Busy College student in need of help!

Nopstnz8

Nopstnz8

Member
Hey guys I am try to seek some advice for a problem I have encountered over the last month of being in school. I'm a college student living on campus and this year I finally have a car, thankfully not mine, but my moms. Well I did paint correction on it right before I got here over the summer, and got out about 80-85% of the swirls I believe. The gloss improved dramatically, but I just didn't have the time to get it to 90-95%. I park it in the parking structure across from my apartment on campus, on the 5th floor (6 floor garage with the 6th being the roof) so that I can park away from people, and try and get it covered in less pollen. I'm even parked with a wall behind me so I don't have all the crap from the mountain blowing crap on it with all the wind we get here. Anyways, when my mom said I could take her car for the first two quarters here, that I would get it looking the best I could, coat it with at least two coats of KSG, and then just do ONR washes weekly to maintain it.



BTW, it's an '06 Honda Civic in galaxy gray. So my problem is that i'm and Engineering student at Cal Poly SLO, and get a lot of work throughout the week, which means the only time I have to wash the car is on the weekends, and maybe on Wednesdays, but not always. Well I never expected it to get this dusty so fast in just a one week period where I'll drive it like one or twice that week. Our cars have always been garaged, so even having it in a covered parking garage I knew would be a pain, because I can't stand it being dusty. I would almost never let my own car get that dirty over a week period with it being garaged indoors at night.



Sadly yesterday I discovered some light swirls are now appearing under the sunlight if I look hard enough, yesterday it was pretty noticeable, although they aren't deep. When I polished it I used M205 and Menzerna 106FA which I know obvious the M205 had some filling effects, but I don't think these swirls were there before because the car is still almost as wet looking as before, just with light swirling. I know this was most likely caused by the ONR. I'm really careful using the two bucket method, changing the water in the rinse bucket out after each big section. I also make sure the Cobra microfiber sponge I use is well lubricated with the solution. I'm even using DI water to prevent water spots. I wash the car in the parking garage, first spraying it down with ONR in a pump sprayer. I've had this feeling the car may just be a little too dirty for the ONR, but it's really my only option. In the past when I ONR'd this car and it was that dirty, I didn't have problems because it wasn't polished this well, making me not really notice the effects. I'm planning to hopefully just do a one step when I get home over the break.



Well I've been reading on here that people are saying ONR has it's limits, but over the years I came to the conclusion that it sounded like those limits were much farther than what I'm dealing with. Recently I found out on here that people say hand washing is safe for a dirty car than ONR, although mine is never caked with mud or anything, just dust. Anyways, what everyone here is saying is that a foam gun is the way to go, but since I don't have access to a hose, I'm in bit of a situation.



What sucks is that we only have one Coin Op in this town, and it isn't the greatest, but I think they have a foam gun. I wanted to strictly do ONR because I didn't want to wait to use the coin op since it's usually pretty busy. I also didn't want to have water fly out of the cracks and stuff on the drive back to campus.



Basically what I'm getting at is that I would prefer to start using a foam gun and then just hand washing it each week. Do the foam guns at the Coin Ops use highly concentrated soap that would strip my sealant coats? Also, if I end up resorting to the coin op, I may just buy a Chemical Guys portable leaf blower to aid in drying.



My other idea if the foam gun method isn't an option, would be driving to the coin op and then just pressure washing down the exterior, then driving back to campus and doing an ONR wash, if I don't want to do it there. What do you guys think? Would this have any helpful effects, or do virtually nothing and cause spotting if I don't ONR right away? I'm open to reasonable suggestions, and just ordered a Chemical Guys sheepskin. Thanks for reading my long post. Lol.
 
Well without reading through your whole post I'm going to guess that you're looking for a faster way to wash the car. If I'm correct then the answer is Ultima Waterless Wash Plus Concentrate. $22 will get you 5.5gals of waterless wash. Simple mix it into a spray bottle, spray one panel at a time and wipe off with a clean MF towel.
 
Waterless washing isn't the problem since I have ONR. It's that ONR is causing swirls because my car gets dirtier than I would ever let it get when using ONR at home. This car has soft Honda paint, but it was fine when I used ONR under halogens at home.
 
Oh I see the question in the LAST TWO PARAGRAPHS :D



The soap at the coin ops are pretty nasty and you really risk loosing your LSP. Spraying it down then doing an ONR isn't a bad option but you will still risk swirls as even the high pressure will leave dirt behind. I would recommend going to the coin op when it isn't busy with a bucket of water, shampoo and wash mitt. That or go with the waterless wash I mentioned and wipe the car down more often.
 
