washed and waxed todya.. came out great BUT

[Shift_Altima]

Theres a ton of swirl marks!!!!! I'm not sure what the hell happend but as soon as i finished.. showered.. slept and woke up it was a bit late. So i took it under a street light and all i saw was a very nice shine with a TON of swirl marks in circular motions!! Is that from the way i applied the wax or took it off??? I used microfiber only and used the applicator pad that came with the wax. I used meguiars liquid and turtle paste along with the meguiar soap. Is this normal to have swirls? Mind you i have a black car sooo.. ya.. i mean swirls are normal but this many this fast???

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Swirl marks are inevitible. The best way to "treat" them would be to use an orbital buffer with a polish.

Remember, wax does not get rid of blemishes or swirl marks, polishes do.

[Rmuth25]

I think from here on out I am going to do a clay treatment before I wax the car. My thinking is the clay removes alot of the contaminants and debris that cause swirl marks. Then when you go to wax you wont creat them as much. Just as an interesting side note. I did a clay treatment and then a mothers 3 step wax(paint cleaner, sealer/glaze and carnuba wax) and you cant even notice the swirl marks. Once my paint gets a little "older" and it gets warm outside over the summer I am going to get a real porter cable buffer and not my crappy craftsman was and polish the car.

[Rmuth25]

Also, from my experience the swirl marks come more from washing then waxing. You gotta be REALLY REALLY careful when washing the altima coupe. Never use anything terry cloth(sponges, towels ect) because that will definatly give you swirls. Its hard to believe that a terry cloth is harder then the paint. I use all microfiber stuff now. Make sure you have a few sponges to use and two buckets. A good rule of thumb in my book is you should have emptied and refiled the bucket with soap atleast 3 times by the time the car is done. Also, its a good idea to wash the dirtiest spots first, then use an entirely different sponge to wash the rest of the car and then the spots you just washed before.

Also, to dry the car, if its nice outside Ill take it for spin, if not then ill use this squeege thing and then some microfiber towels to wipe off the rest of the water. It is a real pain going through all of this to wash a car, but I would take that pain over the obsession I have with my swirl marks. Before i did the clay and 3 step wax treatment that made them not very noticable, I would think about the swirls like 75 percent of the day....

[Rmuth25]

So bottom line is it sounds like your car is pretty new, so i would ere on the side of caution to useing a polish that has some abrasives in it to actually remove the swirls. Best to do whatever you can to make them less noticable, then in a few months do a polish.

[Shift_Altima]

THERES THE PROBLEMMMM. I didn't use 2 buckets.. I used the dirty water on the whole car and didn't even change it once. I didn't think it would be a big deal and then I emptied it and realized it was. That's the probelm right htere. Drying wasn't a big deal.. everything went well I used all microfiber and no problems there. It was def the dirty water. ****.. Also.. if u take the car for a spin to dry it.. won't there be water marks?

[Shift_Altima]

CAn u polish by hand? If so.. what's good polish to use on a black car? I'm not buying an orbital buffer and screw up the paint

[Rmuth25]

and whatever you decide to do to your car, just do a little spot first to make sure what you do isnt making the problem worse. Perferibly on the passenger side so if you do really mess it up you dont notice it as much.

[Rmuth25]

CAn u polish by hand? If so.. what's good polish to use on a black car? I'm not buying an orbital buffer and screw up the paint

You probably cant polish by hand and be effective, since the entire point of polishing its so smooth out the paint and take some of it away so it can be even. It needs to be moving pretty fast. However you can wax by hand though, i tend to prefer it actually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...latedwatch that

[Rmuth25]

makre sure to hose off the sponges often as well

[Cali 2 Balti G]

makre sure to hose off the sponges often as well

Yeah - you don't need to use 3 buckets of soap. Use one bucketWash from the top downAs your sponge gets dirty - hose it off - before you dunk it in the bucket again.Save the dirtiest parts for last (i.e. Top Down is the golden rule of washing)

Taking the car for a spin - may also deposit more dirt - kind of defeating the purpose - and if you try to "dry" the dirty areas you may scratch your paint.

[Rmuth25]

Yeah - you don't need to use 3 buckets of soap. Use one bucketWash from the top downAs your sponge gets dirty - hose it off - before you dunk it in the bucket again.Save the dirtiest parts for last (i.e. Top Down is the golden rule of washing)

Taking the car for a spin - may also deposit more dirt - kind of defeating the purpose - and if you try to "dry" the dirty areas you may scratch your paint.

I didnt mean like physically 3 buckets of soap, just having to drain the bucket and refill it with soap and water. I dont know where you live, but where I live (southeast pennsylvania) they put so much damn salt and cinders on the road that my car is so dirty. Its risky not mkaing sure you have a clean soap bucket. It started snowing the other day while I was washing my car and I ended up only using one bucket and I could notice the swirl marks the next day.

[Cali 2 Balti G]

If you fill/empty 3 times then you have used 3 buckets. You know where I live it is in my username and signature.

My point is you don't have to change a bucket if you don't put a dirty sponge in it. Every time the sponge gets dirty you hose it out - so your soapy water doesn't get dirty.

[altimacoupelvr]

or you could do what i do and just not drive it in rainy/snowy weather...lol.

[johnny_d]

wait so you need to polish before waxing right? if you just simply do a wax without polishing ahead you'll get swirl marks?

[Shift_Altima]

[600hppot]

ive heard many many times that nissan uses a soft clear coat on the altimas.

this means it's easier to get swirl marks, especially when not washing your car properly. But then this also means its easier to get the swirl marks out with a polish. maybe it can be done by hand with the proper polish.

here's a good site for learning how to keep your paint in tiptop shape.

http://www.paintcare-n-detailing.com/exterior/