WARNING: About car wash.

[overloade]

Don't you ever let any dealer to wash your car.

About one and half month ago i've got my 1000km service done, and of course they didn't fix all the fault that I found, but anyway I will go back to them for those problems.

But when I wash my car yesterday, guess what did I find out, 3 large swril marks all over my bonnet, and many more on the roof. I never wash my car myself and this is the first time expect the once done by toyota @ 1000km service.

My sportivo is white so those swrils are hard to identify under sun, but more obvious under fluorescent tube.

Nunawading Toyota have just done it again.

[SILVABULLIT]

My car goes in absolutely spotless and that way I can see if there has been any damage done at all. I never let my car be washed no matter who it is <_< for that particular reason.

[overloade]

My car goes in absolutely spotless and that way I can see if there has been any damage done at all. I never let my car be washed no matter who it is <_< for that particular reason.

←

But for me is a bit unlucky, those damage has been done.

I don't know how much do I need to spend to restore the condition, any ideas guys?

[boggles]

My car goes in absolutely spotless and that way I can see if there has been any damage done at all. I never let my car be washed no matter who it is <_< for that particular reason.

←

But for me is a bit unlucky, those damage has been done.

I don't know how much do I need to spend to restore the condition, any ideas guys?

←

my rolla is black and has slight swirl marks. maybe a cut and polish?

[Blade Hunter]

Mine is Cascade Blue, it was covered in swirlies from the day I got it................ I kind of don't really care. I mean its a car and is going to get scratched, I have multiple minor scratches in the side from people in the supermarket. As much as it sucks what can you do really.

[MR22ZZ]

Agree... cars get scratched... it's a fact of life like dying and taxes... It's best not to get hung up about it. Don't get me wrong I look after my car, but it's got swirl marks and car park incident marks etc. I just don't get too hung up about it. My car is NOT my life, it's mearly a means for my personal enjoyment... Am I going to enjoy it any more if it had less visible swirl marks..?? Most likely not I'll simply be more hung up about anything that did happen, which I personaly do not enjoy

[kelvin33]

hmm!!! .... perhaps its juz me.... i park light years away from my destination, its a pain to walk a little further but i guess its better than letting it get scratched...

another thing is i will never parallel park my car on the road again... i wonder if they know how to park it right, they scrapped my bumper on my other car, i got it sprayed and got it again the next month... what a pain!!!

[mick0082]

My car is always spotless unless its a rainy day. I will rarely take it out on a nice day unless its been cleaned first, this usually means getting ready to go somewhere can be a lengthy process.

With my last car it used to absolutely sh!t me to tears when I would take the car in for servicing spotless, come to pick it up and its covered in water spots because someone hadnt had the time (or the interest) to dry it.

These days I specifically order the service team to not wash the car even if it does happen to be a little grubby. I also always make sure that no P platers drive the car when they do their after service "road test".

Why? Because most employers makes sure that their apprentices use their

P-plates.

What does this mean? Plastic P-plates jammed under my number plates which scrrrratch like crazy and make me wanna tap dance on the apprentice's forehead.

Call me fussy......

[Kevsta]

I use to be really keen and washed my car every week when I first bought it, but now being 2 years old, it's only getting washed every 3 months...if I have time.

I guess I'm the odd one out here...

As for swirl marks - Life's too short to worry about them.

[justin_es]

i took my car throuh a car wash last night and i give it a good look over when i drove out cus they garunteed scratch free but i always look anyways before i drive away

i noticed heaps of swirl marks over my car too from factory cus the drive through wash didnt go around in circles so i had to be from when they detailed it before they gave me the car (lazy i know but that was the first wash since i bought the car 3 weeks ago ) it bugged me heaps at first but unless you full looking side on REALY close up you cant see it so i got over it real quick i suppose the only way to get it done properly is to spend $300 to get a FULL PROFFESIONAL detailer to do it that way it wont cost you anything to take it back if there is marks all over it

Edited July 25, 2005 by evl_50a

[mick0082]

All cars will get swirl marks even from regular handwashing. Its the dark colours that show them though.

