Oh damn... then I really feel for you guys. Just imagine how many sentra / altima owners there are that never wash their cars. Somehow I don't see them cleaning their towels.

 

When my car goes in for service, I specify that they are NOT to wash the car under any circumstances. I've even had them put that on the work order.

So far, no problems with the service crew cleaning the car before returning it...

 

Well finally a little bit of good news. I dawned the rear hatch area of my car where most of the swirlies are then applied 2 coats of Eagle-1 car polish/wax. While the swirl marks are still there, there's definately less of them

I'll just have to use this stuff for the time being until I can get the Zaino Kit.

 

You should check out CMA's Problem Solving section. They talk about all kinds of problems and give step-by-step instructions on how to fix the problem along with product recommendations. Give them a call and they'll tell you the best way to approach what you are dealing with.

 

I bring it to the self-wash places as well, however I bring a bucket, my own Blackfire soap, and a micro fiber cloth. I pressure clean all the dirt and dust off and then wash the car and rinse again with the pressure washer. (most hoses at home don't spray hard enough pressure to get the dirt off causing scratches while washing) Next I use my "Big Blue" towel to dry and then spray, wipe and buff with my Blackfire Polish spray. My Superblack looks flawless!!!

 

Thanks guys. TPA, that's an awesome idea! I never thought of that

FlaPhil, that site's very useful, I'm reading up on it little by little.

Thanks for all your help, you guys have taught me many things since I started this thread

 

Meguiars Scratch-X is incredible for light surface scratches. Just this week I went out of town and left my car with the car cover on at the airport. When I returned the wind was blowing like hell and the cover was flapping in the wind. When I took the cover off I was surprised to find my bumper and fenders all scratched up by the buffeting of the cover against the paint. I thought I would definitely have to have the bumper repainted. After about 1 hour with a tube of Scratch X, everything looks great.
I wish I had before and after pics to share. This stuff is just short of a miracle. Thanks Meguiars !!!

 

Don't forget about Mag NXT's swirl-filling properties. Best I've seen. But then again, I haven't tried Zaino.

EDIT: Mag's #9 Swirl Mark Remover (mild abrasive; 3 on their 1-10 scale; 10 being the most abrasive) has given me good results on my black Maxima. Can be applied/removed by hand or a buffer.

 

I have the 35th Anniverary bought one year ago this week. The dealer washed it for me upon delivery about 7:00 PM ... I didn't notice the job done on the wax until the next day.

Needless to say I didn't take it back for the same butchers to try to fix it - they're clueless and I'm not going to turn them into real detailers by complaining.

Since then I tell the service manager NO WASH when I take it in for service. I watch him type that into the service ticket and keep an eye on it as the finish the oil change to ensure that it doesn't get the sandpaper treatment.

 

Happiness is a swirl-free super black car!

I bought a Porter-Cable about three months ago and just this weekend figured out the technique to get the swirls and clear coat scratches out. I used the yellow pads with 3M Swirl Remover working the stuff in for a good lenght of time. In the past I didn't let the compound break down before removing it. I polished the whole area to remove the dealer installed swirls and then did a second (or third/fourth) pass over any "deep" lines left in the clear coat. Then I broke out the Zaino ZXF and used the while polishing pad to do a final lighter buffing on top.

The hardest thing is finding the right light to see the scratches in the clear coat. I have six compact and six tube florescent lights above the car to get the maximum amount of light reflections to look into.

I laid two coats of Z-2 and to be honest I can't see the difference - it's not adding too much shine to the naked highly-polished clear coat finish. It is protecting the coat now and you can feel the slickness with your hand of the Z-2 to non-Z-2 covered areas.

The hood took about four hours and the roof another three going nice and slow while inspecting my work constantly.

 

Seven hours WITH a porter cable sounds ludicrous!!!!!! I thought it's supposed to do a better job in LESS time!!

 

 

+1
man, it would take all weekend or more to do my entire car.

 

I'm the one that's insane

The finish is a perfect and complete flawless mirror and I didn't spend 7 hours with the PC whirling but that includes cleaning, clay bar, polishing aggressive, polishing fine - and lots of touch-ups where the dealer managed to give me more than a bit of swirl. Two layers of Z-2 with Z-6 spray and you're looking at the whole day gone ... I'll do the trunk over again and then start on the front and rear quarter panels and then the doors.

I did manage to find a few flaws where tiny rocks or sand have hit the front hard enough to go through the clear coat and thin paint job.

Here's a picture from when the finish looked rough, it looks much better now.