OK, this is a bitch but sooooo satisfying. I bought my Berlina pretty heavily swirled. Been taking it in sections each weekend(trunk, hood, fenders, doors, butt) and de-swirling the paint. It's coming out great but it's taking me about 5 passes with the 3M Swirl Remover For Dark Colored Cars and a Porter Cable to get the swirls all out. When everything is finished, what should I wash it with to make sure I don't swirl it again? Mits seem rather coarse. I've switched to a microfiber cause it seems more gentle. Any better recommendations?

 

I suggest natural sea sponge and a mild shampoo matched to not harm your wax. Works for me on my WRX which has possibly the softest, thinest black paint ever.

~PC

 

Five passes with SMR means you're using it incorrectly.

One way to minimize reswirling when hand washing is to use LOTS of water and front to back hand motions as much as possible. Any resulting scratches catch the light and human eye LESS than if you use a swirling motion. Let dirty areas soak ..don't just dive in and scrub like crazy..float the dirt off. And perhaps don't press so hard, dry the car off gently.

Stan

 

I just bought a california duster. I am hoping this will keep me from having to wash as much. Since I don't drive in bad weather its really dust that is the reason I have to wash the car. So far this thing works great.

I use 100 percent american cotton towls and I wash them and my chamois (absorber) each time I wash the car. I also use Zaino Z-2. So far no problem with swirls but I have some z-5 and plan on using that when the time comes

 

hey bash- swirls happen!!!

if you take care of your car, i think you will still want to swirl remove every couple of years or so... next time should only be one or two apps of the 3m though to do the trick-

 

Using a car duster is a sure way to scratch the paint. Remember, it is how you take the dirt off that scratches the paint, not the dust itself.

 

mfrolik... my experience has been a bit different- i have used dusters for many years now on several cars, including a show car. you do have to be careful using it, but it is a great product that i think will not scratch or swirl with proper use. it is meant to remove dust and light residue from driving. i agree that it is not for cleaning the car after it has dirt embedded.
we agree that it is how you take the dirt off that causes scratches or swirls- but i think that the duster is a great product (it allows me to keep my car showroom new for a couple of months after detailing).

 

OK, sorta hit a snag here. Doing the doors with about three passes of 3M, clean it up and move it into the sun. I still see swirls when reflected in high-noon sunlight. So, take it back into shade, two more passes with 3M, and I can still see swirls. I'm wondering whether to hit it with a few more passes but worried I've already hit it too much and am risking going too low. I'm using a Porter Cable at between 1-3 with first a non-cutting pad (the white one that came with the PC) and now moving to a Yellow pad with slight cutting. Starting to wonder whether the swirls I'm seeing in direct sun glare are in the paint and not the clearcoat and I'll never get them all. Should I continue with the 3M until I can no longer see them when the sun is directly reflected or should I back off and hope the rest get filled by Zaino? The front came out like a black mirror and I was really hoping to get the entire car to look that way, but having seen a car with paint damage due to overbuffing I sure don't want to risk that. Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? TIA.

 

Have you ever been to a custom car show? Prior to the show, they use a California Car duster and instant detailer spray with microfiber towels for the most part, although some still use cotton towels. I can't remember any scratches or swirls on the cars that I have seen and their finishes are generally more easily scratched than ours are.

I love my several dusters and they cause NO scratches. The idea is to very lightly dust the finish and not put any weight on the duster.

Bob

 

I've always had good results using the yellow pads and running the PC at 6 ... with a random orbital you can't burn the paint, so why not let the PC do the work. Also, make sure you work the SMR until it disappears.