Did I ruin my paint?

[armyxrays]

Last weekend, I washed, clayed, polished and waxed - in that order - using all Meguire's products. I noticed a bit of a haze on the hood that night, but I couldn't get it off.

Today I parked in the sun and noticed this (see pics). It looks like handprints or grease or some weird haze. It really bothers me because if I am not directly in the sun the car looks great and super shiny. HELP!!

[ryan's camaro]

Those swirls look like you were claying the car without enough quik detailer.
Perhaps another wash, polish, and wax will do the trick.

[armyxrays]

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

[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.

[IBM/2SS/RS/LS3]

you might try some Meg's Ultimate Compound, then Ultimate Polish, then a syn wax like NXT 2.0 and top with Meg's #26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax (carnuba) all with a PC.

[midnighter]

Not too bad, try polishing again.

[techinny]

3M Micro finishing glaze and alot of elbow grease will do wonders for it, your shoulders and arms will be sore, but it will look great!

[OBSSEST]

It's hard to tell from the pics if the haze is residue or damage to the clear coat.

Regardless, you have some decent swirls on there. Fixing that by hand is going to be almost impossible. You need a PC.

[jsharp]

Black is fun it will be a learning experiance that never ends but generally the less you touch the better. Dont cut out claying but make sure you wash good before you do it and do the baggie test on each panel to make sure you need it. When u wash make one pass over paint with tons of suds following foam gun wash and rinse. Use a two bucket wash with grit guards and blow dry. Once dry dont touch it again until your next foam bath and wash because you will scratch it with waterless wash and detail spray. There is no such thing as a small touch up with a black car between washes. Remember to keep a good wax on the car as it cuts scratch possibilities in half. Invest in adams americana its high but for a black car you need it. And it wont leave residue and comes off easy! Buy adams towels and hand wash to prevent contaminents getting in towel. Its extreme i know but from one black car owner to another either take action or your paint will be ruined. Polisher is your last resort as you should prevent scratches on the front end and correct as needed. But remember your car is black and will always show some scratches even when you care and detail triple as much as a lighter car

[armyxrays]

For the record - I washed with Meguire's Cold Glass wash, clayed with Meguire's clay kit, Polished with Meguire's Ultimate Polish, and waxed with Meguire's NXT 2.0 wax.

This wasn't my first time doing this, I did it once about three months ago and it came out beautiful. The only reason I did it again so soon is because I was in a parade last weekend and wanted it to look nice.

The day of the parade it was sunny and nice, and I didn't notice the haze/swirls on the side panels. My wife is convinced that it wasn't there.

The only thing I did different this week was I wiped with Meguire's Quik Detailer on Monday. Is it possible that this is the culprit? I don't usually do that but I don't see why it wouldn't be safe, it was with a new and clean microfiber towel.

Anyway, I washed again after posting this. I still saw the same ugly finish. I tried Meguire's cleaner wax in a small spot to see if it made a difference - it did. I then went over the entire car and now it's too dark outside to see if I fixed it or not. Gotta wait for the sun to come up!

If not, I will be taking all over your advice and will have to start over...

[Adam's Polishes]

I see a couple of things going on there... definitely see some swirling there and if you want that gone you need to step up to a machine polisher. They won't be coming out by hand.

As far as the haze/oily look - could be residues from the products you were using. Try wiping a small section off with a little 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). This will strip any oils, waxes, or leftover polishing residues from the surface and leave you with just bare paint.

Entirely possible you just have a buildup of the detail spray and/or waxes that didn't come off cleanly.

[armyxrays]

Originally Posted by Dylan@Adams

I see a couple of things going on there... definitely see some swirling there and if you want that gone you need to step up to a machine polisher. They won't be coming out by hand.

As far as the haze/oily look - could be residues from the products you were using. Try wiping a small section off with a little 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). This will strip any oils, waxes, or leftover polishing residues from the surface and leave you with just bare paint.

Entirely possible you just have a buildup of the detail spray and/or waxes that didn't come off cleanly.

Would Dawn soap work just as well as the alcohol?

[Adam's Polishes]

I'd say alcohol is more effective and plus, unless you need to strip the whole car, don't. Just strip one area to see if the problem goes away. If it does then you have your answer - theres a buildup of something on the surface. If it doesn't then you are dealing with some minor damage to the clear coat.

[nUcLeArEnVoY]

Don't worry - this is all fixable.

Your main challenge there is that you're using your polish by hand. Only a machine can effectively eliminate all swirl marks, whether it's a DA or a Rotary (do a DA if you're a beginner). If you used a polish, the hazing could just be the polish residue. After a few washes, that'll go away; and if you want it gone now, do what Dylan said and wash it down with Dawn degreaser. As for the swirls, it's either swirls that you still didn't remove after polishing (which is common if polishing by hand) or swirls you introduced by claying it or even improper washing technique. Are you using the 2-bucket method?

Claying is a very delicate process, especially on a black car. Most people underestimate the bite a clay bar has and they rub it too aggressively against the finish. You barely need to drag it - the only pressure that you need to apply is the clay's own weight. Use just enough pressure that it doesn't slip away from your fingers. Unless your car was used and was poorly maintained, you shouldn't ever have to reach a spot where you'll actually need to slightly rub the clay a bit unless it's in some inconspicous spot such as the area behind the front and rear wheels, at which point, who cares anyway? If your car is new, then there is no reason you should have to apply ANY pressure with your clay bar.

As for the Quik Detailer... yes, it is okay, and a lot of owners do it, but me? Honestly? The only time you should touch your car is with a wash mitt, soap, water, and wash bucket. In other words, touch your car only when you're washing it. Quik Detailer should only be used at a car show to clean off the miniscule amount of dust/dirt accumulated from driving there RIGHT after the car was washed.