CCTking

Do you have a water softener? Because hardwater will leave THE worst water spots

Supersnake04

Sadly, no, and you are right, it takes forever to get them out, but the last time I washed it, I dug out an old can of auto glass wipes, and they did the trick.

CCTking

Yea those wipes tend to work pretty good, but a good clay bar and polish will make em disappear forever!

Coyote5-0

hahaha yeah right, I'd like to see this... They probably are only visible at certain lights/angles.
Unless your car is a garage queen in the strictest sense... Even driving can cause marks from dust and road grime hitting the car.

Coyote5-0

I thought the cars were transported with the large stickers all over the body. I just think a good wash could get that stuff off minus the overspray. I'm not saying using a clay bar on brand new paint won't do anything...but I think most people would be disappointed after spending the time and money and seeing their car looks basically the same.

What people consider, or what appear to be swirl marks can be any type of fine mark in the paint. They don't always have to be in a swirl pattern... But anyway these are just my opinions on the over-analysis of a wash mitt VS. a sponge and how much of a good use of your time clay barring brand new paint is...unless it has noticeable contamination. With that said, there's really no more use in arguing back and forth on it. Feel free to disregard my opinions if you would like. Wasn't trying to troll.

And btw, I did not watch your YouTube
video...not a big fan of that movie

CCTking

Well lets just get some things clear out here. Yea cars might still basically look the same after a clay bar pass but it will be much cleaner. Swirl marks are (its in the name) swirl type scratches in the clearcoat. Now theres also micromarring which would just be any kind of small scratch, almost like a spider web landed on your car. Most people dont know the real benefits of a good detail. Not interested in the time or money involved. "A good pass through the wash is good enough." Well unfortunately that can cause some pretty good marks on the paint as well. If you have a white or silver car its not too bad but if you want a sexy deep dark look then youve gotta spend a lil extra time and an extra dime.

Not only will you be making your car a neck snapper, youll be protecting your investment. A proper detail (clay,polish,wax/sealant) will smooth out the clearcoat and add protective layers. Water beads or sheets right off, dirt, dust, bird bombs, will all be easier to clean off. Paint will be shinier, glossy, wet-looking, smoother and you can just tell that its cleaner. Theres alot of guys on here (MarcHarris, FromZto5, DaGonz, etc.) that can show you the difference in normal paint that just goes through a wash and the occasional wax compared to a properly detailed car. Im not arguing with you, just tryin to show you the lighter side. A place where the smell of carnuba wax fills the air and you can shave using the door on your ride!

mcate

I always clay when I do a full detail. I just like the peace of mind knowing that the paint is the cleanest it can possibly be before I polish or remove swirls.

Supersnake04

That's the thing, I very very rarely drive it, all I do is detail it, but when I got it it had 97xxx miles on it that was 3 years ago, it now has 99xxx miles on it, I will admit, that when I got it the paint was kinda dull, but now it's like water. Haha

Dayton937

Don't let them touch it. Clay bar it then get all detailing supplies you need from the get go.

DaGonz

The vehicles accumulate contamination sitting at Flat Rock waiting to be loaded onto the rail cars, from rail dust emitted by the wheels of the train, exposure to the elements from the transport from the rail yard to the dealership (road grime, diesel exhaust,dust, tree sap, pollen, bird and insect droppings etc.) and whatever amount of time the vehile sits on the dealership's lot (road grime, dust, tree sap, pollen, bird and insect droppings, etc. etc. etc.) .

Safe detailing practices include washing using the 2 bucket method and not using circular motions with your wash mitt.

The sponge is more like velcro, with the nooks and crannies if one uses a natural sea sponge or the manmade cellulose sponges. You can rinse a wash mittand allow the accumulated dirt and such to sink to the bottom of the rinse pail. If one rinses and squeezes the sponge, if it is not completely dirt free, you just squeeze the dirt deeper into the sponge and increasing the chances of swirling and scratching.

My Mustang is 7 years old, 21,100 miles and is swirl free.

Mrsuitcase

Ok. I admit I'm lousy at cleaning anything. I had never even heard of clay before starting to read this thread. I'm still scratching my head over whether I should use a paint protectant/sealant or a wax when I first get my mustang in a month or two (though I'm not entirely sure why you would pick one over the other either).

But I do have a good question!

What about the interior of the car? Specifically the leather? I refused my dealerships leather treatment/warranty. Then today I walked through a parking lot and spotted the leather interior of an old Honda Prelude, and the thing had cracks all over and I started thinking "I don't want my leather to die like that!".

Any tips on what to condition the leather with, or any other tips on the interior when you first get your new car?

Thanks folks!!