Did I ruin my paint?

[Nexus6]

Originally Posted by Russell James

If it doesn't come off with car wash soap, I'd start over. To tell if those are swirls or wax haze, wash it down with Dawn, then hold a shop light over it in a dark garage. Swirls still there, it's swirls.

Wash the car with Dawn to get all the wax off. Then use swirl removing products/methods to get rid of the swirls if needed. Then wax.

I'd never clay a black car, good chance at dragging a million scratches into it. I clayed a dark blue car once, with tons of lube. Spent every weekend for a month after then trying to detail all the scratches and swirls out of it.

With black, the less you touch it the better. Wash with the softest mitt you can buy and best soap, blow dry. Towel wiping and excessive detailing will swirl it up. If the wax didn't dry completely before wiping off, some waxes can leave a haze like that. Let the wax sit a bit longer next time before wiping it off. For waxing, get some real plush/expensive all cotton towels (not from Walmart, go to JC Penneys). Wash them and then rinse with fabric softener.

My car wash/wax towels are nicer than my bath towels, and are the only thing I've found that don't make swirls on a dark car. Go to JC Penney and ask where the best of the best white towels are.

And no, the paint is not ruined. Will just take some elbow grease to perfect it again.

Do not use fabric softener

[Russell James]

Originally Posted by Nexus6

Do not use fabric softener

I've used Downy softener on my towels for years. Never an issue, even when waxing a black car. I do what works for me.

[neverenoughtime]

Let us know how it all turns out. Like others have said, two bucket system with grit guards. I blow dry then go over with a quick detailer and clean microfiber cloth very lightly on the water spots. You want to clean without touching the car as much as possible when it comes to a black car.

[Adam's Polishes]

Originally Posted by Russell James

I've used Downy softener on my towels for years. Never an issue, even when waxing a black car. I do what works for me.

Its just not recommended b/c the fabric softener will clog up the towels causing drying towels to not be absorbent and plush towels to push product around rather than removing.

The other issue potentially is streaking as the fabric softener redeposits itself on the paint.

If its working for you then stick with it, just know that the 'detailing world at large' discourages it for those reasons.

[Grabber]

This has already been mentioned, but, I would do the following.

1. Strip that section, maybe a 2X2 area with Rubbing Alcohol.
2. Re-Clay that area a bit, using some detail spray/clay lube liberally.
3. If you have a DA or a Rotary buffer, using an Orange, white and a grey pad would work that out no problem.

Those swirl marks are not horrible, but will get worse if you do not correct them now only make your future efforts more difficult.

If you do not have a DA or a Rotary, use some Cleaner wax and gently rub it in. The only downside is that is not going to get rid of those swirls, but it may improve the way it currently looks.

[CamaroDreams07]

This thread is one of the worst i've seen for bad detailing advice.

[Grabber]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

This thread is one of the worst i've seen for bad detailing advice.

Really?

What are your suggestions to fix the OP's issue?

[Iomcamaro]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

This thread is one of the worst i've seen for bad detailing advice.

[Russell James]

Originally Posted by Dylan@Adams

Its just not recommended b/c the fabric softener will clog up the towels causing drying towels to not be absorbent and plush towels to push product around rather than removing.

The other issue potentially is streaking as the fabric softener redeposits itself on the paint.

If its working for you then stick with it, just know that the 'detailing world at large' discourages it for those reasons.

Good points. Maybe it's my water, but if I don't use any fabric softener my towels just don't feel soft at all. I use a very small amount, maybe 1/3 cap full of Downy and then run another rinse cycle after the rinse cycle with the Downy. This leave the towels very soft out of the dryer and no residue or absorbent problems. I think the extra rinse gets most of it back out. I also don't use them much at all for drying, most of that get's done with leaf blower. Then I hit any remain spots with the towels and Detail spray if needed.

I agree though, too much softener will cause issues. With my water, I've found a sweet spot of just a little softener to get soft towels that still work perfect for detailing/waxing.

