Scratches (little ones) in the clear coat on a black truck

[Espeefan]

I washed my brand new truck today. First time ever. I took every step I could to try and prevent it from getting those little scratches in the clear coat. I used a micro-fiber wash mit, lots of quality car wash soap, lots of rinsing of the mit, pre-soaked the truck, and soaked it on and off, while I washed, but I when I was done, the truck had all these little swirl marks in the paint. I felt sick about it, but I have never not seen any color vehicle that didn't have the swirl/scratches/spider web marks. Is there just no way around it? The truck was perfect before I washed it, other then being dirty. How the heck can anyone keep it that way? I know my dealer washed it before I picked it up. Did I do something wrong, or is this just life?

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2001.5 Ram, 24 valve H.O. Cummins 6 speed manual, 4x4

2009 Ram, 6.7 Cummins, 6 speed manual, 4x4

[53buick]

did you only wash in straight lines or circles? straight lines only on good paint can't keep out the swirls otherwise

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53 buick 05 cummins,zf/5 speed hayes clutch,banks sixgun, 4"straight pipe aluminum intake w/K&N,painless harness currie 9" detroit locker full boxed frame air ride 4Wheel disc/ect.

[dzlbudman]

My old truck was black i used to clay bar it every 3 months took all of the swirl marks out from washing. I also used instant detailer every time i dried it never had swirl marks that way. Blacks just a pain in the A$$. Looks good when clean a pain to keep it that way

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05 CTD,CC,Black, 4x4 Sb intake, silence ring mia, ts mp-8 Edge with att, 4 inch to 6 inch tip, stock trans 35's on skyjacker spring leveling kit.SOLD
2009 Chevy Z71 silverado 5.3L with the 6 speed auto Line-x, Tint and thats all!

[08 Black Cummins]

It's just life. Every vehicle I buy is black and no matter how careful you are there will be swirls. How many depends on how you wash. Always spray the dirt and mud off before washing, never let your mitt touch the ground or the bottom of your bucket, always wash the mitt out after every section you wash or more often if necessary, and never dry with a towel(only use high quality microfiber towels. Even after all this, you'll get swirls.

To get rid of them you need to polish the truck. Most people say wax. A wax is just a coat on top of whatever is on the truck. Polish actually takes a small part of the paint off. This is where the swirls are. Polishing basically removes that layer leaving a clear, swirl free surface. Then put a wax on top of that and it'll shine and be swirl free. This isn't an easy process especially if there are lots of swirls. I use a mechanical polisher. Doing it by hand sucks, but do some research before buying or using a polisher. There are different kinds with different consequences if you mess up. Good luck!

BTW, if you care about your paint and having swirls never:

1. go through an automatic car wash that has brushes
2. never let anyone else(especially the dealer) wash your truck. Even when you first buy it. I always tell them I want the truck, but not if they wash it. I want it just like it sits on the lot.

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08 6.7 Auto QC 4x4/ Stage II H&S 4"/ XRT/ EGR and Cooler Delete/ S&B Intake/ Rhino Lining/ Bushwhacker Pocket Flares/ Duraflaps/ 5000k HID High,Low, and Fogs/ Weather tech Mats/ Kore Leveling Kit/ 35" Toyo MT

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Last edited by 08 Black Cummins : 10-18-2009 at 08:06 PM.

[Megadeth]

Originally Posted by 08 Black Cummins

It's just life. Every vehicle I buy is black and no matter how careful you are there will be swirls. How many depends on how you wash. Always spray the dirt and mud off before washing, never let your mitt touch the ground or the bottom of your bucket, always wash the mitt out after every section you wash or more often if necessary, and never dry with a towel(only use high quality microfiber towels. Even after all this, you'll get swirls.

To get rid of them you need to polish the truck. Most people say wax. A wax is just a coat on top of whatever is on the truck. Polish actually takes a small part of the paint off. This is where the swirls are. Polishing basically removes that layer leaving a clear, swirl free surface. Then put a wax on top of that and it'll shine and be swirl free. This isn't an easy process especially if there are lots of swirls. I use a mechanical polisher. Doing it by hand sucks, but do some research before buying or using a polisher. There are different kinds with different consequences if you mess up. Good luck!

BTW, if you care about your paint and having swirls never:

1. go through an automatic car wash that has brushes
2. never let anyone else(especially the dealer) wash your truck. Even when you first buy it. I always tell them I want the truck, but not if they wash it. I want it just like it sits on the lot.

Pretty much. The only way to do a non swirl wash (but it may not be as effective) is to use a foam cannon, rinse, then air dry with a leaf blower so nothing touches your paint.


I hand wash my truck weekly at my house so my swirls are very minimal, but I polished it last May.

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07 5.9 G56 with a few goodies.

[Espeefan]

Thanks guys. Sounds like swirls are just the way it will be. I can't help but feel sick about it though. My dealer did a good job washing the truck. It had been on the lot a couple days, in the rain before I picked it up. It looked filthy when I stopped in just to look at it. The salesman said they only wash by hand, and the day I picked the truck up, it was perfect. Not a mark on it. So at least my dealer seems to know what they are doing.

