Improper washing techniques are one of the biggest causes of mico scratches and swirl marks in your cars paint. Here are a few car washing tips to make sure that you’re not adding swirls to your paint when you wash.

Before you begin, thoroughly rinse and inspect your wash buckets and wash mitt to make sure they are free of all dirt and debris. Next, fill your wash buckets – one with clean water for rinsing and one with your shampoo mixture. Be sure to follow the dilution ratios on the bottle.

Now, you’re ready to start washing. To help prevent swirl marks use a Sonus Sheepskin Wash Wool Mitt or the Cobra Microfibre Wash Mitt and a quality car wash shampoo. Poorboys Super Slick & Suds, Optimum Car Wash or Sonus Gloss Shampoo are excellent choices. Our range of car wash shampoos are wax safe and are formulated with lubricants and conditioners, that encapsulate dirt particles and allow them to be rinsed away safely.

Now its time to start washing, start on the roof area and then work down the vehicle Wash in straight, overlapping lines as opposed to circles and remember to be gentle with the wash mitt on the first pass. This first pass will pick up the majority of the dirt, and loosens the remaining dirt for pick up on the second pass. Rinse your vehicle by opening up your hose nozzle to the open flow setting or by removing the nozzle if you don’t have an open flow option on your nozzle and let the water run or sheet over the surface instead of spraying. This helps in two ways. First, when water has “sheeted” off of a surface it tends to leave less residual droplets behind. This means less to drying time. Second, since there is less water to pick up and there is less chance of your leaving water behind to “spot” the vehicle.

Finally dry off your car using clean microfibre drying towels and a detailing spray to add some lubrication. Using a quick detailing product such as Optimum Instant Detailer this speeds up drying times and restores a just waxed finish. To help stop water spots in tight, hard-to-reach areas such as body moldings, door hands mirrors, window seals and badges you can use our popular Car Drying Machine.

That’s it. You’re done! Follow these careful car washing tips every time you wash, you’ll avoid much of what causes ugly swirls and micro scratches.