bob m

Washing your car in the colder winter climates does present a problem for those of us not lucky enough to have a heated garage. A few weeks ago, I applied my waterless no rinse product and it did a good job at removing the most of the mess, but was freezing up on the car within seconds of spraying it on. Snow and slush, mixed with road salts are more of an issue than simple dust and dirt.
No, you don't need (though way preferred) a polisher to remove the swirls/holograms, but you do need to know what you are doing and follow the directions. Car care at this level requires the proper product for the level of paint correction needed as well as high quality pads and microfiber cloths. Don't skimp on them as you will end up with more swirls. Since your car is new, I'd recommend this product from Griot's Garage -https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/boss+perfecting+cream.do.


I have used it on my 2017 A4 with good results. But there are also a ton of excellent products available - as well as informative videos explaining in detail, how to apply and remove them. Here's a question for you - what, if any, protective products (wax, sealant, coating) have you applied to protect your car's clear coat? If none, you will continue to have the same issues every time you get your car washed, especially at a commercial car wash. The chemicals there are harsh and even the better places use the same microfiber cloth to dry your hood, roof and doors as they use to dry the bottom (way dirtier) areas of your car. Wax is better than nothing, a sealent properly applied will give you 6 months or so of protection and a sealant, maybe a year or so. Key to all detailing is preparation.

Detailing to those who do it - is a world of its own, with a gazillion products, you need not be concerned about all the minutia presented there and can find yourself getting lost in the weeds. So my advice would be to go to one of the detailing forums and do some reading up and watch the videos on the detailing basics - washing/drying/polishing/protecting your car. That will help you greatly. But I will also tell you - as someone who fusses about my car's finish, these are not "show cars"or "garage queens" - I realize and accept that (especially on dark colored cars, black being the worst) over time, even with good care, there will always be some type of slight swirl mark or hologram popping up and to think otherwise is unrealistic and will lead to spending too much mental and physical energy agonizing over it, rather than enjoying the fine ride that it is. Final note - and this is just me - if my car were leased, not owned, I'd spend way, way less time worrying about those things. Keep it cleaned and polished - you bet, but spend hours detailing by hand, no way.

VipinLJ

Yes. I know exactly what you mean.

I haven't used any wax on my car till now. I was into minor detailing back in India (I paid professional detailers to remove swirl marks and do paint correction though).
And yes. I know that it wouldn't be a good time to detail now considering how I'll be using automatic car washes again since it's too cold for hand washing. And I know it will probably induce more swirls again. So I was wondering whether I should just let it be and do a paint correction and detailing once winter is over. Though since I noticed those swirls, it'll be the first thing I see now.
And yes. My car is leased but I might buy it out once the lease is over. If I don't, my father in law will cuz he loves the car too. So that is why I thought I'd spend some time keeping her nice and shiny.

OT. My BMW has been neglected and always washed at the automatic car wash and yet it doesn't have too many swirls. Wonder whether BMW has better paint or not.

bob m

Ok, then what I would do, being it's winter and assuming you don't have a heated garage, is wait until (unless it gets too dirty) you have a couple of milder, sunny days, bring it to the car wash and put a quality wax on it, or if you want to take a little more time - and not much more effort, put a polisher/sealant like Klass's All in One Klasse Car Care Products, Klasse Detailing Products, Klasse Sealant, klasse all in one on it (but there of plenty of others to choose from). It will remove some of the underlying dirt and offer protection for quite a few months. Go only to a car wash when you absolutely have to and check them out beforehand (reviews/ratings) because there can and is a huge difference between a quality car wash place and one (all too common) that is of a lesser quality. Buy a bottle of rinseless car wash when https://www.amazon.com/Ultima-Waterl.../dp/B00D7LTNW0 the weather is above freezing and use that. It is incredible in any season and saves time, effort and water. You can wash your car perfectly clean in and dry in 20 minutes. If you use a rinseless - make sure the microfiber towel is of extremely high quality as you can add fine swirls in a hurry. I have a case full over the last few years but nothing compares to this one from Griot's Garage for drying or use any car detailing products https://www.griotsgarage.com/product...fType=&from=fn

Don't know if Audi's paint (actually, it's the clear coat, which protects the paint) is any softer or harder than any other maker's, but I can tell you on my Brilliant black Macan, you had only to breather on it to get a swirl.

snagitseven

Another option. Find a quality, reputable detailer that specializes in nano coatings (i.e. Cermamic Pro 9H or Opti-Coat Pro Plus). They will do all of the paint correction the apply the coatong. Once done, swirls will be a thing of the past - just wash and dry and your paint will look glossier than new for several years with no waxing necessary. Not inexpensive but I've found it to be well worth the investment.

bob m

Agree, coatings, especially PRO level coatings, are the best protection out there. I have selp applied Wolfgang's Uber Coating on my 2017 A4 some months back and seems to wash and dry beautifully. Time will tell. I bought my last 3 cars 2014 Q5, 2016 Macan S and 2017 A4 and applied a coating to all of them - last 2 being CQuartz and all looked great after washing. I guess I would have gone to a PRO level coating but my recent history is not to keep cars too long, so I did not invest - and invest is the proper word in spending the extra coin, as well as being a car detail type guy myself. Though I just may keep this A4 for a long while - it's that good. Another point though, and I have mentioned it in my earlier post, I'm not sure I would ever go through the expense of the PRO coatings on a leased car.

snagitseven

CQuartz and other DIY coatings are good for about 2 years then usually need to be redone. The pro ones I mentioned can be good for 5 years or longer. Generally, I'm not sure that if one has a leased car, it shouldn't be considered. There's a maintenance/convenience side to that decision if you want the car to look as good as new throughout a 3 or 4 year lease and don't have the time or inclination to periodically wax, polish or do DIY coatings.

VipinLJ

Thank you, both of you. I thought I would wait until winter is here very to get paint correction and detailing done since there aren't any around where I live (the closest one is around 30-40 miles away).
I'll get the stuff bob m mentioned and get to work as soon as possible. Problem is the weather. It looks like it is only going to become worse (34F is the highest we've had in the last few weeks). And no heated garage. So yea. Hopefully it won't stop me from applying wax or something.
Btw. Does a sealant like Klasse atleast reduce swirl marks? And also. Will it be easy to remove it by a detailer before I get the car coated?
Thank you so much guys.

snagitseven

I can't say if Klasse will remove swirls but any wax, sealant or coating can be removed with a polishing compound.

VipinLJ

Ok. If not, can you recommend any product that removes swirls? By hand ideally since the thought of using a DA polisher itself gives me palpitations.

snagitseven

I'm not so sure any hand applied product can remove the swirls. If you are unsure of a DIY DA rotary, consider letting a pro detailer do it for you. To avoid swirls in the future, as I wrote previously, consider investing in one of the top nano ceramic coatings. Otherwise, I'll let one of our detailing experts chime in.