Never the less, I own another black vehicle, and it has plenty of swirls in the paint too, but it's a 94 and I expected that much. My 01.5 Ram, which I have always hand washed has swirls as well, but they don't seem so noticable. I guess I just have to live with it. Perks of owning a black truck?

I'll be taking the truck back in for the paint protection package later in spring. I had an SRT-10 hood installed and they wanted the paint to fully cure before doing the paint protection. Oddly enough the hood seems like it shows the scratches the easiest. I would have figured that the factory paint would be worse, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Perhaps the hood is still curing. I've only had the truck about 4 weeks. In any case, I'll ask the body shop guys, who do great work, to see what they recommend. 'Course I know it's just natural for paint to get swirl marks in it, but maybe they can buff or polish them out for me. Have to see.

The problem is if you want a show truck, it belongs in a bubble. If you drive anything, then swirls, chips, dings, ect are just normal.

Thanks for all the input!

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2001.5 Ram, 24 valve H.O. Cummins 6 speed manual, 4x4

2009 Ram, 6.7 Cummins, 6 speed manual, 4x4

[Megadeth]

Originally Posted by Espeefan

Thanks guys. Sounds like swirls are just the way it will be. I can't help but feel sick about it though. My dealer did a good job washing the truck. It had been on the lot a couple days, in the rain before I picked it up. It looked filthy when I stopped in just to look at it. The salesman said they only wash by hand, and the day I picked the truck up, it was perfect. Not a mark on it. So at least my dealer seems to know what they are doing.

Never the less, I own another black vehicle, and it has plenty of swirls in the paint too, but it's a 94 and I expected that much. My 01.5 Ram, which I have always hand washed has swirls as well, but they don't seem so noticable. I guess I just have to live with it. Perks of owning a black truck?

I'll be taking the truck back in for the paint protection package later in spring. I had an SRT-10 hood installed and they wanted the paint to fully cure before doing the paint protection. Oddly enough the hood seems like it shows the scratches the easiest. I would have figured that the factory paint would be worse, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Perhaps the hood is still curing. I've only had the truck about 4 weeks. In any case, I'll ask the body shop guys, who do great work, to see what they recommend. 'Course I know it's just natural for paint to get swirl marks in it, but maybe they can buff or polish them out for me. Have to see.

The problem is if you want a show truck, it belongs in a bubble. If you drive anything, then swirls, chips, dings, ect are just normal.

Thanks for all the input!

Ya, but you can definitely tell who really cares for their black car. I can safely say no black truck around me that is daily driven looks nearly as glossy or scratch free as mine.

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07 5.9 G56 with a few goodies.

[Pull Ya]

There a lot of products you can use on your truck to do away with the swirls etc. I think once you get a good base of polish and wax on your truck it will become a lot eaiser and less time consuming. I use Zanio products and once you establish a base you can use Pro 5 to fill in the light scratches and it will give you an outstanding shine also. If you want more of a gloss you can put Pro 2 on top of the Pro 5 which will give you a deeper look. It sounds like a long process but it really isn't. I Started my tuck this morning at about 8 and its now 11 and I just put the last coat of Pro 2 on and am waiting for it to dry. Good luck! There is nothing that looks better than a black vehicle with a deep shine on it. If you want more detailed information you can go to autopia.org. It is a professional detailer site(free) and they will be glad to answer any question you have. They also have a large varity of products for sale. If you have any other questions I will try to help you out, just PM me.
Jay

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2004 1/2 Dodge Quad Cab 3/4 T 4x4, triple pillar mount w/ auto meter gauges, PSM, aFe pro guard 7, Edge Juice, Weston steps, Snug top shell, carpeted bed, Magnaflow muffler, Chrome grill guard, 2 in. front lift, Bilstein shocks and Sirius radio.

[winn99]

I have black truck as well and its almost impossible for me to keep it from getting swirls in it when I wash it. There is a car wash near where I live and it uses these big flat things that wiggle all over the paint and then the people wipe it down afterward and surprisingly there isn't a single swirl mark in the paint after they do it. I just can't believe how some place that only charges 12 bucks for like a 10 minute wash can get my truck clean with no swirls but I'll spend 4 hours on it and still get swirls!

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Black 2008 Dodge 2500 QC 6.7L - Hypertech Max Energy

[409Cummins]

id suggest the turtle wax black box- buddy used it on his subaru and it was like a night and day difference. pulls out all the fine scratches/swirl marks n such

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Nathan

08 2500 RCLB Flame Red 4x4 6.7L G56- Smoked, Tinted, Line-X'ed, AEM Brute Force

91 W250 RCLB 2 Tone Silver 5.9L 727 Non IC- Leveled, 33s, Str8 Pipe, Pump Cranked

[Iwant1bad]

another vote here for the Turtle Wax Black Box system. My wife and I both have black vehicles and this stuff is incredible. Do a tape test and watch your jaw drop! I did this I taped off a box and did that then peeled the tape off and its crazy! Black Box is a 3 step process and its time consuming but well worth the effort.

[Espeefan]

I'm just glad I'm not alone, with these problems! I thought maybe it was just me. I will have to look into the Turtle Wax Black Box system. Thanks for the suggestion.

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2001.5 Ram, 24 valve H.O. Cummins 6 speed manual, 4x4

2009 Ram, 6.7 Cummins, 6 speed manual, 4x4