Every couple of months!! Must be nice. Constant washing is never ending here. Once a week, atleast. What are you using when you wash your vehicle? Mitt, towel, sponge etc.?

 

That's a good queston,
The swirl mark are probably in the sealer, but how are you going to get the meguiar sealer off your paint without creating more swirl marks?
If you buffed your paint, you will see evidence of the buffing forever.
I know a lot of people who do like you, Wash when needed and liquid spray wax every now and then. Their paint really looks good compared to a car that has been constantly rubbed and buffed, modern acrylic paint will take very little abuse before it shows wear.

 

I wish I had never messed with that Meguiar's stuff. My truck always looked great after just a wash and some spray wax. And really, isn't that what it's all about? Making your ride look good?

That being said, the swirls marks still haven't come back. And I just washed/spray waxed it again the other day.

 

I know what you mean. I found out the hard way that most of the brands that are constantly being promoted are unnecessary and problematic. I never put wax or sealers on my paint.

 

Can you explain how swirls can be "in the sealer" and how a car buffed (professionally) doesn't look good?

 

I didnt read all the other replies. Heres my two cents.

Swirl marks do not go away on there own. They can only get worse. Basically anytime you touch the paint, or wash the truck, you are scratching it and creating swirl marks. They will show up as they get worse or depending on the color become really known.

The way to remove them. They are in the clear and can be removed.

I use Turtle wax Rubbing compound in the green bottle (liquid). It says medium to heavy on the bottle. Get a buffer or better yet a porter cable ( you cant burn thru the paint with it) Go over the car. The swirl marks will be removed.

Washing and drying are the main contributors to swirls marks.

Heres what I do to help keep them to a minimum.

Try to not touch the vehicle the most you can.

I have two buckets to wash. One is my soap bucket, and the 2nd is my rinse bucket. As soon as your done hosing the truck off, grab your mitt (it helps if it is soft like microfiber. Also dont go below the bottom half of the truck with this mitt. You should have a second mitt to get the bottom half) Go in your soap bucket, and start at the roof. Once you are ready to dip into the soap bucket again, go directly for the rinse bucket. Shake the mitt in that and rub gently with your hand in the water. Then go back to the soap bucket continue doing this everytime. Continue to go over the truck from the top down. Then get your second mitt and do the lower half.

To rinse with the least amount of touching...
Remove your hose nozzle and just let a decent stream of water free flow out of the bare hose. Go over the truck with just the water pressure from the hose. This will let the water sheet off instead of bead all over. It will cut your drying time down by 70%.

I like using an absorber, it holds a ton of water and they last forever. Go over the vehicle and dab what you can. Its ok to wipe here and there if you have to. I myself use Meguires Tech wax. It has technology to help remove swirl marks and it will also enhance the paints color and richen it up.

If you want to strip all the wax etc off, use a liquid dish soap. This will give you a good base to start from. But once that is done, I would use a good quality soap afterward and rewash to help condition the paint. Meguires Gold Class does just that.

That should help you out a ton.

 

I have used PB Black Hole and I did not really like it. It fills but seemed to give the paint a strange glow at certain angles (almost flat).

It makes sense for OTC consumer products to fill more than boutique brands. Most consumers are not going remove swirls so it makes sense to hide them since in the end the goal is to make the car "shiny" although Meg's UC and Swirlx do provide that easy to get option.

 

I just use a microfiber wash sponge/mitt I buy from Walmart. It's blue microfiber on both sides, with this yellow sponge looking material in-between. It's pretty thick. I use the blue microfiber for the easy-to-clean areas and the yellow part to get off the grime. Works great.

While the truck is still wet, I spray some Turtle Wax "Express Shine Spray Car Wax" on, use a microfiber towel to spread it all around and then another microfiber towel to dry. Truck comes out looking great!

 

NOOOO!!!!!
Use only a real genuine SheepSkin mitt. It is the only safe thing to use on that beautiful ride of yours! Seriously, the sheepskin fibers hold in all sand and debris from the surface of your vehicle. You can get them in any Pep Boys. When done, the mitts should be hand washed and then let air dry(do not put in the dryer). Of course, rinse the mitt frequently as your washing but I recommend nothing but real sheepskin mitts for washing anything you value the painted surface of. Then.... use a nice big Micro-Fiber towel or (if available), use a Metro® Air Force Master Blaster Motorcycle 'type' air dryer. Remember... the paint you save may be your own!
http://www.autogeek.net/sheepwas.html

 

I use my micro fiber wash mitt on my Black Corvette and never have an issue. As long as you rinse the mitt before you dip in the soap again there wont be any dirt being scrubbed into the finish.