I have a new black Cayenne, couple months old, been washed twice, by hand, and waxed once with Zymol. I've always detailed my own cars and have never had a problem before. I about **** myself when I saw the pepper in the bright sun yesterday, several patches of very fine scratches, can't feel them and actually very hard to see them. I don't know whether I did it or the dealer did it. I have had black cars recently, an S500 and a Grand Cherokee, but never had this problem before.

I'm going to get a clear bra to protect the front. I've seen plenty of great threads on how to get rid of the scratches, but my question is how to prevent them. Is there a product that I, or a pro detailer, can apply that will prevent this from happening?

Thank You
Frank

 

There is no product that I know of that will prevent those scratches.

The dealer may have installed the swirls for you (at no extra charge) or it may be your wash technique. Improper Car washing is the main cause of fine scratches and swirl marks. There are several schools of thought pertaining to car washing and most of them will work fine.

The method I use is the "2 Bucket Method"
2- 5 gal buckets w/ grit guards (1 for water only and 1 with water/high quality car was soap)
1- Chenille wash mitt
1- soft cloth for cleaning wheels
1- fender brush
2- Large Waffle Weave Microfiber towels
3- microfiber cloths for wheels, door jambs, trunk, hood etc...
1- Air compressor or leaf blower

I start by rinsing and washing the wheels and wheel wells using a soft cloth. I then will hose the car down to remove any loose grime. I will begin washing the car from top to bottom rinsing the mit in the bucket of water before getting more wash solution and moving on to the next panel. I then rinse the car and take the nozzle off the hose to allow the water to sheet off the panels (this will reduce spotting). I then dry the car using the waffle weave towels and use the compressed air to get water out of the crevices. I will then wipe down the door jambs and wheels using the other towels. When I am done I have a clean swirl/scratch/spot free car.

 

The swirls are coming from three main places Frank. The initial detail if not done properly. The wash mitt, towels, chamois, etc. you're using to wash the car. Or the technique. For example, many clients, when I do a tech session with them, are washing bottom to top dragging the dirt around or they don't rinse their wash mitt after washing a small area.

So keep it simple. You need to first reduce or remove the swirls you have. Post a picture up and I can recommend the plan of attack. Then your washing habits. Invest in a CR Spotless DI unit. I use a 1 bucket method.

After each small area you wash, rinse your mitt. This way your soap bucket stays clean all the way through. Wash from top down. For example, wash the driver window, move down to the door in a winding pattern going from edge to edge until you're down to the bottom. By then your wash mitt is filled with dirt and grimme. Rinse the mitt thoroughly. Do this all the way until you've washed the whole cayenne.

Keep in mind to keep the surface irrigated at all times. By that I mean you should be rinsing after each washed section the area you washed and the rest of the car. This way the surface stays wet at all times and you don't get water spots.

After all that, rinse the cayenne with the cr spotless. You're flushing off all the tap water. Then you can blow the water off using a filtered blower like the airmax. You could also dry using a foam-core microfiber drying cloth. Or, since you have used DI water, you can walk away. It will air dry and you'll have an almost 95% spot free car. Hope all this helps.

 

Almost forgot. When you're done with the wash, you may want to wax the finish with a high quality spray wax such as Einszette Detail Spray, Zymol Field Glaze, or Optimum Spray Wax. This will help protect the finish even more, bring out the depth and gloss, and another bonding step with you P-car

 

Thanks for the washing tips, but I don't think it happened during wash. Hopefully anyway, neither time was the car dirty, just dusty, and I think I washed it properly. I used the Mr. Clean auto dry car wash, washed in small sections, worked top to bottom and rinsed as I went. Didn't towel dry it, no need with the Mr. Clean kit.

The scratches are not swirls either, they are small patches of straight lines that run vertical and are about 18" long. When I wash I use horizontal strokes, never vertical. I have a busy schedule this weekend but hopefully I will be able to post some pictures. I noticed them on the passenger front door, tail gate, and hood.

I was hoping there was some kind of acrylic sealer that could be applied to protect the paint.

Thanks again for the washing tips.
Frank