Est1985

For those who own or have owned black cars, what's the best way(outside of doing it myself) to avoid the swirl marks. A couple of friends have told me to get the hand wax at the car wash, but don't the swirl marks come from drying the car anyways, or does the hand waxing keep the swirls out? Any help would be great.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Visit our detailing forum and search 'swirl marks' for tons of suggestions

Some starter tips
- Don't let the dealership wash your car or use commercial car washes with brushes or cloth swirly things
- Hand wash your car with a "two bucket' method and grit guard buckets
- Use quality washmitts and microfiber
- Dry your car using a leaf blower; the less you touch it, the fewer swirls you will have

Antnie2418

Your always going to deal with it because Lexus black paint is a single stage paint ( clear and color in one ) so that makes it very easy to scratch

toyotatom

Davegs has a lot of good points to follow, to add a couple
1. Wash the car yourself.
2. Rinse off any grit you can with a hose before washing, this will help loosen up dirt and stuff also.
Don't need to hit it with a lot of pressure either.
3. Get a quality mitt and don't put a lot of pressure on the mitt when washing, use the weight of your hand with the water and soap on the mitt as your pressure to wash with. Rinse the mitt after each time you soap up the mitt using the two bucket system.
4.Swirl marks are caused by using a circular motions, try washing the car by moving the mitt side to side and going from front to back on the car or back to front if you prefer. You will probably still get swirl marks but they are not as noticeable if they go in one direction.
Swirl do not come out with drying the car, only buffing them out if they are that deep.

WiLz

ALL commercial car wash places will give you swirl marks, even if you ask them to hand wash/wax your car. When they wax your car, it may cover up the swirls, making you think they're gone, but the swirls will soon be visible again.

As others have said, the only way to avoid swirl marks is to wash the car yourself.

Now from your original post, you don't seem to like that idea. If that is the case, and money isn't an issue, you may be able to find a professional detailer that will hand wash your car for you. This is not the same as taking your car to your local car wash and asking for a detail; instead find a reputable detailer in your area who knows that they are doing. For example, there are some well reviewed detailers who offer monthly car wash packages in the SoCal area, but pricing is usually in the range of several hundred dollars a month (they generally cater to high-end/exotic car owners).

Est1985

Yeah, I've actually got a couple of friends who are detailers and they come to you.

What about those drive thru car washes where the car is air dried? I have never used those before, because I don't trust it.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

It's not just the dry, but the wash method you need to look out for as I mention above. Anything with automated stuff that touches the finish will leave something on your finish.

The "touchless" car washes are a little better but not great; they usually make heavy use of recycled dirty water which isn't that good for your paint at high velocity.

FSPORTJC

Ahh nothing like owning a Ultra White on Rioja Red FSport

I don't miss my 2013 BMW F30 MSport that was black.. : )

doodlebug

Are certain colors single stage, or all colors?

Rsnic

This is spot on for a beginner. The Lexus black paint is some of the softest paint I've seen and the fact that it is flat black with no metallic fleck or anything means you're guaranteed to see every little swirl mark.

you cant go wrong with a permanent paint coating like opti-coat or cquartz. Its an added layer of protection like an additional layer of clear coat that is harder than factory clear coats (but can still swirl if washed improperly). It also makes the car easier to clean and it will stay clean longer because the properties of the coating make it difficult for things to stick to it.

The downside of this is the cost (I paid $550 for a detailer to apply opti-coat pro) or if you do it yourself the time (12 hours of paint correction on a 3 day old car, that's how bad dealer washes are)

If you're able to set aside once a week to take good care of your car the results will definitely be worth it. Nothing beats a clean black car!

dapimpee

Try Zaino Bros product, i use them for years on all my black cars and they are awsome.

phungy

Go for a semi-permanent (CQuartz Finest) or permanent (Opti-Coat 2.0 or Pro) solution which should help protect the paint. There are a few other semi-permanent solutions that last around 18-24 months that people on the BMW forums seem to like.

s4awd

There is nothing you can do. Only a matter of time before they show up. I'm not sure what's worse. Having a dirty car or cleaning with the threat of swirls

rayaans

The only thing you can do is minimise the risk of getting swirls.

They will ALWAYS appear, simply down to dust and particles in the air scratching the surface of your car

Kevin350

It's Impossible to avoid swirls. The more you wash the car the more it'll swirls. To not having swirls is to never touch it. Just enjoy the car and get it detail every year. If it's a Daily drive vehicle then it'll swirls even faster. Go on YouTube and search how to avoid swirls on paint from auto geek and they'll teach you how to minimize it.