brerpie

Hey guys,

Last night I washed my CG TSX for the first time. This morning when I step outside too leave to work, I notice that there are swirl marks all over the place. The swirl marks are long lines in the direction which I was going in with the sponge. I was going in the direction that wind would go. I've seen people with swirl mark, but they have been circular... mine are about 2 feet long in certain areas (lenghtwise).

I don't understand why this happened. Is there anything I can do?

finalheaven

So im guessing black or cg it actually doesn't make a lot of difference from what i hear. Interesting... i guess its definitely what they have first for me...

Sorry just needed to post that, i drive a silver maxima at the moment don't know what to do to get rid of swirl marks.

chrisalberts

Was your car dusty or gritty? If so, all a sponge does is spread the grit around and scratch the car. Use a sheepskin mitt ($5 at target or $15 at Griots) and the long nap of the mitt wicks up the grit so as not to scratch the paint.

Also just make sure it's not just watermarks or something. You did dry the car with a cotton or microfiber towel right?

Ditch the sponge.

C.

sdog 959

I have a CG tsx myself. I dont use a brush or rag when i wash the car. I use a product called Zaino. It has been on my car since i bought it. Now i just have to spray the car off and dry it. Then I use their product Z6 to polish it. But, Zaino does have a product that will remove those swirl marks. That product is called Z5.

brerpie

The sponge should actually be good. It's a brand new sponge that was extremely clean and package says that it is designed to elliminate swirling.

I rinsed the car off really well prior to scrubbing with soap. I used some cheap soap because it's all I had... could it be the soap?

I just bought some maguiar products today and re-washed the car. I applied some maguiar cleaning wax to the hood and will check tommorow in the sunlight to see if the swirls are reduced.

RogerPodacter

No you really should not use a sponge!!!!!!!

Use 100% made in the USA cotton towels. read the FAQ on the Zaino site. It is the best advice and product for your car, PERIOD! (IMO, of course)

teombe

I used a sponge on my CG. It came out with almost zero swirl marks ( had my eyes 1" from the paint). Sponges have been fine for me.

The Meguiars soap should do you better than your old cheap stuff..

RadMon

Ditch the sponge. Period!

Go with the mitt (as mentioned earlier) or an OXO brush. All of the holes in a sponge can hold pieces of dirt/grit which will scratch your paint unlike the mitts or brushes which will contain the dirt (in small quantities) which can then be rinsed out before put up to dry.

Your choice of shampoo is not going to effect scratching/swirl marks. And the more soap the better as you actually want lots of suds since their job is to do the cleaning, a lot of which relies on the soap molecules to surround dirt particules and thus wisk them off of the surface so they can be safely rinsed away.

And there are plenty of products out there to either polish (wear down) or fill (like a glaze) swirl marks to reduce or eliminate them.

The simplest solution would be to use Meguiar's #9 (Swirl Remover) followed by #7 (Show Car Glaze) followed by #20 (Poly Sealant) or #26 (Hi-tech Yellow Wax). These steps will help to fill in the swirl marks thus reducing their visible appearance. Of course this is only a temporary solution since the fillers will eventually dissipate over time and thus need to be "refilled."

There are also similar steps for reducing swirls by using products from companies like Black Fire, ClearKote, Eagle One, Einszett, Platinum, Menzerna, Mother's, Poorboy's and Zaino.

If you actually want to elimnate most of the swirls, you'll be better off taking it to a reputable body shop or detailer who can use mild abrasives (polishes) to wear down the clear coat around the scratches to reduce/eliminate their effects which are aesthetically marring your paint finish. This is not a band-aid like the filling approach mentioned above but the only way there is to actually remove the swirls for good.

Good luck!

moda_way

RadMon is completely correct. Don't use sponges and even when you use a mitt, make sure you dunk it and swirl it a lot as you wash a dirty car.

You'll probably need to buy some buffing compound to get the swirls out. Good luck.

FYI, don't buy some cheap crap to remove swirls, get the Zaino or Meguiars.

phingerz

$.02 more.

It could be what your seeing in your paint is just residue from your soap or conditioners in your sponge (they do that sometimes) or just crap that conected with the paint overnight.

Before you go and do ANYTHING agressive to the paint, always work with the rule, use the least abrasive cleaner first.

I'd rinse the car completely (least abrasive), then with a good wash mitt and quality car wash (Zaino is my favorite, but Meguiar's would work too) wash the car. Dry with a 100% cotton towel that you've washed yourself WITHOUT fabric softener. THEN take a look at the car in some sunlight. You'll know what you've got.

I'm optimistic that it'll be pretty clean, and chances are all you'll need is a good coat (or three) of poly seal.

dbjb

a wash mitt is definately the way to go. sponges are coarse and put micro scratches in the clearcoat. these scratches dont allow light to pass through as easily (to the paint). when light doesnt pass through, less is refelected and the paint appears dull.

LeMasseHammer

Agreed with those who say ditch the sponge. Follow the detailed directions on the Zaino website and you can't go wrong. The only thing I use to scrub during a wash is a clean Zaino polish applicator. I use a California Water Blade to get standing water off, and then dry with only made-in-the-USA 100% cotton bath towel (with any non-cotton stitching/decoration removed). So far, I've kept swirl marks away.

DEVO

hehe... you used a sponge? there is an FAQ on how to wash your car... i would recommend that you look into OXO soft bristle brushes... no swirl marks.

RadMon

Forgot to mention in my first post...

I'm not saying that you put the scratches you're seeing on your car's finish. It could very well have been done by the detailer that the dealer hries to do this work. Not all of 'em are rocket scientists, ya know?

So don't feel so bad. Just think of it as an a good reason to educate yourself on the proper techniques for washing, polishing, waxing, sealing, etc. your new baby!

And I strongly recommend that you hop on over to Autopia.org and make use of the great resources over there.l

Later!

biehle75

One more note to everyone, excessive use of soap is not the best for the paint on your car, especially dish soap and the likes. I use soap maybe once every three months. I also wash my car every week. Anyways, just hose the car down and use a cotton cloth to wash with to get loose dirt off. Dry the car with a good chamois and follow with a microfiber towel. Then wax with either a cleaner wax or you can do that three step process at least once a month. You will be surprised how clean the car will look and how deep a shine you get. When you use soap, it helps in reducing the coat of wax on the car, which might make you want to wax more often. Chances are after waxing, providing you have not scratched the paint with sponges and crap soap, you will diminish the amount of swirls.....At least, that's my way of doing it, and no swirls exist on my graphite colored Tundra. All other cars are silver.

Impulsive

Agree. I've washed my CG TSX a couple times already and no swirl marks or unsightly streaks yet...

MikeMa

This is good advice...use lots and lots of water to clean your car. A large amount of water is way more important than a large amount of soap.

When I wash my car, I first make sure (especially) the surface I'm about to wipe down with my mitt is extremely wet. Then, I make sure I squeeze my mitt over the surface just to get some additional water on there, and *then* I actually start wiping.

And, you absolutely have to make sure you've sprayed off all the soapy water before you go and dry. As you rinse, also look for spaces you've missed, since if you go and dry those areas, you'll end up dragging dirt across your car.