I without knowing, took my yellow bath towels that I have used for 15 years on my other cars. I used it on new Black Mustang to dry it. After about 10 times washing and whipping my car down I had thousands on very fine scratches. I was upset! I found out that is normal because of the nylon threads in the towels
Now I am on a mission , I also had scratches in my door area ,and the car has less the 1500 mile on it
I did my resource and on power buffers and found out the pro and cons about buffers.
I decided on the 7424 porter cable . I was going to practice on my other cars but decided to do my Mustang first.
What I have read is start with the least aggressive polish and keep on going more aggressive tell you get the results. I stopped at the Zaino's Bros. PC . The car looks beautiful now! No Swells and no scratches! From now on it's only going to be Micro fiber towels for drying!
The things I have read about the 7424 Is It doesn't do the job of a rotary buffer but it is very safe to use. I had no trouble using it on my Mustang, being my first car I have ever done. REMEMBER never stop the buffer moving side to side!

 

Rotary buffers are fine when used by an experienced user. You really only NEED their level of performance if you have serious paint problems such as something that attacked the surface, or was spilled/sprayed on the surface. For all other issues like minor scratches etc, an orbital should suffice. I used to have a detail business years ago and back then, ONLY used a rotary. Now, years later, I really only use an orbital. I can only think of once or twice in the last 5-6 years that I've used the rotary.

 

Moved to the Car Care section.

Just a reminder with microfiber. Wash them before you use them. I didn't and after spending the day polishing the car, I ended up making tons of marks when I went to use a spray detailer and a brand new microfiber cloth.

 

If you buy quality microfiber you should get some of the special detergent to wash them with. and NO fabric softener or high heat to dry them.Also when you wash,detail or dry go in straight lines front to back no circular strokes[thats what makes yor swirls]I have a 2003 Black Explorer with hardly and marks in the paint from following these guidelines.I got this information from a car care handbook from Griots Garage.com.I also use Zaino products on my cars I think they are the best ever.

 

Throw that book away.

 

I too thought that Zaino's was the best after using Meguiars for years. This year I switched to Pinnacle and I love it even more than Zaino's. Which is a shame cause I have tons of new bottles of ZPC, ZCS, Z5, that I haven't even opened yet.

 

Why?

Careful w/ microfiber cloths. If you use them, get the good ones and not the typical cheap AutoZone variety pack. The post was correct about not using fabric softener and not exposing them to heat. I'm still not sold on microfiber. 100% cotton is the only thing I've used on my car after a bad experience w/ microfiber. Good luck.

 

as long as the product you're using doesnt cause scratches, which it shouldnt, it should make no difference if you move in straight lines, or side to side, or in circles. In fact, it's best to use a variety of techniques on a car's many differing surfaces. as for getting rid of scratches, try meg's scratchx, I used it on a few door handles that get scratched badly, it took them right out, on the first coat, with barely any work

 

You don't get swirl marks from hand polishing/waxing, period. They're burned in by rotary buffers. When polishing by hand, it's usually better to go in circles because it's easier to maintain even pressure, and tends to avoid over-working any one area of the finish.
As far as what to use to dry the car, try a silicone squeegee followed by a microfiber drying towel.

 

Wish I knew that before last week when I ordered more Zaino. I could have taken some of that off your hands

 

Cotton Towels

I use nothing but 100% cotton towels that are made here in the great USA. I get the good ones from Linens n Things or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. That is where you will find high quality towels with high thread counts.

 

Use scratch X for scratches and get your self a Mr. Clean auto dry car wash system and a squeegee (Sp). Don't even use a towel for drying, it is a waste of time, I love mY Mr. clean!

 

Those blue micro fiber towels at AutoGeek.com are fantastic, they are the softest micro towels that we have found.
Also they do not have a tag on them, which can scratch, so pull off any tags from any type towels before using.

TDS

 

Actually you should see how much damage someone can do by hand using a mild abrasive polish. I have seen more damage done that way than with buffers.

 

Since I used to have a detailing business, I can tell you that I repaired a lot of finishes. Yes, most were done manually or by some sort of chemical attack but overall, I can say that if anyone brought me a car with a rough rotary buffer job, it took plenty of work to correct it.

 

From personal experience, You can do more damage with a micro fiber towel, that is dry or just grabbed up to wipe dust or "goo" off of your paint, than a rotary buffer in the hands of a 3 year old.

In Feb. of this year, my wifes car was being shown in the World of Wheels at Birmingham, Al.

1! hour prior to the show opening, we went to clean it for opening night.

We wiped it down with new clean Auto Geek micro fibers, unfortunatly, they were DRY.

Under the sodium lighting in the BJCC, every wipe appeared as a scratch row, the width of the towel.
Thank god for Pinnacle and Wolfgang, we were ready with 10 minutes to spare from opening.

Now after 3M ultrafina 3000 and clear coat sanding and reapplying, multiple times, we do not have any micro scratches or use dry rags again on a car.

A lesson learned, a lesson earned.

TDS & Ms. Jill