Wiping down car every use?

[Eldorado2k]

I've seen micro-marring from wiping a mf towel across clean dark paint.

If that were true, you’d never really be able to wipe compound/polish off and reveal corrected paint.. Sure there’s so called “polishing oils”, but I’ve gone way beyond just wiping polish off and certainly dry wiped clean paint with clean microfiber towels without issues.

Using a quick detailer to wipe down 1 day worth of “dust” is safer than waterless washing a light/moderately dirty vehicle. Yes I said it.

There’s so many people including so called preachers of the gospel who despise the use of quick detailers for anything beyond using them as a “drying aid”... I think it’s them who are the “fools”
Using a quick detailer spray as intended is completely safe.

Quick detail sprays weren’t created for use as a “drying aid”
The concept doesn’t even make sense...

[WillSports3]

You just have to make sure it's the right one and right use. I've seen people recommend detail spray as a waterless wash to others. That's worrying.

[Eldorado2k]

You just have to make sure it's the right one and right use. I've seen people recommend detail spray as a waterless wash to others. That's worrying.

Exactly. There’s a right way and a wrong way to use them. But I refuse to believe that Every guy you see wiping his car down at a car show is most certainly an “idiot” who’s ruining his paint..

[DUBL0WS6]

If that were true, you’d never really be able to wipe compound/polish off and reveal corrected paint.. Sure there’s so called “polishing oils”, but I’ve gone way beyond just wiping polish off and certainly dry wiped clean paint with clean microfiber towels without issues.

Using a quick detailer to wipe down 1 day worth of “dust” is safer than waterless washing a light/moderately dirty vehicle. Yes I said it.

There’s so many people including so called preachers of the gospel who despise the use of quick detailers for anything beyond using them as a “drying aid”... I think it’s them who are the “fools”
Using a quick detailer spray as intended is completely safe.

Quick detail sprays weren’t created for use as a “drying aid”
The concept doesn’t even make sense...

Some colors are really weird. Lighter colors are more forgiving. But a dark metallic is a serious PITA when it comes to micromarring.

[Bill D]

I see people claiming that they don't get marring by washing a car, etc. That's pure bs. You might not see the marring on some colors but marring occurs. I've seen micro-marring from wiping a mf towel across clean dark paint.

Sounds like the MF wasn’t soft enough. There’s so many grades of MFs out there. That’s why it’s so important to choose wisely. So far, apparently the only test we have for MF softness is the CD Test.

[Markymapo]

Polishing every other year, unless you are getting rid of the vehicle. Just wash routinely n the shine will show

[PaulMys]

Another thing to remember is:

If you are careful in your washing/drying and QD/WW use, you will only need to remove very light defects when it is time to machine polish.

So this means that you can actually fully correct your paint with only a few passes, not 6-8.

Fewer passes = less paint removed.

Bottom line is: It pays to use proper techniques and only the best quality towels.

[Craig Encinitas]

Adding a caveat to the topic...

I put a ceramic coating on my car for this very reason. OCD has it’s pluses and minuses:

+ I can make a car gleam better than new
- I can’t just let it get dusty/dirty two or three days after washing it.

“Darn, another pollen spot. I’ll just grab some detail spray and a microfiber and gently remove it...”

An hour later...I’ve gone over the whole car. Now, that’s a bit of an embellishment, but it’s certainly happened before. On the old beater car I had, I never hesitated to just aggressively do a waterless wash. It was white and gleamed afterwards. Absolutely, there were countless love marks and marring, but the overall shine distracted my eyes.

Long story short (too late), having a coating on my newer car puts my
OCD at ease. Last evening, I simply
did a foam bath of CarPro reset and pressure washed it off and dried with a blower. Touch-less wash and I dabbed a microfiber towel for any remaining water droplets.

For the OP, if you feel your car’s finish isn’t being worsened by your method, then have at it. When there are enough paint imperfections after time passes, then go ahead and do an enhancement or a correction.

Here’s that old Scion:



160,000 miles and never polished
I put enough Bead Maker and whatever else on it to make it glow. (This was all prior to learning proper paint care)
Driver’s side was totally oxidized, too.