Black paint swirls

[Tahoe02]

I think this is a by-product of water based paint. 

[Kubs]

22 minutes ago, tbarn said:

Looks great. I wish GM didn't have so much orange peel. My Silverado and Equinox are both terrible. Both Summit white.

Thanks.  I agree the orange peel is terrible.  It is better after the paint correction, but there is only so much you can take off, since the paint is already very thin.  Orange peel is still there but at least it doesn't look like it was applied with a roller now.

[dkjbama]

Solid (non-metallic) colors, always seem to show swirls the worst. Namely black and red. They're there on white too, just harder to see. I'll never own another non-metallic paint vehicle.

[Ravenkeeper]

Saw the swirls on my dad's green '86 Celebrity, we always thought that it was cause we used the sponges with nets on them, to get the bugs off.  I always wash my truck with a soft dish cloth, then I wash the wheels/tires, with a different cloth (wheels) and a scrub brush (tires).  Then, it's time to clean up, and rinse the clothes and brush.  I change out my clothes every year or two, to keep from having anything stick to them and end up scratching my paint.

[kevinfranklin]

9 hours ago, Ravenkeeper said:

Saw the swirls on my dad's green '86 Celebrity, we always thought that it was cause we used the sponges with nets on them, to get the bugs off.  I always wash my truck with a soft dish cloth, then I wash the wheels/tires, with a different cloth (wheels) and a scrub brush (tires).  Then, it's time to clean up, and rinse the clothes and brush.  I change out my clothes every year or two, to keep from having anything stick to them and end up scratching my paint.

Ha ha!!!!   I love the extreme clothes changing regimen ( ) but please don't use dish towels when washing......I can hear the screeching of particulate and rough cotton on your paint from here.  A good wash mitt (2 preferably) or SOFT microfiber towels don't drag the crap along the paint quite as firmly. 

[Lgetz]

Owning a Black truck is a job in itself to maintain it clean and swirl free.  As others mentioned using proper washing and drying techniques will greatly reduce the chances of creating more swirls in your paint.  See sites such as Detailed Image, Autogeek and others to learn how to go about caring for your paint.

To eliminate/reduce swirls it will be necessary to at the least polish or compound your paint.  I bought a Griots Garage 6 inch Random Orbital Buffer along with Meguiars 105 and 205.  With a relatively stiff orange pad and the 205 I have eliminated the majority of swirls on 3 vehicles.  On deeper scratches I used the 105 to simply make scratches less visible.  Be prepared to spend at least a day or pay someone to do it properly to achieve desired results.   After use a sealant/wax/coating to protect your paint.

Open a cold one and enjoy your/their handywork.??

[Kubs]

I use separate mircrofiber on everything.  I have a wash mitt, drying towels, glass rags, wheel rags, details spray rags, etc. All microfiber.

[L86 All Terrain]

Best way to avoid swirl marks is to not make them in the first place. Lateral movements with a sheepskin mitt, never circular on any colour, especially black. Grit guards are huge in protecting the paint. Wash the way Ammo way like posted and you will never have to polish your truck. Ceramic coating will do magic too once you have it looking like glass again. No swirls in my 2015 on a two pail system.

 

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