the right place to find people who are skilled in doing the work and suggesting the products and processes to help you put together the regimen that's right for your car.

There are a lot of members here and we all are at different levels in our journey through learning proper auto care, and what's proper for one of us might not necessarily be proper for the next guy so the more you actually "discuss" what you want to get out of this site, the better off we all are for it.

Oh yeah.... Exactly. :iagree:

[R4IDER]

in 4hs you cannot compounds , polish , glaze , and wax anything. Maybe half a car if defects are not that much

Do it again , do not use glaze. use ipa wipedown after the polish steps and check results under sun light.

[Kacz]

I agree with a lot of the comments here and want to add another thought; I firmly believe that drying the car is one of the hardest things to do perfectly if only using a towel to do so.

Perfectly: meaning drying without introducing some marring or scratching regardless of the towel.

Just another thing to think about.

[wdmaccord]

in 4hs you cannot compounds , polish , glaze , and wax anything. Maybe half a car if defects are not that much

^^This!! Most of the time it takes me 4-5 hours just for the compound step on a car. And that's on say a midsize sedan. It's a minimum 12-15 hours for wash, clay, compound, polish, seal for me.

[geekdout]

Just curious about what kind of car you were working on and what color? Also could you be more specific about the products you were using.

Not trying to hijack the thread but when it comes to a IPA wipe what is the real purpose of this. Are you trying to remove anything left over by your product to inspect the paint or prepare the paint for a sealant or coating. Or maybe its both. Thanks