[General Maximus]

I picked up my ST Monday night from the dealership, they had the car detailed and shined by a pro. I was expecting swirls in the paint and streaks, but the thing was flawlessly done. So, it rained its monkey brains out here last night, and I was all like "there goes my shine, lol" but driving to work dried the car to it's fresh from the detailer look. I honestly was pleasantly surprised -now I gotta ask my sales person what wax they used lol. Anyway, here's a couple pics to show what my paint looks like AFTER the storm and driving to/from work.

 

[JeffKill]

Nice. I had to do some paint correction when I got home with mine.

 

[brian60]

Nice. I had to do some paint correction when I got home with mine.

Same. I asked about the ability of their detailers and got a "best in the business" from the salesman. Joke. A few noticeable water spots and swirls...but the swirls could have been from previous owner and just not corrected also.

 

[Rinzler]

I have a black foST as well, but no matter how hard I try cannot get the swirls to stop. I don't want to wax it all the time as that will remove alot of the clear coat. Definitely let us know if you find out what wax they use

 

[vinsaniti]

That's really surprising. I just ordered an 18 for delivery when I get back to the US. I have a note with the car that says "Do not detail or prep, leave all plastic and factory packaging on". I plan on detailing it myself the first few days I have it.

 

[brian60]

I have a black foST as well, but no matter how hard I try cannot get the swirls to stop. I don't want to wax it all the time as that will remove alot of the clear coat. Definitely let us know if you find out what wax they use

The swirls are caused by using either bad technique or using bad towels. Use 1 towel per section, start with bottom of car and work down, etc.

Use 1 towel for the roof. Throw towel somewhere and grab another. Use that towel for the hood. Get another, do a door, next door, etc. Make sure you use 2 buckets, one for shampoo and one for rinsing. Use a grit guard in BOTH buckets, and make sure you use the grit guard properly. Make sure your towels are good and not crappy Chinese towels or something. Follow all these steps then when you dry the car use proper drying techniques such as a good waffle weave or something. You should wax your car 2 times a year usually, maybe quarterly if it is not very good wax. Sealant is better than wax and lasts longer, so I don't use wax anymore. Good seal will last 8 months if done right.

Edit: It's not rocket science, but it's easy to mess up.

 

[vinsaniti]

I have a black foST as well, but no matter how hard I try cannot get the swirls to stop. I don't want to wax it all the time as that will remove alot of the clear coat. Definitely let us know if you find out what wax they use

Wax does not remove clear coat, it actually tops it to protect it. A compound or polish will remove small amounts of clear coat if done right or if not will burn right through. Don't worry about sealants or waxes they are to help protect your paint.

 

[brian60]

Wax does not remove clear coat, it actually tops it to protect it. A compound or polish will remove small amounts of clear coat if done right or if not will burn right through. Don't worry about sealants or waxes they are to help protect your paint.

Yeah I forgot to hit that point he made...you're right. Wax/Sealant doesn't hurt your clear...what hurts your clear is what Vinsaniti said here, as well as NOT using wax/sealant. If you don't use those products then the environment has nothing between itself and your paint.

 

[JeffKill]

Same. I asked about the ability of their detailers and got a "best in the business" from the salesman. Joke. A few noticeable water spots and swirls...but the swirls could have been from previous owner and just not corrected also.

Yeah, my car had 12 miles on it the day I picked it up. Definitely incompetent detailers at my dealer.

 

[brian60]

Yeah, my car had 12 miles on it the day I picked it up. Definitely incompetent detailers at my dealer.

Yeah it's a general consensus now a day that buying a car that has sat for a while on the lot (which means longer than a week basically lol) is grounds for a slight decrease in price since the probably swirled and needs corrected. Most dealers around me has kids they pay minimum wage to quick wash each car on the lot in like 10 minutes. Bad juju

 

[vinsaniti]

All of the dealers in my area have their own car wash on the lot so, they install some great swirls. I have a buddy who worked at one of them and would take his personal car through their wash and it ended up denting his trunk and peeling paint off. I always tell them not to wash it when I'm in for service at any of them. This will especially be true with my 18 comes in.

