Just returned from having my R's entire exterior paint professionally corrected from the n/c dealer-installed swirl marks. My guy spent 3 days on the car. He then added two layers of coating for added resistance against future marring. The finish is now brilliant! Sorry for the low quality iPhone pics.

Question for others who have had these paint coatings/nano-glass ceramic coatings applied with regards to aftercare washing and drying. My guy recommended a foam cannon and power washer, but I wash my cars in the early morning, to best avoid the sun angle in relation to my driveway, and I worry about the noise created by a power washer-albeit an electric one. BTW, the car is loud enough at that hour LOL! I also like to use hot water when washing my cars. If I just do my typical two-bucket method and spot dry afterwards, do you guys think this would be just as good at avoiding swirling up the paint?

 

Damn that's clean!

 

Every coating has after care products. I would stock up on the relevant products.

You can also get a foam gun to use with a garden hose. Not as good as foam cannon and pressure washer but can definitely help get rid of some of the loose surface contamination prior to washing. Every little bit helps when dealing with black paint.

 

Looks great Ryan. I've been thinking about getting a foam cannon, power washer, and leaf blower. Helps for winter washes too. Touchless obviously prevents new swirls, but with multiple coats of ceramic, you should have plenty of protection.

 

Thanks Shaun. Yeah, black is a full time career!

 

We'll talk tomorrow about your washing routine. I gotta help you clear out some room in your garage!

 

You can still swirl paint with improper washing through these nano coatings. water spotting is also a pain.

 

This - sort of. You're not swirling the paint, or even the clear. The blemishes simply wind up in the coating layer. Despite being super careful my coated car has both spots and towel marks. It just happens.

It's not possible to foam a car, then rinse and have it come out clean, unless it was only dusty to begin with. You are going to have to wipe it.

The best purchase I've ever made for my detailing arsenal was a CR Spotless filtration system. It makes the process much more forgiving.

 

Exactly...I'm going to have to touch the paint with a mitt (after foaming the car), so I'm not sure I want to bother with a power washer/power washer foam cannon. I'm leaning more to trying Shaun's idea of a garden hose foam cannon (although I know it's not going to produce anywhere near the soap coating/coverage as when used with a power washer). I'll end up doing the same thing with a power washer/cannon as I did with a cheap leaf blower I'd thought I use to dry off my car--used it maybe 2-3 times. It's just quicker and less hassle to waffle weave dry.

Nati, besides using the spotless system, what's your washing/drying routine, especially since your car is coated?

 

I just recently bought the Adam's polishes more expensive foam cannon to replace my older model from autogeeks or one of those places. I also bought their upgraded mitt (from Adams). I foam the car, rinse and repeat. I then refoam by section. I disconnect the foam cannon and keep the hose in the non hit hand to frequently rinse the mitt to remove all possible dirt. I find this faster and safer than 2 bucket method. Wrapping the car with clear film solves the problem though. I've also switched to leaf blow dryer. Black is tough, had it on my previous car. Your car looks great!

 

Adam's power washer foam cannon or do they have a garden hose version?

 

Adam's Polishes Foam Gun | Foam Gun Cannon. Sorry, miswrote, I bought the foam gun, not cannon. The metal parts on this are a bit better than the less expensive ones. It's almost double the cost though.

 

get the foam gun from chemical guys. it works exactly the same at 1/2 the price and has a nicer gun/quick connect imo.

for the washing mit use:

https://www.carpro-us.com/wash-mitts...ss-incredipad/
https://www.theragcompany.com/the-cy...blue-wash-pad/

dry with a WET and rung out microfiber with a drying aid. I like Ammo Hydrate, but i use all of the Ammo exterior products. if you have a cquartz coating, you can go with reload, echo2, or hydro2 with diluted with distilled water.

 

Damn, that looks awesome!!

I'm also and Adam's Polishes diehard. He actually did some hands on work on a car several years back at a car show in Carlisle. I fixed some paint issues I had free of charge. Super cool guy too. I've been religiously buying from him since.

