So after washing my car for the fist time this weekend i noticed that there were light scratches on the car!!! SICK!! Anyways, it's only noticable on the black hard top. Can't see much on the actual PW body.

To prevent further damage I want to know what i'm doing wrong. I'm using two things that I got both from WAL-MART. So what is causing it?

1) Genuine Lambs Wool mitt - cost about 6$, not sure if it's real natural, but it claims to be

2) Microtek microfiber towels, 4.50 for a pack of 5 small towels. Not sure on the quality of these, but the best I could find for the time being.

3) DEALER!! possible that they were there from the dealer. Unfortunately, I didn't take too close a look before bringing her home.

other than that, i'm not touching much else on the body of the car. Soap i'm currently using is turtle wax soap. yes I know my stuff is very lame, but need to get some cash before I can get the Zaino and autopia stuff. Also, figured it's winter so I can't do much for the time being anyways.

 

My thoughts:

#1: The dealer installed the 'roof scratch' option.
They wash too many cars and I can't expect that they would put their most diligent employees on the car wash detail. Many dealers will also use a high-gloss wax that will look great on delivery but will break down over a few washes and the scratches will come back.

#2: Something caught in your mit.
Rinse frequently and wash top to bottom, leaving the dirtiest, nastiest and grittiest parts to last. Rinse your mit from the inside out with a hose frequently.

#3: Use lots of water.
You don't want to grind in the dirt.

#4: Car cover?
You didn't mention it, but putting a car cover on a dirty car will cause this problem.


My Recommended Solutions:

Try a paint cleanser (very light polish) to remove the scratches right before you seal/wax your car the first time. You might also want to investigate the 3M Swirl Mark remover for dark cars if the cleanser doesn't take care of the problem.

Good luck

 

Another thought...

Make sure that your microfibers are cared for properly. Search this forum for proper microfiber care threads.

The big points are:

- Wash by themselves with liquid detergent.

- If you drop 'em on the ground, toss 'em back into the laundry.

 

Could be the dealer prep. I once saw a brand new, unregistered purple haze MC in the showroom and the "circular" swirl marks on the bonnet were really bad (proably caused by using an orbital buffer/polisher?). Anyway, I told them not to detail my car before delivery, just wash it.....the paintwork is almost flawless.

 

The dealers often have 'buffer jockeys' who have no idea what they are doing to the finish.

A guy in my neighborhood bought a new black 7-series BMW. It was STUNNING when he brought it home from the dealership. 2 weeks (and 2 proper washes) later, it was COVERED with swirl marks. It looked like it had been washed with sandpaper. I couldn't believe how nasty his $80,000 car looked. It was fairly obvious that the finish had been destroyed during dealer detailing and that their high gloss wax was covering up for all of the swirl marks. Once the wax was hit with auto detergent a few times, the wax came off and the swirl marks were revealed.

 

hm... so what i'm using shouldn't be causing problems right? The microfiber towels I used were new, so it couldn't have been the washing. Also, I just washed them now after using them with little detergent, but with other "normal" towels. Is that okay?

Lastly, I just bought a genuine leather chamois by Viking car care (again at Wal-mart) because I thought my towels were causing the problem, but doesn't sound like that was it. I'd like to return it if I don't need it.

Thanks for all the info though. Hopefully I can get in a few washes before the weather gets worse.