i am about to get one soon and i heard black will easily show swirl marks, any of you pro detailers out there know what the best way to avoid this is? any techniques and what products should i do? what should i use to wash my car? a sponge and car wash liquid, and dry it with those lambskin cloth? and how about waxing? should i avoid waxing in a circular motion? please help, i want to take the best possible care of my black g35 to avoid nasty watermarks, tar from road, dust and debris from overpasses and swirly marks...

 

haha here's a link and there you go (before the wolves get to you again)... [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img]

https://g35driver.com/forums/showfla...view=&sb=&vc=1

also, try looking in the "detail shop" forum.

<font color=purple>.g35girl.</font color=purple>

 

Hit up the Detailing forum; LOTS of great answers there. Some quick tips, though-- no circular motions, get a chamois or some microfiber cloths, wash with a sponge, and don't do anything bad to your baby. Black, when clean, is gorgeous.

G

2003.5 Black w/ Willow G35
Premium / Sport / Aero / Winter / Navi / Tint

 

One word for you: Zaino.

Or if you want wax alternative, two words: Crystal Guard.

Hit up the Detailing Forum for more details.

Black / Black 2004 GcoupeMT. Premium. Splash Guardz.

 

Yeah I'd say the key ingredients are Zaino and non-abrasive microfiber towels and a maybe leaf blower if you're hardcore. NEVER take it to a car wash unless it's touch-free.

 

We hardcore-types prefer oilless air compressors over leaf blowers. =)

. . . I'm a Crystal Guard fan myself (so far).


03.5 Coupe - Black/Willow, 6MT, Premium, Navi, Aero, Sat

 

NOTE: I wrote this up and posted this like 3 or 4 months ago telling another guy. This is how I wash and wax my car.

I have a black G. It has no swirls and it's shiny as chrome. This is how I wash my car and I will give you these tips to help you along your travels.

On the first note never go to the the carwash or have the dealer wash you car. Most of the swirl mark that appears on dark color cars are caused by improper technique when washing the car.

I recommend you start off by getting some mircofiber towels. Cheapest one I've seen is http://www.microfibertech.com

I use 3M's General purpose adhesive cleaner. It will help you safely remove the tar. Scrubbing tar spots is NOT recommended. You'll end up removing some tar and putting it on your wash mit. Then this tar will be rubbed back and forth over your paint causing an even bigger problem.

ALWAYS wash your car yourself. Here are some directions.

Wash the wheels, tires, and wheel wells first. You'll probably need two 100% cotton chenille wash mits (get them at k-mart)to accomplish this. Do the wheels first so that when you rise them off, you're not splatering dirty water all over clean body panels. Do NOT use these wash mits on the rest of the car! I do not recommend any "spray on" wheel cleaners. (If you can wash your vehicle enough, you can render spray on cleaners useless because the less harsh car wash solution will do the trick.)

Buy some Pinnacle microfiber wash mits from AutoGeek. You can do the car with one, but I recommend using three (one for the top surfaces, one for the front and one side, and one for the rear and the other side). I actually own several because I often wash both cars and I don't re-use the mits until I wash them in the washing machine. These mits will minimize the amount of dirt that is swept across the surface of the paint, creating scratches. The web site to buy them from is:
http://www.autogeek.net/pinmicmit.html

Use a good quality car wash that does not strip wax. (Car wash will strip wax if you use enough, even if it is of the highest quality. Make sure to dillute it properly with water.)

Use three buckets. Fill the first with plain water to rinse off the dirty mit. Fill the next one with soapy water to wash the dirty mit. Fill the third with soapy water to prime the mit for the next usage.

Wash your car in the shade.

When you wash, use motions from the front to the back (and vice versa). Do not use circular or side to side motions. Do not wipe the same surface over again. This only drags the dirt picked up by the mit over the surface again.

After you clean half a panel, turn the mit over and clean the other half. After each panel, go through the three buckets to completely clean and re-prime the mit. Rinse immediately after each panel so the soap does not dry on your car.

If any spots are left over after you wipe them (such as a dead bug), try lightly rubbing the mit over it. Usually what I do is I inspect my front bumper and remember where the bugs are this way when im soaping my car I put a little extra pressure behind it. If they won't come off, leave them there. After you dry the car, clean these spots separately with compound. I recommed Presta Chroma 1500 because if you screw up it won't hurt your paint. This will remove bugs and most grime from the surface surface of your paint, even swirls! Use a microfiber towel or an old t-shirt. Put it on the rag, and rub it into the area with light pressure until it rubs and and than buffs off. Dont leave it on and buff it off like wax. After that I follow up with some Preast Fast Wax (keep reading on fast wax application).

Wash the lowest surfaces on the car last (such as below the facia, under the bumper, and under the side skirts). These are usually filty and fill the mit with dirt that could scratch more visible places on your car. (A lot of people use a completely different mitt because of the dirt)

Some use a high-powered leaf blower to move most of the water off the car. This works well, but you need to be careful not to over use it and create water spots. A California water blade can also be used to remove water from the windows.

Use waffle-weave microfiber towels to dry the remaining water off the car. JT International (888-989-4584) sells great microfiber towels and they're really inexpensive. Blot, do not wipe, the remaining beads of water off the car. Blotting is more effective and helps insure that any dust that has settled on the car isn't wiped across the surface. An air compressor will help you blow out any remaining water in hard to reach areas (such as side mirrors, trim, license plates, door jams, behind chrome lettering, etc.)

I want to reiterate the imporance of using microfiber towels, wash mits, and applicators. I won't let anything else touch my car.

Also, waxing your car frequently will help prevent dirt sticking to your car and ease the removal of rinse water. (Some waxes actually attract dirt, more so than others, but it does make it easier to remove) I use Presta Fast Wax. It is like liquid wax, goes on really easy and comes off really easy. Use a sponge to put it on, as soon as you finsh the panel buff it off. When you buff it off a circular motion is not needed. The wax comes off really easy. Make sure you shake the wax bottle frequently between panels. The wax once applied on the car dries really fast and it can even be used in DIRECT sunlight (as stated on the bottle). I don't recommed using it in direct sunlight unless you need to. This wax is really safe for the car.

I found this wax to be the best on the black G. It takes off everything, leaves the best shine I have seen, and BARELY any dust sticks to it after 2 full days of driving. After that the little bit of dust on the car starts to attract dust. Also the fast wax, it takes about maybe 30 minutes to wax your entire car top to bottom after you know how to use it.


Thanks - Joey Avino