Hand wash, preventing swirls

[dnel45]

Just spent 5 days removing swirls on my black crew cab Silverado 2500HD, put a lot of time and effort into it, big vehicle. How do I prevent the swirls from returning when I hand wash? Is there a recommended wash mitt to use? Thanks

[C8N]

Re: Hand wash, preventing swirls

I did the same thing when I first started.
I was only concerned about removing the defects. However, one needs to learn how to maintain it first as there is no point of paint correction if you do not know how to properly maintain it.

There are various methods for a proper car wash but most importantly, IMO, is to use quality wash media and to work clean.
You need to inspect your wash media often to make sure you are not rubbing dirt and grime back into the paint.
I think foam with 2 bucket method is pretty much fool proof but there are other methods out there that works just as well if used properly.

BTW, Meguiars makes a MF wash mitt.

[Jarhead0754]

I agree. Use meguiars wash mitt, along with the 2 bucket method. Also get grit guards for the buckets. And of course u prob do this anyways, but before u start to wash with the glove u should rinse the vehicle down thoroughly.
This will remove any tiny particles that can potentially cause any damage. Wash a section at a time and rinse.

[Blueline]

Re: Hand wash, preventing swirls

This is what I do with my two black cars. A good rinse with the hose first. Use two buckets (no grit guard necessary for me). Genuine sheep skin mitt. Start from the top, and down, panel by panel and I only wash in straight lines. No circular movements. I leave the bottom five or six inches all around the car, and then switch
to a microfiber mitt, to clean that, and the wheels. Switch to an old microfiber mitt and clean the wheel wells. Results.....no swirls.

[Meticulous-Detail]

Re: Hand wash, preventing swirls

My method:

Wheels and tires cleaned first
Power Rinse
Foam Car then power rinse again
1 bucket with clean water and grit guard and foam gun with 2 MF mitts, 1 for the top of the car and 1 for the bottom. Shoot foam on panel and clean with MF mitt at the same time
Flooding method to rinse
Dry with leaf blower
Wipe excess off with Waffle Weave Drying towel and Megs spray wax

[KIA HYBRID]

Re: Hand wash, preventing swirls

Thumbs Up to Blueline method..Str8 lines.An always 2 buckets.Good luck to staying swirl free.i use 1 MF mitt but don't place hand in it .Do 1 side of the car just the top half .Rinse.Then the other side.Rinse .Then the bottom half is next,Rinse.Then the other side bottom half.Rinse .Doing all thing while keeping the whole car wet.to avoid water spots.Then Mf towel dry.

[MTLian]

Re: Hand wash, preventing swirls

2 bucket + grit guards is essential, IMO. Grit guards are 10$ each and the big buckets are about 4$ each so it's really cheap! I follow certain principles:

1) I wash my car in 4 sections a) roof b) windows and panels above the door handles c) bottom half of panels d) very bottom of rocker panels, underside of bumpers, wheel wells, wheels, tail pipe. This is very important because once you've been to section D, you don't want to return to other sections with scratchy dirt and contaminants from the parts of the car closest to the road. If your wheels are nice and new, you might even wanna give your mags a once over before hitting the wheel wells or tailpipe so you don't scratch the clear.

2) NO SCRUBBING! I only lightly run my wash mitt over contaminants to try and trap them and then rub them out with my dirty water bucket and grit guard insert. If some speck of contamination can't be freed by a light pass of the mitt, I make a mental note and then I return afterwards with my claybar and lube. The claybar will get the contaminants and it will prevent these little specks of tar or tree sap from getting trapped in the mitt and then scratching the whole car during the washing process.

3) I use A bunch of MF towels and dry the car in the same order as above (a, b, c, d) taking care to use new MF towels if I feel one picked up left over dirt. Also, I don't really focus much on drying the windows because I clean them separately with foaming glass cleaner, Bon Ami brand. I go around a spray all the windows, then give it a quick dry with one MF towel and then a final drying with a fresh dry MF towel.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Hand wash, preventing swirls

Plenty of excellent suggestions here on washing to minimize swirl creation. Don't forget to take care of your washing tools though, like washing and drying your wash mitts and drying towels after every use. We are always surprised when someone tells us that they've never washed these items; they just hang them to dry when done.

There is something else to consider in all this, and that is the touch sensitivity of the paint. Some paints are just extremely easy to scratch while others are more resistant to scratching. If your paint is the former then you could have a real challenge on your hands no matter how careful you are. Fortunately, these paints are not the norm but they are out there.

[dnel45]

Lots of good info here I'll look to incorporate as much as I can the next time I wash. Thanks!