How to prevent swirls and scratches on black BMW X5

[Mike Phillips]

How to prevent swirls and scratches on black BMW X5


I get e-mails all the time from people with questions about detailing their cars. While I prefer people to join our forum, become part of our community and then post their questions to the forum I know not everyone in the world is going to do this so I always do my best to share the nutshell version of an answer I would invest the time and resources to type out if I were typing on the forum.


That's because you can do so much on the forum and so little in an e-mail and typing time is limited.


That said, I received an e-mail from a gentleman working on a black BMW X5. He wants to polish it and his others cars and then seal the paint with something that will help protect the paint as well as prevent swirls and scratches.

Here's what a black BMW X5 looks like....





Here's the e-mail....

I am new to detailing and some questions regarding car care.

I am looking to keep my daily drivers shiny and swirl free without having to polish and wax every time I wash them.

I just got the Flex 3401 and the Blackfire Polish and finish polish. Was wondering what you would recommend in terms of a wax and or sealant for a deep shine on a black X5.

Was thinking of trying chemical guys VO6 second skin and was wondering if you had any experience with that product. Thx

Derek

Hi Derek,

I have not used the Chemical Guys Second Skin 6 Hybrid Coating System.

Chemical Guys Second Skin 6 Hybrid Coating System


For coatings, here's what I do have experience with,

Black Label Diamond Surface Coating
GTechniq Crystal Lacquer C1
GTechniq EXO
Opti-Coat II
DP Paint Coating
CarPro CQuartz

Probably a few others I don't remember.


Here's the deal, no matter what coating you choose to use the key to preventing swirls and scratches from reappearing in the paint all comes down to how YOU --> touch<-- the paint.

When I say touch the paint I mean anything that touches the paint including,

Wash Mitt
Wash Sponge
Wash Brush
Drying Towels
Drying Chamois
Car Covers
Buffing Pads
Microfiber Towels
Wax applicator pads

I think that's the majority of things "we" all use to work on our cars that physically comes into contact with the paint itself.

Besides making sure you're using the highest quality products in the list above the next most important thing is the way we MOVE the above items over the paint. Pretty basic stuff I know but preventing swirls and scratches is just basic stuff.


Most of us wash our car using the traditional soap, wash bucket and wash mitt of some sort. I always use the foam gun and a microfiber chenille wash mitt.

The big picture is after you have polished and coated your car or even applied a Carnauba car wax or a synthetic paint sealant, you want to pay attention to how you're moving the wash mitt over the surface.

Most people don't pay attention and SCRUB the paint.

Me? I take a panel like the hood and standing on one side of the hood start in the middle and moving in the direction of where I'm standing, I carefully move the wash mitt from front to back making ONLY one or two passes over each section of paint.

Then rinse and move on and repeat.

What most people do? They don't pay attention and they move the wash mitt over a panel like the hood over and over again with no rhyme or reason to what they are doing.


Here's the deal...

If there is dirt on a panel then all you need to do is loosen it enough so that you can rinse it off. If you have coated, waxed or sealed the paint the dirt won't want to stick to the paint very well anyways so one or two passes with a wash mitt is more than enough to loosen it so you can rinse it off.

Make sense?


If there is dirt on a panel and you take your wash mitt and loosen it and then continue to scrub and scrub with no rhyme or reason to the number of and directions of the motion you make you will be effectively rubbing the dirt you loosened into the paint and the results will be swirls and scratches.

I talk about the aggressive approach and the gentle approach for washing a car in my how-to book, The Complete Guide to a Show Car Finish as well as a lot of other topics.

Back to your questions...

The Flex 3401 is a great tool and the Blackfire SRC Compound and SRC Finishing Polish are top shelf products and work great on black BMW paint with the Flex 3401 and quality clean foam pads. I cover how to use this tool in my newest book. See my Signature Line for books...

So you have the tools and products for sure, not sure what you have for pads and I hate to assume but when that's all I"m left with that's what I do so I assume you have quality pads.

So after you machine polish the paint to perfection go with the Chemicals Guys Coating or start a thread on this forum asking for suggestions from our forum members. Membership on AGO is free.


Click here to become a member of AutogeekOnline!

Here's my personal testimony.

My wife's car has had nothing but Black Label Surface Coating on it since we bought it and polished it. I wash it VERY carefully every time I wash it and it remains swirl and scratch free.


The lady that cuts my hair drives a High Voltage Yellow Scion and a couple of years ago I applied GTechniq C1 Crystal Lacquer and told her to ONLY take it through touchless car washes. Except the time her husband took it through some other kind of car wash, the paint still looks almost flawless. I put the blame on him for the faint swirls I do see in the paint. Neither of these two people are what I would call "Car People" as in taking ownership of the car washing process this is why I strongly recommend taking the coated car to a touchless car wash it's the next best solution to a careful hand wash.


Hope that helps and hope to see you join the forum...

[Mike Phillips]

Here's some links to topics I mentioned above....


How to wash a car with a foam gun




2006 Mercedes-Benz SLK 350 Show Car Makeover Pictures





GTechniq Makeover - 2012 High Voltage Yellow Scion tC 7.0

[Kamakaz1961]

Mike as always thank you for your input on how you do things with your technique. Very valuable information! I do have 1 of your books; The Art of Detailing and even though I am an experienced detailer (IMO), I still go back periodically and look at some sections just for a refresh.

Again, thank you for all your input and knowledge for technique's in detailing. Much appreciated!!

[Tato]

Mike as always thank you for your input on how you do things with your technique. Very valuable information! I do have 1 of your books; The Art of Detailing and even though I am an experienced detailer (IMO), I still go back periodically and look at some sections just for a refresh.

Again, thank you for all your input and knowledge for technique's in detailing. Much appreciated!!

Probably nothing new to the seasoned detailer, albeit a pleasure to review the standards in such friendly manner. Improves the way I explain things and educate my customers.

Thanks for sharing.

[Mike Phillips]

Mike as always thank you for your input on how you do things with your technique. Very valuable information! I do have 1 of your books; The Art of Detailing and even though I am an experienced detailer (IMO), I still go back periodically and look at some sections just for a refresh.

Thank you for your purchase of my first how-to book, I worked very hard on it and I feel very comfortable saying that if a person reads it from cover to cover they will know more than most detailers in this industry. At least detailers that don't hang out on the AGO forum because it's jam-packed with lots of detailed information.

Again, thank you for all your input and knowledge for technique's in detailing. Much appreciated!!

Thank you for the kind words and you're very welcome....

[swanicyouth]

I think pressure washing the car before you touch it really helps. You need to use a pressure washer to accomplish this, not a hose. Anyway, my black BMW is a semi-daily driver (~ 8k miles yearly) and stays swirl free. I haven't used anything but an ultra fine polish on it since I originally fixed it 4 years ago.

Mike is right when he says "don't scrub the paint". When you wipe the paint to clean it - wipe once, wipe slowly, and pretend like your cleaning the Mona Lisa.

I've figured out what works for me. I use mostly rinseless washes (always pressure washed first). Don't touch the paint until you are ready to wash it correctly. Don't do "wipedowns" when the car is a little dirty. Just leave it until you can wash it right.

[Kamakaz1961]

Mike I am hoping you will make a book on how to wet sand key scratches. If you do, that book will sell quite quickly. Even though I know how to wet sand and many on the AGO site, I still think it would be something you should do.

I also think it will be one of your top sellers. I am hoping you will make one of the books on that technique. Include Dr. Colorchip technique as well as blotting paint.

I hope you do make that soon. It would be a nice Santa Claus gift FOR ME!!...LOL