If you don't know what your doing take it to a professional. The damage you can cause may cost you a paint job.

If the swirls are deep enough, you would need to use a clay bar, compound, swirl remover, paint sealant, and wax. Each step also requires a different type of pad.

Detailed Image and Auto Geek has some informative articles on their website on how to do these.

 

I recently detailed my car with these items and am still not happy. I didn't get all the swirls out. I used the buffer attached with a wool pad @ 3000 rpm using the G3 and G10. I then used the zymol with a terry bonnet @ 2500 rpm. Paint sealant went on then wax both one after the other by hand, to come off I used the buffer @ 2000 rpm and a foam pad. In all, a 6 - 7 hour process.

 

That's very interesting. It's nice to know that there is someone else here that has experienced Mr. Carwash. The rest of you don't know what you are missing. I typically take my car there 2-3 times a week depending on the weather. Most of the time, I just go through the express option since the inside of the car does not need cleaning. In this case, the owner of the car stays in the vehicle and goes through the system. If I want the inside cleaned as well, then I leave it outside of the wash area and their staff takes over, vacuums the inside, and drive it through the cycle. After the cycle, they bring the car to the side and work on wiping and cleaning the car's interior.

 

What type of polisher did you use? What type of pad? For the compound, you need a cutting pad.
Wool pad will NOT remove the swirls and will actually introduce more. As for the terry bonnet, even worse...it too will introduce swirls.

It is All about the pad/product combo.

I recommend a Porter Cable 7424x random orbital.

If removing swirls, I recommend an orange CCS Lake country pad with your compound. available at Autogeek.com. Put on with orange pad, remove with microfiber towel. Do a google or YouTube search.

IF you are happy with the results, then move to a wax.

For the wax, use a white CCS Lake Country pad to apply the wax, remove with Microfiber towel.

Do a search for these videos on YouTube. You can learn a lot about how to remove swirls and will see some amazing results once you learn this easy process.

You will NEVER run your car through another automated flapping...spinning car wash again because you will see the fruits of your labor when you are done. Those who have dark or black cars and run them through the washers, I can understand if you like it, but look at the reflection in the sun, swirl city!! Swirls dull the paint and when you see a dark car with no swirls, you will know the difference and see the wow factor in your paint.

 

I've used a real chamois cloth for decades. I don't think it gives you a scratch at all you have to have a clean car to begin with and not use one of those fake shammy cloths. I have not found those famous microfiber cloths to be very absorbent at all,they are for removing your dry wax when waxing a car that's about it.

 

Really old thread, but a chamois is just old technology. You need to try some of the new super absorbent microfiber drying towels, they literally absorb gallons of water and do it much more safely than a chamois.

 

I totally disagree. A Chamois cloth does zero harm to your paint job. I've been using them for decades on all of my vehicles, all different color Vehicles never leaves a swirl Mark never leaves a scratch. Those new allegedly absorbent microfiber towels are crap! they barely absorb any water and they never leave it dry behind. They may absorb some water but they never leave it dry like a Chamois cloth does. Micro fiber towels are good for one thing and that is removing your wax.

 

You're just wrong, sorry. The issue with a chamois is there is no nap to encapsulate dirt. So, the chamois itself doesn't scratch but if a particle of sand or something gets between it and the paint, it will.

You are also wrong about the MF drying towels, you likely have never used a good quality heavy drying towel or you have used them wrong. They dry a car totally just like a chamois, you use it the same way.



Also, its 2026...we don't use wax anymore lol. Detailing has come a long way, you need to try some new stuff.

 

When I bought my Japanese love boat the dealer wanted $1500 for a mid level ceramic coating so I just use wax at the self serve manual car wash and a micro fibre cloth to dry it.

 

You showed them!

 

Wax? What is that?

Nowadays we don't physically touch the cars at all to clean them, once you do correction and a hard coat you can wash dead of winter level dirt off via a foam cannon and blower without any contact at all.

 

I only use Max Car Wash. They have new generation sponge soft rollers, no damage or scratches to paint. I have been using them for at least 5 years. I'm enrolled in their membership program. 40 for one works wash a day ($19 without membership). We have 5 cars that are washed regularly. Cars are always sparkling clean. Great deal without any damage.

 

You prolly bought new, ja? I was driving to dealership to view the used vehicle I ended up buying. Salesman sent pics of what he claimed was 'having it detailed for me'. It was an automatic car wash. He obviously never read of the manuals I never got. Laugh.

 

Every automatic car wash damages your paint. You may not notice it but if you kneel down and shine a bright light on the lower third of the car, there will be scratches. I use them too, but at this point in my life perfection in my car's paint is not a driver for me...I want the cars to be clean and look nice. My cars look incredible standing and looking from 6 feet+, but when I crouch down they have all kinds of marring on that bottom third of the car.

The issue is not the wash mechanism itself, its all the dirt that comes off of all the cars that go through the wash, all of that gets imbedded in the spinning mitters and is ground into your paint. The most important thing in finding a carwash that will do the least amount of damage to your car is finding one where they thoroughly pressure wash the car off before it goes into the tunnel, because that keeps their wash media cleaner.

 

I disagree about 10 years ago I went through a so-called touchless car wash with my brand new black truck it came out all swirled up. None of them are truly touchless. Every one that i have gone through has those those long strips that drag over the whole top of your vehicle as it goes through, every single one I've been through . And/or they have the back and forth swinging rugs that go along the side of your vehicle, that too scratches it up. I agree with the other commenter that those big long rags hold dirt from the vehicles before you.I never go to car washes anymore if I can help it. I was considering it to get the salt from the undercarriage once in the spring but I don't even think I'll do that for the above reasons.