Its for this reason I didnt buy black. I was so close but after seeing a black sportivo in the showroom under flouro lights it changed my mind straight away.

It would drive me insane!

[aaronng]

No matter how you wash it, swirl marks (they call these halo-marks) will form even from a super-soft cotton cloth. Check out www.autopia.org, the holy grail of car detailing is avoiding swirl marks when washing. They have even taken to using distilled water for a final rinse and leaf blowers to get every last drop off the car.

For your existing swirls, please DON'T use a cut and polish. The swirls are very light, so you don't need something that was designed for single-stage paints where you need to cut off a layer to expose new unoxidised paint.

I recommend something mild first, the easiest to find being Meguiar's Scratch X. Apply by hand, work it in evenly without excessive pressure, and when it has turned clear, wipe it off with a clean MF cloth and repeat 2 or 3 times. This will get rid of your swirls. Then follow up with a wax of your choice (I like Meg's NXT Tech Wax).

Scratch X is quite safe, and you don't need a rotary to work it. If you want a more hardcore procedure, let me know.

[SILVABULLIT]

My Stivo is 2 in December and gets washed every week(sometimes twice!!) and I know it has a few swirls in it but being silver it's damm hard to pick em up. My car has won Best Overall/car of the day at the CES dyno day/show and shine 04/05.It is hard to keep a car looking good but a little detail regularly avoids the need for a major detail and you can also keep track on damage as well.

I use a pressure cleaner to blast all the road grime and grit off my car before I lay a sponge on it thus drastically reducing the chance of swirl marks.When I'm finished washing I then go for a quick drive around the block to run all the water out of those hard to reach places.

If you've got swirls don't use a cutter but either scratch x or a swirl remover. Scratch x with a cutting pad on a buff at low speed can also remove minor swirls and scratches as well.

Remember patience is the key!!

Got any other questions? PM me for info. :D

Edited July 25, 2005 by SILVABULLIT

[xoom]

man all this talk of cleaning car man im gona have to get around to doing mine...... Im ashamed to say its been 1 month since my last wash.......

Out of curiousity wat r ur thoughts n opinions of those automated car washes where they dont use those spinning things but rather high powered water sprayers ?

[aaronng]

man all this talk of cleaning car man im gona have to get around to doing mine...... Im ashamed to say its been 1 month since my last wash.......

Out of curiousity wat r ur thoughts n opinions of those automated car washes where they dont use those spinning things but rather high powered water sprayers ?

←

They use strong detergents so that the dirt is removed without physical agitation. I don't like them, but I think if you replenish the paint oils (Meg's Deep Crystal Polish) and then wax after using this touchless carwash, it should be ok.

[justin_es]

well there a brilliant idea for those people who hate there cars to be touched but personally i think there ******* cus you cant shamy (spelling??) you car afterwoods cus its still dirty so really it sucks but my local has a few guys who sponge the dort off firts with soapy water it defeats the purpose of a touch free wash but it comes up real good then nothing beats the old bucket and sponge and some loving care i think

[mick0082]

man all this talk of cleaning car man im gona have to get around to doing mine...... Im ashamed to say its been 1 month since my last wash.......

Out of curiousity wat r ur thoughts n opinions of those automated car washes where they dont use those spinning things but rather high powered water sprayers ?

←

I have never been fond of any automated carwashes and as a result none of my cars have ever been to one.

As for the high pressure touchless washes, I have seen some of those literally strip layers of paint off both new and older cars. Apparently this is a combination of the chemicals and the high pressure used.

To me its really not worth the risk, i'd prefer to leave the car dirty until I can get the time to wash it.

[SILVABULLIT]

Nearly all of these automated car wash places recycle their waste water and use it again by pumping heaps of chemicals in to it to get it up to scratch. :o I know of a couple of these places in Qld that have signs up saying that if you have a red or dark coloured car don't wash it here. Being that I'm a detailer I've seen first hand what this chemical polluted water does to pain and it literally etches the shine off the paint work. As for the ones who have some gumbies with a sponge to wash your car down... no thanks. I've seen them drop the sponge on the ground in dirty polluted, muddy water then pick it up and resume washing without so much as a rinse of the sponge.