On the O.P.s issue, just noticed this comment again :

"I also used Meguire's Quik Detailer a few times when I wiped it down with a clean microfiber cloth during this week."

Did you wash the car right before the Detailer wipe downs? If not, a freshly waxed car can really attract a lot of dust and dirt quick. Some of the "wet look" waxes are so oily, one quick drive and the car is dust covered. If you didn't wash it before the Detailer wiping, could have wiped those swirls in it with the surface dirt.

If so, follow a swirl removing process/products. Then in the future avoid anything abrasive. Clay = abrasive. Wiping on a dirty surface = abrasive. And the less touching the better. Dry with a leaf blower to reduce towel rubbing... If you want to see how bad it is swirled up, put it in a dark garage and hold a shop light over it. You'll probably purchase a PC buffer after doing that... and throw the clay in the trash. Why would a new '11 need claying? Unless it was covered in rail dust or some other fallout.

[armyxrays]

Originally Posted by Russell James

On the O.P.s issue, just noticed this comment again :

"I also used Meguire's Quik Detailer a few times when I wiped it down with a clean microfiber cloth during this week."

Did you wash the car right before the Detailer wipe downs? If not, a freshly waxed car can really attract a lot of dust and dirt quick. Some of the "wet look" waxes are so oily, one quick drive and the car is dust covered. If you didn't wash it before the Detailer wiping, could have wiped those swirls in it with the surface dirt.

If so, follow a swirl removing process/products. Then in the future avoid anything abrasive. Clay = abrasive. Wiping on a dirty surface = abrasive. And the less touching the better. Dry with a leaf blower to reduce towel rubbing... If you want to see how bad it is swirled up, put it in a dark garage and hold a shop light over it. You'll probably purchase a PC buffer after doing that... and throw the clay in the trash. Why would a new '11 need claying? Unless it was covered in rail dust or some other fallout.

I washed and waxed the night before a parade. I drove to the parade the next morning, and yes I had some dust on the car - and it was a little cold outside so I had a little bit of dew on a few spots. Right before the parade started I used the Quik detailer to get the dust off. Drove through the parade and went home.

Once I got home the car was COVERED in dust. I Quik detailed most of the panels seen in the picture as swirl marks. I NEVER did that before, not sure what I was thinking when I did it, but it seems that is what caused my problem!

So just to update, I have re-washed and then tried Meguire's cleaner wax. The haze and swirling has really been cut down - BUT - somewhat still there.

Next week I planned on buying an orbital polisher, washing with Dawn - then polishing with Meguire's Ultimate Polish and my new machine, then rewaxing.

Given that some of you have said that a lot of the advice in this thread was bad, does my plan sound like a good one? I'd hate to screw this up even more.

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by Iomcamaro

Lol, every so often one of these pops up and it's just like WTF?

[Russell James]

I would do a lot more research on swirl mark removal using a Porter Cable, watch some of the videos out there. If you're set on using Meguires products they have a website with forums and tips. If you go with Adams products, there are some members here that can help you pick the right products.

If you're going to use a machine polisher like a Porter Cable, make sure the products you pick are intended for machine and hand use. Start with a compound that is intended for very fine swirl marks, the least aggressive swirl mark remover they have. If that does not correct it, move up to the next aggressive swirl mark remover. On the Meguires site it seems like for machine buffing of swirl marks they recommend Swirl X or Ultimate Compound if the swirls cannot be removed by Swirl X. Then follow up the Ultimate Compound with Swirl X, then wax. They show the Ultimate Polish as a glaze (and don't mention machine application). Generally glazes just fill in imperfections, not really a fix to the problem - more of a cover up.

Which ever brand you pick, I'd spend some more time on their websites making sure your picking the right stuff for machine swirl mark removing.
And meticulously wash the car first, washing each panel multiple times. With machine buffing, the last thing you want is dirt getting in the pads.

[Iomcamaro]

Just a correction. Ultimate polish is not a pure glaze. It does have abrasives in it so it can be used as a final polish.

[MARINE1991]

Yea trade it in ....