Ok so I had my car painted professionally last July after being vandalized but the paint was never polished properly.

Last saturday I had the orange peels wetsanded out and the whole entire call detailed to remove swirl marks etc.

I go to wash it today with a brand new MF washmitt and dry it with a brand new chamois and Im seeing new swirl marks here and there!

UGH! Im so F mad and sad at the same time. My car looked brand new for about 5 days until this happens. And on the hood when the light hits it, it looks dull and theres a bunch of scratches.

PLEASE HELP!!

 

My guess would be that swirl marks weren't removed, but rather filled in with glaze. The glaze probably even filled in some of the wet sanding marks.

 

Im not sure it was a glaze. It sounds like you had the car done right. There's no way someone is going to wet sand and then use a glaze instead of polishing out the wet sand marks although I'm not saying it's impossible. Some pictures would really help out here. You described the hood as "DULL" looking so that very well could be from the wet sanding not being completely removed but without pics I don't know. It could also be that you did what 90% of the populous does and that is incorrect washing/drying techniques. The majority of swirl marks are created while washing and drying the car. Let me guess... you have a black car right? You may want to try using a leaf blower to dry your car off with and a really thick lambswool wash mit to wash instead of the microfiber one (Check out excel detail on this forum) with a 2 bucket wash method utilizing grit guards on the bottom of the buckets to catch any particles in the bottom of the buckets instead of on your wash mit which then glides across your paint and creates those pesky little swirl marks.
Ha! it is black, I just noticed the NBP in the title. Black is the hardest color to maintain. It shows everything! Good Luck!

 

My bad. I guess I should have said that the swirl marks and wet sanding marks weren't completely polished out and that a glaze could have been used and thus filled in some of the swirl marks. And then when you washed the car, the glaze washed off and revealed some of the hidden swirls.

Or like conan said.... bad wash and dry technique.

 

Or a combination of all of the above:
Incomplete detail/wetsand.
Glazes (which are awesome when used accordingly)
Wash and dry techniques.
Inferior products.

Now would be a great time to invest in car care articles for yourself, for proper maintenance, as your obviously going to need a machine and light polish to start with.

 

If this was the first wash .. go back to the detailer and show him .. and ask about the glaze scenareo ..

One word that pops out at me in your post is "chamois" .. those are great for installing swirls and scratches ... upgrated to W/W M/F drying towels ..

Excel has some excellent ones that are affordable. I know .. I'm using them on my car.

 

dont get me wrong, i love the w/w m/f drying towels....but i have had no issues whatsoever with my absorber...i use one for the paint and one for the wheels when drying....my car is dark and shows everything, and i inspect for swirls and maring everytime i wash....no using a natural chamois is a different story....thoes things are a wax stripper....

 

 

Conan you sound like a pro man thanks. Dam. That sounds like a really long process and involves alot of steps. Guess Im going to have to try it now.

Jesstzn I almost bought MF drying towels but then for some reason I chose a chamois!! UGH! Im so mad at myself. Im going back to my detailer tomorrow. Talked to him this morning and he said to bring it by.

Dammit. So I guess stay away from chamois then Vinnier6???

Thanks fellas. Very helpful.

 

SpeedsteR:

Posting some pics of your paint would greatly help in evaluating your situation.

Properly washing a car is NOT a trivial task. This is where 99% of car owners get into trouble. It takes me 2-3 hours to completely wash one car. I do hate it but I hate swirls and scratches even more.

You definitely have to get rid of the chamois if it is the old fashioned cow hide type. The synthetic chamois are somewhat better but I have not seen anything better than the MicroFiber Waffleweave towels and/or a leaf blower. I use the electric leaf blower myself. Exceldetail can get you a good MF Waffleweave towel.

The key to keeping NBP looking great is to have a complete wash, polish, wax, daily maintenance system in place. Once you have your system down then you need to be faithful and dedicated to it. The compliments and comments far outweigh the strange looks you may get from the uninformed.