The only sponge or cleaning product that touches my car is attached to my hand then i know it ain't going to do any damage. ;)

[xoom]

so brendan if i pay for ur airfare, accomodation and equipment can u come down here and give the blue bombshell a good cleaning for me ? ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

[MR22ZZ]

so brendan if i pay for ur airfare, accomodation and equipment can u come down here and give the blue bombshell a good cleaning for me ?  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)

←

we could make that 2 ;)

[xoom]

so brendan if i pay for ur airfare, accomodation and equipment can u come down here and give the blue bombshell a good cleaning for me ?  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)

←

we could make that 2 ;)

←

ill go halves with u dylan ;) ;) ;)

[Grey-Rolla]

Man u guys make me feel bad its been 3 month since i wash my car...someone even wrote please wash me on my car, haha i just wrote back and replied them "Im trying to save water". So its better to wet, soap wash then dry of right???

Anyways Silverbullit or any other car detailers, my dad black 2003 Civic has few deep scratches on it, to the point where you can see the undercoat, is there a way to fix this???

I also found few dots on my front passenger side panel, it look like acid or something and it has actually dissolved dots of colour from my car, but not all the way to the undercoat, the exact same thing happened to my mums 02 Blue Rav 4. I was wondering if theres anything i can do to fix this up.....

=( i wonder if theres like a ***** that goes around dripping acid on ppls car.... :(

[SILVABULLIT]

so brendan if i pay for ur airfare, accomodation and equipment can u come down here and give the blue bombshell a good cleaning for me ?  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)  ;)

←

Boys I'm open to offers...If we organise a date perhaps :D

As for the scratches if they're that deep then visit a panel shop for a respray.

[rdav]

I'm a converter to Scratch X, I foolishly rubbed to hard when trying to get off tar spots and and the paint job looked a mess, I was kicking myself but after three applications of scratch X, I cannot see any evidence of my foolish actions, paint job looks freekin excellent.

I found with my 02 Rav to reduce the threat of swirl marks is to hose down any part of the vehicle that has any sign of dirt starting from the top of the vehicle and working your way down (A weekly ritual). Using a leather shammy reduced the threat of waterspots on paint and windows. After three years not a single swirl mark on the Rav. Hence when I sold it privately it was snapped up within hours and well in exess of what I was expecting for it.

And as one member was saying, I also park in the nether regions of car parks where no one ventures so you dont get those inconsiderate motorists that fling their doors out with no consideration of other peoples properties.

It iritates when you have a shiny vehicle and you can see the side panels are all banged up it sought of defeats the purpose of cleaning the vehicle.

As for dealers cleaning your vehicle during servicing, I almost died of shock when I went to pick up the Rav once and the cleaning boy was using a broom to wash the car (an actual broom) lets just say I always make a point for the dealer never to clean the vehicle.

No matter how you wash it, swirl marks (they call these halo-marks) will form even from a super-soft cotton cloth. Check out www.autopia.org, the holy grail of car detailing is avoiding swirl marks when washing. They have even taken to using distilled water for a final rinse and leaf blowers to get every last drop off the car.

For your existing swirls, please DON'T use a cut and polish. The swirls are very light, so you don't need something that was designed for single-stage paints where you need to cut off a layer to expose new unoxidised paint.

I recommend something mild first, the easiest to find being Meguiar's Scratch X. Apply by hand, work it in evenly without excessive pressure, and when it has turned clear, wipe it off with a clean MF cloth and repeat 2 or 3 times. This will get rid of your swirls. Then follow up with a wax of your choice (I like Meg's NXT Tech Wax).

Scratch X is quite safe, and you don't need a rotary to work it. If you want a more hardcore procedure, let me know.

←

[xGSiR]

Use microfibre towels to dry the car after washing :)

I bought a Mother's Reflection Polish for $30 at Autobarn. Works great and has alot of good reviews on it.

I use that and 3M Perfect-It paste wax on top and gives great shine and protection!