My first car was a '79 Bug Convertible, triple black, no clear coat.
The paint was hard and it was pretty easy to keep swirl free.
Also had lots of black BMW bikes in enamel paint that were easy to care for.

I hand washed my new '09 MINI Cab the other day and now there are swirl marks.
UGH - driving me crazy. The clear coat obviously reflects and almost magnifies the swirls.

What are the latest techniques to remove swirl marks and keep a black car relatively swirl free?
I never use automated car washes, have lots of Griots stuff incl orbital buffer, so nothing is out of the question to fix this.
It is not horrible, really only visible in direct sunlight, but the perfectionist in me is in knots.

FWIW, I can tell my swirls came from the drying process, and not the washing process.
I used new, washed cotton towels - would a chamois be better?

Hey, maybe a Sham-Wow! LOL.

TIA for any advice.

 

Welcome to black, it's not a paint colour; it's a full time job. The swirls come either from the wash or the dry. Many of them probably came from the dealer (dealer installed swirl option) - never let them touch your finish.

Your griots orbital buffer with a polish of your choosing (I use swirl) will take the swirls out. The key is not putting them in.

Two bucket wash (there's a sticky I believe) will help. Do not use cotton towels or a chamois - only good quality microfiber waffle weave drying towels. I use a lot of Prima products fro detailer's paradise or showcardetailing (octaneguy). Black is the hardest to keep swirl free but the results when you do will be stunning.

 

Like cadfael_tex said, only use good quality micro fiber towels on your MINI, and no, Mallwort, Target, do NOT sell them.

Mark

 

if you have griot's then use polish3 and see if you can get it out. if not, try polish2,
if not, polish1. if not with polish1, try speed6 and good force.

you should be able to get the swirls out. i did the dealer implanted swirls on my
MCS using griot's polish2 and and a nice long pass. worked like a charm.

and use the griot's MF wash mitt if you aren't, use 2 griot's buckets like me
while washing your hobby car, and get DP's waffle weave towels. blot dry
only. never 'wipe.' best to blow as much water off the car using your
leaf blower or your shopvac in blower mode, compressed air, etc.

also recommend Prima Amigo between your polishing. it's super easy
to apply this glaze before you put your Best of Show over it.