Fine, I think you guys have convinced me not to join the Carwash club!

 

Always go with a brushless car wash if you don't have the time to wash at home even then I would only do it once in a while.

to really make sure you do not get swirls or any scratches in your clear coat when washing at home I always spray my microfiber drying towels with Detail spray before lightly dragging them over the car to dry it.

If you want to cut down on drying time and towels the last thing you do when rinsing is take the spray nozle off your hose and let it run over the car. the water will sheet off and not bead up giving you less water to dry. This will cut down on how often you need to run a towel over the surface of you car.

My last three cars have been either Black or very dark blue and I have never had swirls.

 

1- YOU CAN WASH THE CAR TOO MUCH - This will increased risk of YOU causing the swirls.

2- YOU CAN GET SWIRLS HAND WASHING - You MUSH you a micofiber towel of superior quality and even then you can cause swirls if your unlucky

3- Detailed Image - Premium Auto Detailing and Car Care Products is where I get my towels from.... they are awesome. AND EXPENSIVE... but I believe worth it.

Loth

 

As an alternative, if you want to avoid swirl marks when drying the car you can also get one of the Air Force Master Blaster units from Metro Vacuum. The come in various configurations, but I linked the one that most folks I know use for cars. They're heated and filtered, and eliminate the need to use towels when drying the car.

 

but honestly, it depends on how **** you are about your car. people on this forum generally are overprotective of their cars (myself included). If you are a "regular" guy and just want a clean car, regular automated car washes are fine. Your car will look like other regularly washed cars you see on the street.

 

I use Eco Touch waterless car wash after a drive. If the car has any grainy dirt, I rinse it down and then go over with the waterless car wash and then use Meguires instant detailer. I do a complete wax monthly (or so).

Eco Touch site

 

I've got a Blaster Sidekick (the small, handheld one) and love it. It's great for the motorcycles, but also gets places on the car that towels won't reach, such as gaps between panels and side mirrors. It doesn't completely eliminate need for towels on the car, but reduces the need by at least 80%.

 

Hmm... To minimise swirls:

- Use a wash and a rinse bucket, and don't drop the washing implement of choice in either;
- Move your washing implement of choice in straight lines over the bodywork - preferably from front to back;
- If you must dry it, get an absorbent cloth and just lay it on the wet panel. Dab it in place, then lift off and repeat. Depending on how much water there is, you will have to wring the cloth out from time to time.

 

The 2 bucket method with grit guards is a must!

Try this method for drying.

 

I have an ebony black car that I only wash by hand and is obviously tough to keep clean and swirl-free. Water spots, especially on hot days, are a problem after hand and air drying. The Jaguar paint has held up remarkably well from scratches and swirl marks. No way could I ever use an automatic car wash, plus maintaining my own car is somewhat therapeutic for me.

I recently purchased Chemical Guys After Wash (may be similar to ammo hydrate). This stuff is incredible and I just ordered a gallon yesterday. Spray it on a wet car and the water repels immediately. One wipe with a microfiber towel completely removes the remaining water and the spray with little resistance. There is a gloss agent in this spray that leaves the most amazing shine and is better than any detailer I have used. Also, I have noticed that pollen and dust do not seem to stick to the paint as easily after using this product. Best of all, no water spots!

Chemical Guys CWS_801_16 - After Wash - Shine While You Dry Drying Agent, With Hybrid Gloss Technology (16 oz)

 

Love this guy, seen so many of his videos, especially like the "how to clean glass properly" video....WOW

 

noooooo!!! Never, take your car, YOUR EXPENSIVR CAR, to an auto car wash. From my experience, they do a very bad wash and have left scratches.

Do yourself and that beautiful car a favor,and hand wash it with a good car shampoo (I recommend Mr. Pink from Chemical Guys), Or foam cannon, either way works well. Then dry it off with huge microfiber towels or a air blaster. The less you touch it, the better results you see. For optimal results, use a foam cannon + air blaster. Works beautifuly!

 

I've used Chemical Guys Waterless and really like it, has some wax in it. Bought one of their pressure sprayers and a large refill size and cost and effort are really good.

 

Jaguar paint seems to be very "soft". After paying for another paint correction I do not even touch my car. Powerwash, foam lance, power wash and then hot air blow dry. Maybe once a month I use a microfiber sponge after the car was power washed, foam lance and power washed.

Also never let the dealership wash your car it is not a courtesy, it is a crime. Same bucket, sponge and BRUSH for all cars.

 

[You can use those car washes no problem the only one you should NEVER use are those "touch less" car washes and the reason is that use a really harsh chemicals that will over time take the gloss coat off the car.
We have a car wash place here that the average car wash cost $30
And all the high end cars use this place and it goes through the automatic car wash first to get the base all cleaned up then they get into the detail of it after and no body in many years has complained about the swirls or anything and these are 100k + cars that go here
High end paint places will tell you it is ok just not the touch less ones
Good lick

 

Well in my experience...

I kept my lovely car pretty nice and swirl-free at first. Always hand-washing it and babying it, rarely ever driving it in the rain, etc. and it looked great!

But this past year I moved to a new place accessed by an unpaved drive. Just taking it to the main road would get it dusty. I tried to keep it clean for a while, but eventually it became too much. Occasional lazy washes with a bucket and a microfiber sponge, cheap microfiber towels to dry it, and once I ran it through the local car wash.

So after my "experiment" how does the car look now?

Just terrible! In fact I'm going to have to get it professionally corrected. The swirls and light scratches are obvious with any inspection more than a passing glance. Actually the most damage (some of the light scratches) probably came from that automatic car wash.

Don't get lazy. Do it right. Learn from the mistakes of others.

 

That seems a bit much but if you like the results, keep it up!