I found a few swirls marks on my 4 month old GPS this mourning and i am rather annoyed as i have used all of the methods to avoid this. I now use a microfibre washmitt rather than a sponge and i also use the two bucket method to prevent contamination. Am i doing something wrong?

Hi mate,

Do you hose spray the car down before washing?

Alan

Yes i hose spray the car before washing. Is this wrong?

Lol, no, tis the right way to do it! Was just trying to work out what you might be missing, as your using the 2 bucket method and a microfibre wash mit, which is the right way to go about a good detailing, and should help eliminate any swirls from forming.
Tis very strange! What products do you use out of interest?

Alan

Any small grit particles on your cloth, sponge or the car will cause the swirls, hence the spraying the car first, But if you miss bits when its sprayed it will still get dragged around on your cloth, Could try keeping the washmit/sponge soaking wet while washing to provide lubrication between car and any collected grit.

a1ant said:

Lol, no, tis the right way to do it! Was just trying to work out what you might be missing, as your using the 2 bucket method and a microfibre wash mit, which is the right way to go about a good detailing, and should help eliminate any swirls from forming.
Tis very strange! What products do you use out of interest?

Alan

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I use Autoglym products at the moment, find they are very good value. What should i use to remove the bigger particules of dirt? i use a brush with the hose attachment at the moment.

use meguirs scratch x

i use this on mine and its fantastic i dont have any swirl marks at all. i use the applicator pad for it and a meguirs terry towel to finish !

amazing stuff imo

i have heard good things about this and also Autoglym Super Resin Polish.

When I can be bothered the Bravo gets the full treatment.

Spray the car down first with hose and 'jet' attachment. Pay particular attention to wheel arches.
Wash using Megs car shampoo using 2 bucket menthod and starting at the roof moving down, rinsing as I go.
Squeegie (sp?) the car using a windscreen wiper blade. Works a treat.
Dry using microfiber towels until mildly damp
Apply AG SRP all over, polish off.

Eventually will get enough towels and time to apply the Extra Gloss Protection.

the GP's paint is very soft I found this the hard way now resorted to a 2 bucket wash and a prewash, Im looking to get a foam lance but cant find one to fit a stihl pressure washer :bang: so am currently using one of these
http://www.greenfingers.com/superstore/product.asp?dept_id=260&pf_id=PP0059A

and a cheap car shampoo doesnt foam much but does loosen the dirt

I wouldn't use a microfiber mitt as the pile isnt very deep im currently using a sheepskin mitt from halfrauds..

Think having a helper on hand to fetch buckets of water helps a lot. Means you aren't skimping on water while washing.

or a hose pipe..

as for drying with a old wiper blade or hydroblade keep it clean and wipe it after every pass or you can drag grit along and cause nice linear scratches

Andy Monty said:

I wouldn't use a microfiber mitt as the pile isnt very deep im currently using a sheepskin mitt from halfrauds..

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I think this is my problem, I was going to get the sheepskin mitt but it is called a 'sheepskin polishing mitt' therefore i didn't get one.

I think swirl marks are inevitable on a car you use everyday and clean regularly unless you are particularly anal about cleaning your car. Try something like bilthambers autobalm (wax) which has particularly good hidding abilities, Autoglyms Super Resin Polish is also very good at removing and hiding light swirl marks.

Scratch X is for small scale scratch removal and is an abbrasive polish, not something to use regularly.

Andy Monty said:

or a hose pipe..

as for drying with a old wiper blade or hydroblade keep it clean and wipe it after every pass or you can drag grit along and cause nice linear scratches

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After washing there shouldn't be any grit to drag...

Found a old wiper blade better than a hydroblade as it doesn't attempt to be perfect at removing the water - just enough that I'm not going through 5 microfiber cloths just to shift the water that sits on the roof.

lol after i have finished washing the car i wizz it around the block to get rid of the excess water.

T-JET GPS said:

lol after i have finished washing the car i wizz it around the block to get rid of the excess water.

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That tends to either get dirty water from puddles or dust if the roads are dry around here.

Oh right, so what kind of washmitt would you recommend

T-JET GPS said:

Oh right, so what kind of washmitt would you recommend

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i use the halfords one as i said earlier

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_198985_langId_-1_categoryId_31485#

it can be used for washing if the enlarged photo was clearer you would be able to read that,,

ive also used these in the past
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=64&products_id=138

but they dont tend to last long..

and for god sake dont use one of these....
http://www.choiceful.com/choiceful-id-18642-Long-Handle-Car-Wash-Brush.html

guess what i did :bang:

T-JET GPS said:

Ii use a brush with the hose attachment at the moment.

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i think thats not helping