Right. I know the pressure washer doesn't really remove the dirt, just the big stuff, but thanks. Guess I'm SOL until I go home and can polish it. Would I be better off continuing ONR, or just do a conventional wash to minimize the swirls from getting worse? I just don't want the car to look as bad as it did before my correction, because it would feel pretty crappy for someone who actually knows how to detail still end up with swirls because they didn't have the available resources to maintain their car properly.
 
If you can do a conventional wash then yes. I would still do ONR washes if the car isn't too dirty.
 
I'll skip the technical stuff first. And let's deal with your expectations.



I hv lots of younger customers who're very busy, but expect their mostly daily driven cars to look technically perfect/near perfect. Most are affiliated to car clubs/forums. It's normal for a DD to hv some light swirls. It's part of life. But many younger enthusiasts and especially those who've just jumped onto the detailing bandwagon, cannot accept this. Swirls etc are critical to many of them.



Is your car, especially the hood, being inspected by many car club members?

Or do you participate in some form of car detailing competition frequently?



I was identical to you during my college and uni days. The car was my LIFE. My baby:woohoo: I had to keep it looking technically impressive because I suddenly learnt about such things called swirl marks, holograms via messages propagated by mftrs such as Meguiars whose modus operandi is to create "so-called awareness" which indirectly urges consumers to spend more time detailing, use more products, and use it more often.



My friends, at that time, were just like me. Technically-savvy in detailing, enthusiastic in detailing, chasing after perfection, and longing to show that our cars are "different" from our mates' detailed cars....hence the frustration when we noticed even very light swirls or other superfine scratches especially on our hood...most of the time, it's always the hood. We stopped admiring our cars. We started examining our cars.



15yrs later, when I start running my own professional detailing set-up, things hv changed. Many of my mates have "seen the light" and realised that battling with swirls and other what-nots is a tiring and losing battle. They hv excited that "phase".

We started to be practical and realistic, instead of chasing after perfection.



If you're busy now, with hardly enough time to do a quick wash, and no proper facilities to do so conveniently, I'm sure you'll be even busier when you enter the working world. And it gets even more profound once you have kids in the future.



OK...on to your situation.

If I am bothered with the slightest swirls or scratch, I would never touch waterless-washes, especially on a car that's not washed often..and even more so on soft clearcoats.



Your only option is to go for the coin-op, wait patiently if necessary, and do a proper wash using your own bucket, shampoo etc. When you get home, you can use a quick detailing spray.
 
gigondaz said:
I'll skip the technical stuff first. And let's deal with your expectations.



I hv lots of younger customers who're very busy, but expect their mostly daily driven cars to look technically perfect/near perfect. Most are affiliated to car clubs/forums. It's normal for a DD to hv some light swirls. It's part of life. But many younger enthusiasts and especially those who've just jumped onto the detailing bandwagon, cannot accept this. Swirls etc are critical to many of them.



Is your car, especially the hood, being inspected by many car club members?

Or do you participate in some form of car detailing competition frequently?



I was identical to you during my college and uni days. The car was my LIFE. My baby:woohoo: I had to keep it looking technically impressive because I suddenly learnt about such things called swirl marks, holograms via messages propagated by mftrs such as Meguiars whose modus operandi is to create "so-called awareness" which indirectly urges consumers to spend more time detailing, use more products, and use it more often.



My friends, at that time, were just like me. Technically-savvy in detailing, enthusiastic in detailing, chasing after perfection, and longing to show that our cars are "different" from our mates' detailed cars....hence the frustration when we noticed even very light swirls or other superfine scratches especially on our hood...most of the time, it's always the hood. We stopped admiring our cars. We started examining our cars.



15yrs later, when I start running my own professional detailing set-up, things hv changed. Many of my mates have "seen the light" and realised that battling with swirls and other what-nots is a tiring and losing battle. They hv excited that "phase".

We started to be practical and realistic, instead of chasing after perfection.



If you're busy now, with hardly enough time to do a quick wash, and no proper facilities to do so conveniently, I'm sure you'll be even busier when you enter the working world. And it gets even more profound once you have kids in the future.



OK...on to your situation.

If I am bothered with the slightest swirls or scratch, I would never touch waterless-washes, especially on a car that's not washed often..and even more so on soft clearcoats.



Your only option is to go for the coin-op, wait patiently if necessary, and do a proper wash using your own bucket, shampoo etc. When you get home, you can use a quick detailing spray.
Click to expand...



Yeah you're definitely right about that. I do have the best looking car in terms of condition at school, there's no doubt, which is why i'm starting to realize i'm going to just have to live with it till I get home and can re-polish it. Basically, I'm just trying to find a way to minimize it from getting any worse from now till then.