 

[Cooper]

I have a black foST as well, but no matter how hard I try cannot get the swirls to stop. I don't want to wax it all the time as that will remove alot of the clear coat. Definitely let us know if you find out what wax they use

Waxing doesn't remove clear, polishing does. Your wash technique and more importantly is causing the swirls.

 

[Cooper]

I picked up my ST Monday night from the dealership, they had the car detailed and shined by a pro. I was expecting swirls in the paint and streaks, but the thing was flawlessly done. So, it rained its monkey brains out here last night, and I was all like "there goes my shine, lol" but driving to work dried the car to it's fresh from the detailer look. I honestly was pleasantly surprised -now I gotta ask my sales person what wax they used lol. Anyway, here's a couple pics to show what my paint looks like AFTER the storm and driving to/from work.

View attachment 263537 View attachment 263545

They used a sealant not a wax, probably one of those full of fillers and petroleum like you see the display at Costco or the gas station. You can get the same thing from a better product in a coating or silica based spray. I have a test bottle of that Adams stuff that is bright green. It is on both our cars and works well. Reload is another good one, that is what Adams knocked off

 

[Cooper]

The swirls are caused by using either bad technique or using bad towels. Use 1 towel per section, start with bottom of car and work down, etc.

Use 1 towel for the roof. Throw towel somewhere and grab another. Use that towel for the hood. Get another, do a door, next door, etc. Make sure you use 2 buckets, one for shampoo and one for rinsing. Use a grit guard in BOTH buckets, and make sure you use the grit guard properly. Make sure your towels are good and not crappy Chinese towels or something. Follow all these steps then when you dry the car use proper drying techniques such as a good waffle weave or something. You should wax your car 2 times a year usually, maybe quarterly if it is not very good wax. Sealant is better than wax and lasts longer, so I don't use wax anymore. Good seal will last 8 months if done right.

Edit: It's not rocket science, but it's easy to mess up.

This, I will say I don't use a new drying towel for every section, I do use two though. Next I will use a drying aid like a spray wax or qd with the car wet a spray per panel then dry like normal.

 

[General Maximus]

Well... it took me long enough, but I found out what the detailer at my dealership used on my car:

good ol' Meguiar's lol.

 

[DanM]

Same. I asked about the ability of their detailers and got a "best in the business" from the salesman. Joke. A few noticeable water spots and swirls...but the swirls could have been from previous owner and just not corrected also.

Ive worked at a few Ford Dealerships and known many guys that work for Ford. In all of them, the process of 'detailing' a car for the customer to pick up after the purchase is literally a glorified car wash and vacuum, with some silicone spray on the tires if your lucky.

 

[Straightline]

Well... it took me long enough, but I found out what the detailer at my dealership used on my car: View attachment 265178 good ol' Meguiar's lol.

Anything branded Meguiars or Mothers is immediately in my good books.

Those guys own the medium-high quality market. Not at all surprised but thanks for finding out, I agree your pictures look awesome.

 

[brian60]

Anything branded Meguiars or Mothers is immediately in my good books.

Those guys own the medium-high quality market. Not at all surprised but thanks for finding out, I agree your pictures look awesome.

That's the thing though, most of them use high quality stuff but garbage towels...or they reuse the towels without a proper wash or after too many washes. So they put good product on a towel that will scratch the paint. My local dealer uses Meguires also and is notorious for 16-18 year olds washing cars there for summer job money and do a TERRIBLE job. The cars are really clean and no spots are missed, but the holograms are horrendous. One of my buddies say all the towels are oil stained and old.

 

[DanM]

That's the thing though, most of them use high quality stuff but garbage towels...or they reuse the towels without a proper wash or after too many washes. So they put good product on a towel that will scratch the paint. My local dealer uses Meguires also and is notorious for 16-18 year olds washing cars there for summer job money and do a TERRIBLE job. The cars are really clean and no spots are missed, but the holograms are horrendous. One of my buddies say all the towels are oil stained and old.

That is the norm in the industry, and unfortunately not the exception. Alot of dealers' "basic" detail is literally just a carwash, tire dressing,and vacuum.

I have also seen dealerships cheap out and hire inexperienced cheap labor only to have them ruin the matte paint on a brand new 250k AMG S class. I dont even use my complimentary free car wash for being an employee because I see the wash buckets they use. Its a huge water barrel that is only emptied and refilled once a week. The wash rags never really get cleaned either.