Newbie venting and a few questions

[Lyondellic]

I own a 2007 Civic LX sedan, which is a dark blue color. Since the car was new I have washed it about every 2-3 weeks, usually with Meg's NXT wash. I rinse, use a microfiber mitt to apply the soap, rinse, apply more soap using a fresh bucket and then dry with microfiber towels. All mitts and towels are washed and dried after each use. I apply wax by hand using microfiber pads, then remove using clean microfiber towels. I have applied wax about every 2-3 months using either Rejex, NXT 2.0 or Klasse AIO.

This weekend I was out driving around after applying some Klasse AIO. Under my carport the paint looked pretty good, especially on the doors and panels. In the direct sunlight, however, I saw light swirls and holograms. These were really obvious on my hood, roof and trunk. I also have some minor/moderate etched H2O spots on my hood, roof and trunk. This car is my daily driver and is usually kept under my carport, but sits in an open lot during the day while I am at work.

I am fairly disappointed because I have always washed and waxed my car using high quality non-abrasive products. After all, what is the point of regular washing and waxing if the results are just not there? Would my car have fewer swirls and holograms if I had washed and waxed less? Perhaps I am doing something wrong? I am considering purchasing a PC 7424 to remove the swirls and holograms, but am left wondering if I will be chasing my tail trying to keep this car looking nice since it is kept outside. Any thoughts or feedback is both welcome and appreciated.

One last thing, why is wax not fully able to protect against bird bombs and H2O clear coat etching? It seems like it should.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Lyondellic
One last thing, why is wax not fully able to protect against bird bombs and H2O clear coat etching? It seems like it should.

Some bird khrap is very acidic. If you let it sit in direct sunlight for too long, it's just going to fry and burn. And dark paints get hotter than lighter paints.

As for water etching... there must be something in your water that's causing it. Try washing the car with white vinegar solution to get rid of it.

 

[rondoggnuts]

First thing that comes to mind is that not all microfiber towels were created equal, so depending on what kind you are using, that may be contributing to your swirl marks.

Second, on a paint color like yours, swirl marks are inevitable and a Porter Cable is a good idea. As for your etching, you may need to wet sand to remove if they are bad enough. I'm not sure why you have that problem but perhaps you should consider carrying a bottle of quick detailer in your trunk and monitoring your paint more closely.

Personally, I've never had problems with etching on my silver Lexus and I often don't touch up for days. But I am fortunate/lucky enough to avoid sprinklers and birds. All I ever see is dried tree sap and the occasional splattered bug.

I understand I am not being incredibly helpful here, and hopefully someone else can chime in to help you prevent the problems you are describing.

 

[Mike-in-Orange]

You can keep a vehicle virtually swirl free if you are extremely particular about how you wash/dry etc.

I last did the full blown machine polish job on my car in March of 2007 in preparation for a show in Arizona. There wasn't a mark on the thing when I was done, and in the 14 months since then I figure I've washed it every 2-3 weeks (approximately 24 times), waxed it 4 times (I just enjoy doing this) and wiped it down with Meguiar's Ultimate Quik Detailer as often as 2-3 times per week between washings (that's something like 150 wipe downs!!!). Today there are a couple of isolated marks on the car but you have to look really hard to find them even in direct sunlight.

I only use Meguiar's Gold Class wash with a genuine lambs wool wash mitt, and I hose the car down very well first and then soap it with a foam gun. I wash from top to bottom and rinse the wash mitt often. I dry with two or three waffle weave microfiber towels, never a water blade or chamois. The car is garaged overnight but sits outside during the day and, to be honest, it only sees about 9,500 miles per year so exposure is fairly light. My wipe down routine is only for light dust and only with Meguiar's UQD and their Ultimate Wipes microfiber towels. Wax is generally Meguiar's M21 Synthetic Sealant topped with M26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax, both applied via PC with a Meguiar's tan finishing pad and removed with Ultimate Wipes.

The car is a 2004 PT Cruiser Turbo, Graphite Metallic in color.

It should be noted that this same routine on the car that was, up until July of last year, my weekend toy, yielded vastly different results. That car saw less than 3,000 miles per year and was always garaged, so it was probably washed, waxed, and wiped 1/3 as often as the PT Cruiser. The darn thing would not stay swirl free no matter what. Not that the swirls were bad, but they kept showing up and it drove me nuts. That was a 1999 Mazda Miata, Emerald Mice (dark green metallic) in color.

Both vehicles have base coat/clear coat paint jobs, both factory original paint.

This is just proof that not all paint systems are created equal and just because something works great on one car is no guarantee it will work equally well on another. That holds true not just for maintenance, but correcting defects as well. The Miata is now gone, replaced with a 2005 Chrysler Crossfire Limited Roadster, and it responds to maintenance just like my PT Cruiser does - it remains flawless with similar attention.

Here's the kicker though - the steps, products and techniques used to correct defects on the PT during last year's full on detail session did NOTHING to correct similar defects on the Crossfire. I had to step up to much more aggressive products, including the machine, pads, and chemicals in order to get a flawless finish. But once I got it, it's staying that way with little effort.

If your paint is very "scratch sensitive" then using only the finest quality everything is a must to prevent them from showing up. A good wash mitt is critical, as are good microfibers. Technique is the big question though - you need to adapt to the paint you're working on. I've detailed enough cars, enough different cars, to know you can't make sweeping statements about which paint cleaner or pad or how much pressure, what machine speed, etc to use to fix a generic problem. I've worked with paints that were just a breeze to correct, both single stage and base/clear, and others that fought me all the way - and that's on cars ranging from cheap and fairly beat up 10 year old Toyotas with well over 100,000 miles on them to brand spanking new Ferraris and Bentleys. Cheap or expensive, old or new, it doesn't matter. The differences between them can be huge.

You have to experiment to find the best combination.


Or maybe I'm just pickier than most.

 

[RTexasF]

Honda has a soft clear coat. Even with proper washing techniques swirls are inevitable. Holograms are from using a rotary buffer so the dealer may have given you those at no charge.

Get a random orbital buffer and some high quality polishes, Menzerna comes to mind, and plan on using both annually. A high quality sealant may hold up better to bird bombs than wax does. The only other alternative is to use a glaze to hide the swirls.
Poorboy's has a new product specifically for dark colors called Black Hole. I prefer to remove the marring rather than hide it but that's not always practical.

 

[ChiTDI]

" Holograms are from using a rotary buffer so the dealer may have given you those at no charge. "

 

[Mike-in-Orange]

Originally Posted By: Lyondellic

One last thing, why is wax not fully able to protect against bird bombs and H2O clear coat etching? It seems like it should.

This is a common misconception about waxes/sealants. When you consider that things like acid rain water spotting and bird droppings are capable of etching paint, it doesn't make a lot of sense to expect something you pour out of a bottle, rub onto the paint and then remove to the point where you're leaving a microscopically thin layer behind, to totally repel those same substances.