Alexshimshimhae said:
If I'm not mistaken hondas have really soft paint so getting opti coat may be better
Click to expand...



Yes Honda's do have very soft paint. This car only required two steps compared to my Rx8 which required three, and the Honda came out a little glossier, but that may also be a result of it being a slightly darker color, making it more noticeable. Plus my car was always in pretty good condition, while the Civic wasn't.
 
I have this same issue, normally I wash my car once every 2-3(stretching) weeks because driving around in the city(Chicago) just leaves it full of dust, mud and dirt. Normally I do a full correction at the begging of the summer, then a light 1-step towards the end. During our fall “break” which is 4 days, I give it a thorough cleaning, inside and out, and start layering sealants and waxes in prep for winter. Most of the time I can get away with 2 coats of opti-seal, followed up with 3 coats of megs #26(I think, I can’t remember the number I am drawing a blank). After that I continue with my normal wash routine giving it a coat of megs #26 every other wash. Yes, It takes longer when I wash every 2-3 weeks, but I accept that unless I give it a bath every 3-4 days, I am going to inevitably mar the paint.



You just have to accept that you’re going to be marring the paint. Just be glad you’re not stuck with a jet black BMW in Souther Illinois like one of my friends.
 
Yeah I hear ya. I already am sadly starting to accept that I'm going to be marring it regardless of what I do since I can't wash it every 3-4 days, which I had initially hoped for before. At least this paint is soft and easier to correct, which I'll have to do over the break. Thank God my this is my mom's car, otherwise I'd be failing right now if I had my own. Lol.
 
Parking decks shed concrete dust all over cars, I'd guess that is what is causing your marring if you are doing the same thing as you were at home. I'd go to the coinop, blast the trash off the paint and then do an ONR or bucket wash. Marketing aside, no coating prevents swirls.
 
Yeah you are absolutely right about the dust coming from the building. Based on where I'm parked, there's now way anything else could be causing it. I do use ONR in a pump sprayer first, then do the normal wash. I plan to do the ONR washes in the garage, so do you think I should go to the coin op and pressure wash it, then drive back, rinse it with ONR in the pump sprayer, then do a normal ONR wash? Would this be my best bet, or should I just blast it with the pressure washer, then do a normal hand wash with the sheep skin I have? If only I had access to a real foam gun I'd be doing that, then washing by hand, but sadly that isn't an option. And yeah at home I wash my own car under 1000 Watt halogens for the flat areas, and wasn't getting really any swirls at all using the exact same method I use here, just it didn't get as dirty as this in a week, relatively close if I could stand it, but not as much as this. Oh and thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.
 
Twice weekly, power wash your car after the sun goes down and use the spotless rinse. This will leave very little water spots, will not cause marring, and will keep your car clean. Most places only charge $2.50 for 4:30 too. You could also ONR after power washing your car if you're okay doing it at night.
 
BluBrett said:
Twice weekly, power wash your car after the sun goes down and use the spotless rinse. This will leave very little water spots, will not cause marring, and will keep your car clean. Most places only charge $2.50 for 4:30 too. You could also ONR after power washing your car if you're okay doing it at night.
Click to expand...



Do all coin ops have a spot free rinse? I'm going to one in the morning, and definitely will be pressure washing it, but do you guys recommend ONR with my Cobra microfiber sponge after or a hand wash with my sheepskin? It's been 1.5 weeks since I washed it, and it's killing me :(





Oh and the spots, will they be really minimal as in they'll come off in the next wash, or they'll be like regular ones that need to be polished off with a one step later?
 
They all have spot free rinse, but its questionable how well they work, it all depends on how often they replace their DI media.
 
Thanks guys. It worked great! I pressure washed the car first, then did and ONR wash with my own DI water, and patted it dry with a few MF towels. Hopefully their aren't anymore swirls that were induced. I felt a lot better this time since pressure washing got a lot of the crap off initially.



So about the recommendation of pressure washing it and then hitting it with the spotless rinse maybe one to two times a week, most likely will only be once, does the spotless rinse after a pressure wash really leave minimal spotting overall? When I used the spotless rinse initially, I expected to use it as the water for pressure washing, and filling up my buckets, but only a small amount comes out. Is this step supposed to be that way to normally make a sheeting effect, or was it probably a result of their being almost none left? And if I do this rinse once in the middle of the week, at night, before my weekly wash, do you guys recommend I get one of those portable Chemical Guys leaf blowers, or just let it air dry, since I'm a little skeptical about that? I know for sure I'm not supposed to touch the paint with towels until my actual wash.
 
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