Is it washing or drying that's giving me marring? Need advice...

F

FitSport

New member
Hey fellas,



I need help on finding out if it's my washing technique or my drying technique that's marring my clear coat. How should I go about doing this?



FYI, 2 bucket method with grit guard, was using sheepskin mitt now using MF mitt, & drying with MF towel (not waffle weave). Thanks :)
 
what does the "marring" look like? spiderwebbing?



Are the defects visible in direct sunlight, flourescent, other? all?
 
It could be either or both. You never described your technique, you only described the equipment you are using. I know for myself, marring is usually wash induced because it is straight lined. When i dry i use the waffle weave/blot method which seems to work well.
 
Bythehour said:
what does the "marring" look like? spiderwebbing?



Are the defects visible in direct sunlight, flourescent, other? all?
Click to expand...



On the hood, it looks like spiderwebbing. The scratches are not visible unless sunlight hits it at a certain angle. At night, street lamps can expose it, but very faint, however flashing a 1mil candle power floodlight directly at it doesn't show any. :)
 
NickelPlated.45 said:
It could be either or both. You never described your technique, you only described the equipment you are using. I know for myself, marring is usually wash induced because it is straight lined. When i dry i use the waffle weave/blot method which seems to work well.
Click to expand...



I put a little bit of pressure on the wash mitt and never use the mitt as a glove, per se. I use one MF towel to dry, but dry the wheels with another towel. BTW, I washed the sheepskin mitt using normal laundry detergent, and I've only started using the MF mitt last week. The MF mitt was washed using Micro-Restore. :)
 
I had the same problem, with spiderwebbing especially visible in sunlight.



I was dragging my MF waffle. Blotting has made a big difference. I've also taken to rinsing the mitt more often.
 
Most of time people create marring during the wash step. *I* think the key is to blast off as much(if not all) loose debris before laying a hand on the finish. If you don't, it's a sure fire way to cause problems from the get go. I use cotton terry cloth drying towels for drying and I have'nt experienced any problems.
 
One trick you can use is to wash in one direction (front to back, for example) and dry in the opposite direction (side to side, or 90 degrees from your wash direction). Then, if you see marring in one direction or the other, you'll know which step caused it.
 
David Fermani said:
Most of time people create marring during the wash step. *I* think the key is to blast off as much(if not all) loose debris before laying a hand on the finish. If you don't, it's a sure fire way to cause problems from the get go. I use cotton terry cloth drying towels for drying and I have'nt experienced any problems.
Click to expand...



Why not just use ONR and save a step. No need to rinse the car before u wash it .
 
it can be both washing and drying that causes some marring. it depends on how you do it. spray your car with a good amount of water so any loose debris will get remove then you start your washing. on drying, i would make sure first that there's no debris in my drying towel before I start drying the car. :)
 
jaobrien6 said:
One trick you can use is to wash in one direction (front to back, for example) and dry in the opposite direction (side to side, or 90 degrees from your wash direction). Then, if you see marring in one direction or the other, you'll know which step caused it.
Click to expand...



That's a good idea....
 
FitSport- If you get all the (non-firmly-bonded) contamination off the paint, and use sufficiently soft drying media (test on the data side of a CD), then it's happening in the wash. As David Fermani said, that's usually the case.



Assuming that all wash/dry media is soft enough (that MF mitt oughta be), then the marring comes from pressing the dirt against the paint and then moving it under pressure. *NOT* doing that is a challenge, no question about it.



You're smart to not wear the mitt like a glove. If you haven't tried it, fill the mitt with wash solution and let it seep out while you whisk it across the surface; the solution will provide flushing and lubrication.



Move the mitt in an interupted, "jiggling" motion, not long swaths. That way if/when you *do* get marring, it'll be very short scratches, not something a few inches long.



Otherwise, I'd consider getting a foamgun. I simply cannot keep the marring down to my satisfaction without one.
 
Accumulator said:
FitSport- If you get all the (non-firmly-bonded) contamination off the paint, and use sufficiently soft drying media (test on the data side of a CD), then it's happening in the wash. As David Fermani said, that's usually the case.



Assuming that all wash/dry media is soft enough (that MF mitt oughta be), then the marring comes from pressing the dirt against the paint and then moving it under pressure. *NOT* doing that is a challenge, no question about it.



You're smart to not wear the mitt like a glove. If you haven't tried it, fill the mitt with wash solution and let it seep out while you whisk it across the surface; the solution will provide flushing and lubrication.



Move the mitt in an interupted, "jiggling" motion, not long swaths. That way if/when you *do* get marring, it'll be very short scratches, not something a few inches long.



Otherwise, I'd consider getting a foamgun. I simply cannot keep the marring down to my satisfaction without one.
Click to expand...



Hey, thanks-a-bunch for the help fellas. I'm about a week away from buffing the paint, so I want to make sure I won't re-introduce the marring again. The weird thing is that I've got spiderweb marring rather than straight lines since that's how I wash and dry. I'll definitely try the wash one way, and dry the other way method to deduce the culprit.



As for your suggestion Accumulator about testing my drying towel on a CD - well - I tried it and it didn't seem to scratch it. It left some lint though, which is making me wonder if the lint is scratching the clear while I drag the towel to dry.



Since I don't have a foamgun nor a pressure washer, I decided last week to try the nearby coin-op to loosen the dirt (and clean the undercarriage more importantly). Then, come back and do a proper wash & dry. I want to hear your thoughts on this step since the nearest coin-op is about 5 minutes away.



Thanks again, fellas :)
 
FitSport said:


Since I don't have a foamgun nor a pressure washer, I decided last week to try the nearby coin-op to loosen the dirt (and clean the undercarriage more importantly). Then, come back and do a proper wash & dry. I want to hear your thoughts on this step since the nearest coin-op is about 5 minutes away.

Click to expand...



Good idea. You can try bringing a bucket with your specific car wash soap and hand wash it at the car wash. What I like doing is rinsing with the hot wax and leaving it on the vehicle and then drying it into the finish. It adds a little extra protection that way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top