One of the worst causes of lack of shine and swirling on paint finishes is down to poor washing technique and products used in the process.

A quick wash with a dirty sponge and washing up liquid is not the way to go to maintaining your cars finish neither is the automated car wash machines we see at petrol stations.

Using a sponge is bad news the surface of your car when needing a wash will have tiny portions of grit stuck to the paintwork when you use a sponge the grit/dirt has no where to go apart from all over the rest of the surface this is what causes scratches all over the car these scratches are very noticeable in direct sunlight and rob the finish of true depth and shine.

These scratches can be removed via rotary polishing with various grades of polish but it is best to try and avoid inflicting them in the first place.

Lets look at a better way of washing your pride and joy.

Start with rinsing as much dirt off the vehicle as possible before starting the washing process.

Use Two buckets one with soapy water the other with clean water even better use a grit guard in the bottom of both buckets these can be purchased in our on line store along with quality wash mitts.

Get the mitt soapy and starting at the roof clean the roof and windows and rinse the mitt in the clean water keep an eye open for grit and dirt on the mitt.

Avoid circular movements clean the roof in back and forth motions next wash the doors one by one keep cleaning the mitt as described earlier keep this routine going clean the sills and the very dirtiest parts of the car till last .

Rinse the car from the roof down with free running water this will speed the drying process as the water should sheet off the car and leave less water to blott later.

Drying the car.

The best way to dry your car is to use a good quality drying towel.

Chamois leathers like the sponge can hold any missed dirt or grit left over from the wash.

We recommend waffle weave drying towels as they absorb at least twice there weight and generaly leave a dryer better finish and dont leave the dreaded smears.

Some wash marks are inevatble in time but using the above method will greatly reduce wash scratches.