Soft paint?!?!?!

[ThumpJunkie]

I'm a bit of a detailing nut. My MG has always been treated to the best of stuff, and I vowed that unlike my last "sensible" family car, my Leon FR would be treated to the same level of cleaning. However, after giving the two week old car only its second wash I was horrified to discovered swirl marks galore!

I'm using the same washing technique that I use on my MG (two buckets, grit guard, brand new Meguiar's mitt which is machine washed after each use, Poorboys shampoo), so how come I'm getting swirls on a VAG car which I'm not getting on a ten year old tarted-up Rover?!

 

[jonjay]

I'm a bit of a detailing nut. My MG has always been treated to the best of stuff, and I vowed that unlike my last "sensible" family car, my Leon FR would be treated to the same level of cleaning. However, after giving the two week old car only its second wash I was horrified to discovered swirl marks galore!

I'm using the same washing technique that I use on my MG (two buckets, grit guard, brand new Meguiar's mitt which is machine washed after each use, Poorboys shampoo), so how come I'm getting swirls on a VAG car which I'm not getting on a ten year old tarted-up Rover?!

Very unusual to have wash marring on VAG paints. Like you said they are usually hard but it doesnt mean you dont get exceptions to the rule.

Have a good read of this thread. http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=205427

 

[SeanCorky]

I found the paint on my Black Magic FR to be very hard, a pain to machine polish!

 

[jezyg]

My Luna Grey FR has no swirl marks at over a year old and like you keep it very clean and shiny

I know black can look like this unless the swirls were already present when you took delivery?Maybe worth getting it professionally detailed to get the paint mirror smooth and should stay that way with your cleaning method.

 

[GLYN SOLEY]

I had my black magic leon detailed due to masses of swirls and holograms , looked superb afterwards . Like yourself i always used 2 bucket method and mit .

 

[ThumpJunkie]

Thanks guys, the car's Track Grey BTW. I know a few professional detailers who could sort it out for me (TBH it's not THAT bad that I couldn't do it myself), however I don't see why I should have to pay triple figures to make a car look like it SHOULD, only for it to revert back again after its next wash.

 

[nicklaus27]

i'm the same fella, i use grit gaurds and lambswool wash mitts, and i've developed scratches and swirls galore! mainly on the plastic of the bumpers rather than the actual car which is weird!!

 

[robdf2]

I'm a bit of a detailing nut. My MG has always been treated to the best of stuff, and I vowed that unlike my last "sensible" family car, my Leon FR would be treated to the same level of cleaning. However, after giving the two week old car only its second wash I was horrified to discovered swirl marks galore!

I'm using the same washing technique that I use on my MG (two buckets, grit guard, brand new Meguiar's mitt which is machine washed after each use, Poorboys shampoo), so how come I'm getting swirls on a VAG car which I'm not getting on a ten year old tarted-up Rover?!

what protection have you put on your car?

Most cars that are new will have a hand wash from the delaer , which is not the best start to the cars life.

I did machine polish my leon and it made a massive difference , i too am a detailing geek , and i have found that useing a glazing product helps to keep the small swirls and scratches at bay.

 

[ThumpJunkie]

what protection have you put on your car?

Most cars that are new will have a hand wash from the delaer , which is not the best start to the cars life.

I did machine polish my leon and it made a massive difference , i too am a detailing geek , and i have found that useing a glazing product helps to keep the small swirls and scratches at bay.

None yet mate, I wanted to enjoy the untouched paintwork for as long as possible, however the joy didn't last long!

 

[GainfulShrimp]

I gave my car a spring clean over the weekend and took out some of the tiny swirls by hand polishing. After getting rid of the zillionth tar spot from the Candy White paint, I was too knackered to do a complete job with every tiny little swirl, but I did apply some (concentrate) Gtechniq C2. It's amazing stuff - very glossy/polished look to the car and it's just wipe on and wipe off...

 

[jezyg]

I have applied Supagard on my last 4 cars and does indeed reduce swirl marks as well as making it easier to clean and more resistant to marks. Paint sealant gets bad press partly due to the horrendous markup a dealer puts on but on softer paints does help a little.

At £3 off of Ebay a very cheap and easy thing to do compared to the silly £250 a dealer charges .

Then every couple of months use a good wax such as Zymol or Autoglym High Definition wax my FR looks as good as new a lovely lustre and no swirls.

 

[irvine]

I'm picking up my new leon this afternoon and specifically asked the dealer not to wash/polish the car before I pick it up after seeing some of the horrors of paintwork coming out the dealers doors nowadays! The salesman initially thought I was having a laugh until I set him straight! Being a detailing freak myself i'm looking forward to getting the products out and sprucing it up!

 

[Rickst3r]

My car had a few swirles on it but got them out when I machine polished it back in September and applied 3 coats of Vitoria Wax. I gave my car a full detail last week and there was only a few fine scratches here and there which were removed using Dodo Juice Lime Prime! (I clayed the car first before using Lime Prime and was suprised by the amount of crap the clay bar removed!!)

A good few coats of wax will help protect the paintwork and give a much deeper/ wet look shine.

I would also recommend that you use some sort of pre-wash cleaning if the car is prety dirty. Something like a snow foam solution will help break down surface dirt before you jet wash if off and then wash the car using the two bucket method...

 

[Tricky Red]

I would ditch the Megs wash mitt as I think that they are quite rough. Wash in liquid detergent too. VAG paints are generally hard and the lacquer is tough to scratch.

 

[Tricky Red]

I have applied Supagard on my last 4 cars and does indeed reduce swirl marks as well as making it easier to clean and more resistant to marks. Paint sealant gets bad press partly due to the horrendous markup a dealer puts on but on softer paints does help a little.

At £3 off of Ebay a very cheap and easy thing to do compared to the silly £250 a dealer charges .

Then every couple of months use a good wax such as Zymol or Autoglym High Definition wax my FR looks as good as new a lovely lustre and no swirls.

But your car is silver and hides many swirls easily, as did my Mk4 Ibiza.

 

[jezyg]

But your car is silver and hides many swirls easily, as did my Mk4 Ibiza.

Agree silver covers swirls better I am sure it will have some minor scratches but not find any so far. A previous dark coloured Cadillac BLS also seemed more resistant to swirls with a sealant as did my Quartz blue 1 Series.

 

[ThumpJunkie]

I would ditch the Megs wash mitt as I think that they are quite rough. Wash in liquid detergent too. VAG paints are generally hard and the lacquer is tough to scratch.

Never had any problems with them on my red car! I did have a Wookie Fist, but sold it as it scared me

 

[irvine]

I've had various colours and types of paint on cars over the years and always used menzerna polish with a dual action polisher and never had any problems gettin swirl marks out of my cars. Cannot fault menzerna at all. Finally got the leon washed yesterday in a pause in the rain but won't get it polished till saturday now. Will get pics up asap!