Black Sapphire Metallic and Swirl marks

[8400Euphoria]

Hello ladies and gentleman




Is it just me that it's clearly impossible to keep sapphire black metallic swirl free? I wash my car myself with two grit guard buckets and micro fiber towels but no matter what I do swirls keep showing. Any guys have similar experience with black ?


Thank you

[Maineiac]

Polish out the swirls, put a good sealant on followed by a good coat of wax and that will help. This is my second BSM and yes, it's a hard color to keep clean and looking good. When it is clean though, it looks great.

[8400Euphoria]

I did that already when I got the car by a professional and now 8 months later it seems like with every wash more swirls appear.

[Drizz]

Not sure how good your microfiber towels are but I buy packs of the small yellow "Miracle Dryer" towels from Chemical Guys and I've yet to have an issue with swirling. Currently have YMB but have had black cars in the past and was good with those. Otherwise you could always dry with nothing but a chamoise.

[ZMM_OMG]

Ever since my condo complex shut down our car wash space (I'm in California), I've been using a self-wash and using their compressed air system to dry the car. I love it! Fewer water spots and I'm picking up fewer swirl marks on my dark-colored F80.

[DarkSide24]

I had a BSM Z4 before I got my SO M4. I used the two bucket method with grit guard and a Meg's lambswool mitt. Kept it pretty swirl free...it had better paint than all the new cars in the dealership at 18 months old when I part exchanged it.

People will debate washing and detailing forever, but using the above techniques together with snow foaming the car first kept BSM mostly swirl free for me.

[Xtabi]

I have a MG M3 and black jeep and no swirls yet. I've had the jeep for 1.5 years. I use Sonax Polymer Netshield on both. Then use a leaf blower when I dry. Anything the leaf blower does not get I dab up with a MF towel.

[khanyam4]

swirl marks is inevitable the key is to limit it.

[Maineiac]

I have the Metro Air Force Master Blaster for drying and its fanatastic. Dries better than towels and eliminates the need of putting something else on the clear coat that has the potential to scratch and cause swirls.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Twin turbs

I did that already when I got the car by a professional and now 8 months later it seems like with every wash more swirls appear.

And if you drink beer, tacos will appear. Maybe even tequila shots. These things are the patina of life - don't fear them, celebrate them a sign of a life being lived!

And then once every 3 months wash, clay, polish, seal, (glaze if you can handle it) and get back out there and enjoy!

[jeff4598]

Ah, Alpine White!

[qspring]

I got opticoat plus on my BSM and that is keeping the paint swirl free. Opticoat still gets some swirls, but you can clean them up using poliseal.

If the car is really dirty, I'll soak with water to loosen up the dirt. I use a foam gun with microfiber wash mitt. Let the foam sit for a few minutes then wash from top to bottom. I rinse the mitt after each section. I also use very light pressure when going over the paint surface.

Dry using blower. Then use optimum quick detailer to wipe down.

In between washes I use optimum no rinse to get rid of the light layer of dust.

Other tips:
Always use clean microfiber towel to wipe. Don't be stingy on using a new towel if yours gets dirty.

[aboulfad]

I have MG, and it attracts dust and dirt like crazy, so either I let it sit or wash often and every wash the risk is increased to introduce swirls and I do have some and it seems introduced during the drying stage... : It seems more and more people use some kind of air blower to help with the drying, is it completely safe? I am considering buying the CG jetspeed VX6 to add to my interior winter washing Arsenal.

[qspring]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

I have MG, and it attracts dust and dirt like crazy, so either I let it sit or wash often and every wash the risk is increased to introduce swirls and I do have some and it seems introduced during the drying stage... : It seems more and more people use some kind of air blower to help with the drying, is it completely safe? I am considering buying the CG jetspeed VX6 to add to my interior winter washing Arsenal.

I bought the metro vac Airforce blaster off amazon to dry off the car. I like it because it gets in all the grooves and drys the rims off quick. It also has a rubber nozzle so it won't scratch if you accident hit the car. It's safe since the air isn't blasting too much where it can kick up debris. I have opticoat so the water slides off with ease.

I know some people use compressed air, but I have PPF and have seen compressed air cause some of the PPF to peel off around the corners and edges.

[aboulfad]

@qspring that's a bit expensive and heavy but looks pretty complete, but I guess the CG VX6 should be ok but won't be able to get to tiny areas like in between lights and car body, ... I mostly wanted it use it to blow off water off the car to help with the drying process. Thanks!

[qspring]

Originally Posted by aboulfad

@qspring that's a bit expensive and heavy but looks pretty complete, but I guess the CG VX6 should be ok but won't be able to get to tiny areas like in between lights and car body, ... I mostly wanted it use it to blow off water off the car to help with the drying process. Thanks!

They make a smaller one called the sk-1 that is about half the price. From the reviews it's supposed to work well. I went with the larger one because I have two SUVs.

Chemicals guys should work well too. You can get a nozzle adaptor to get air I between the panels.

[GOLFFRR]

I had a BSM M4 for about 11 months and I was able to keep it swirl clear. What I did was like you the 2 bucket method but I never used anything but leaf blower to dry the car. I also never used any sort of quick detailer unless it was immediately after I washed the car. I would foam gun the whole car prior to 2 bucket so that a lot of the dust etc.. would be rinsed off before I started cleaning.