I use the MTM foam cannon he sells for the pressure washer. Works great. He also sells the foam gun that jaguny mentioned above. I'd give them a call to get their opinion, but he stands behind his products. I may actually try the foam gun so I don't have to break out the pressure washer every time.

 

Thanks!
Yeah, nothing against the pressure washer, but I imagine it will be too loud when I wash my cars early in the morning and just easier not to have to lug it around.

 

Let me give you some pointers that even your coating guy doesnt know.

1. You need to buy some Sonax Polymer shield and apply it to a rag and then apply to your door jambs, the groove in the hatchback and any other place you see where water pools. This stuff repels water even better than the ceramic coating. And it can be applied over ceramic. Very easy to apply.

Why do all this? its going somewhere, drying is where swirls most likely happen, and dont believe your ceramic is harder than your paint. Moreover, the more you dry, the less ceramic there will be. Yes it comes off with abrasion. Guess what, microfiber is one of the most aggressive abrasion material, particularly dry. The second most cutting power of a buffing pad is a microfiber pad. (hey its plastic)

Doing the above will make it possible for you to dry your car with just a leaf-blower. And gently use a microfiber towel to pick up a couple of drops here and there when you are done. I know you dont want noise, but there is no choice.

2. Use the a bucket of water and good soap- its better than foam gun and cannon.
Foam gun puts soap all over your car at once, meaning some areas will dry faster than others. If you use foam gun, just rinse immediately and then apply soap with a microfiber towel or lambswool. Because only agitation removes embedded dirt.

 

Total agreement! Such a pain and it's loud.

Take a look at Adam's videos. He has one of the two bucket wash system that shows the standard foam gun in action.

Adam's Polishes

 

https://www.facebook.com/barry.theal/posts/10209625311779479

 

I do a two bucket method using Optimum no Rinse wash. I use several micro-fiber cloths, wheel woolies for the wheels and a towel called "dry Me a River. The Dry Me a River towel is very absorbent. I lightly run the towel over the surface when drying the car. I also use grit guards in my buckets to trap the debris at the bottom.



Microfiber cloths and Dry Me A River towel

 

I do love my pressure washer and foam cannon, but mostly for the high pressure rinse. I hear what you are saying about noise. I try to avoid it, but I have totally pressure washed at 7:30am before cars and coffee. That's nothing compared to the noise my master blaster makes when hitting the wheel lugs. Pretty sure you can hear that from planes passing overhead. I wear noise cancelling earbuds for this reason.

Here's my routine (I call it the "no bucket wash"):

1. standard hose from house to CR Spotless
2. "clean" hose from CR Spotless to SunJoe electric pressure washer (this short length of hose only sees deionized water and is stored inside between uses - no dirt, no bugs, etc)
3. Fill foam cannon jug with DI water, add detergent, shake, set aside
4. Sonax wheel cleaner sprayed on all four, soak 2-3 minutes. If my wheels are super dirty I will agitate the sonax with a whoolie, but most often I don't. High pressure alone seems to work.
5. Pressure wash entire car with DI water; I take my time here. I try not to miss any visible particulate. I figure when this step is done well, I have the least chance of marring while washing
6. Foam cannon attached and soak the car
7. Saturate microfiber wash mitt with DI water (from the pressure washer with the pressure turned off)
8. With minimal pressure applied, I try to go lengthwise in straight lines and mop the foam from the car (now you have to start moving because you don't want the residual soap to dry too much - a little is fine - just avoid washing on hot paint/glass).
9. Liberal pressure rinse to get all traces of soap.

At this point, if my CR Spotless is still reading 0ppm, I could literally pull my wet car into the garage and it would be in perfect condition the next morning. I have done it.

I'm usually eager to drive the car if I'm washing it, so most often I'm drying it too. I have the 8 hp master blaster. It works great with a hydrophobic ceramic coating, and it keeps all rags off the car in the drying step, which is the riskiest step for swirls.