4 hours ago, MarksST said:

So your earlier quote that no amount of polishing will remove swirls etc, was wrong. Thanks

Let me rephrase,no amount of polishing other than using a DA polisher with the correct pads & polish will remove swirls & remove very fine scratches.They will never come out by hand.

Rubbish. The paint doesn't know how the abrasive is applied and glass can be worked and polished by hand ( try making a 6" telescope mirror if you think that you need machines to polish out scratches) so any argument about the hardness of modern paint is a non starter. It is only a matter of time, care and patience. Watch parts on high end movements are hand finished to black polish. Any imperfections have to be smaller than the wavelength of blue light so that they are invisible. It is said to improve timekeeping by reducing aerodynamic turbulence which you would consider unlikely until you find that a good watch may gain half a second on a transatlantic flight in an unpressurized baggage hold.

I normally use a chamois, then a microfibre cloth, as for me a chamois does leave streaks, I then go over with a microfibre cloth after and that does the job for me, but what works for me doesn't necessarily work for other people, I take great enjoyment using the 'fibre' cloth after chamois-ing, not only does it give me a smooth feeling when getting rid of the streaks and finish, I also get an enormous amount of satisfaction that I've put in the extra effort to make my car look nice and streak free.

I often see cleaned cars with streaks in them, and think to myself that if the owner just put a little more attention to detail, then his car would look a lot nicer, but some people's standards aren't as high as others I suppose 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

If the chamois leaves streaks then either it is new and still has cod oil in it or it has not been properly washed before it is applied and is simply dirty

48 minutes ago, anon said:

Rubbish. The paint doesn't know how the abrasive is applied and glass can be worked and polished by hand ( try making a 6" telescope mirror if you think that you need machines to polish out scratches) so any argument about the hardness of modern paint is a non starter. It is only a matter of time, care and patience. Watch parts on high end movements are hand finished to black polish. Any imperfections have to be smaller than the wavelength of blue light so that they are invisible. It is said to improve timekeeping by reducing aerodynamic turbulence which you would consider unlikely until you find that a good watch may gain half a second on a transatlantic flight in an unpressurized baggage hold.

It’s not the paint that has the scratches, swirls marring etc it’s the clearcoat. Your not going to be able to get the polish to work effectively by hand, you cold spend all day by hand and still not get the same result a machine would in minutes.

Watch parts are going to be too small to use a machine with, high end watches will use old techniques that they know work. The cases, straps  and glass will probably be polished by machine.

As with the chamois, use what’s worked for you in the past and that your happy with, regardless of what other people recommended you would never go with it due to your experience, so this thread was almost pointless. 

12 minutes ago, Chinadoll said:

I normally use a chamois, then a microfibre cloth, as for me a chamois does leave streaks, I then go over with a microfibre cloth after and that does the job for me, but what works for me doesn't necessarily work for other people, I take great enjoyment using the 'fibre' cloth after chamois-ing, not only does it give me a smooth feeling when getting rid of the streaks and finish, I also get an enormous amount of satisfaction that I've put in the extra effort to make my car look nice and streak free.

I often see cleaned cars with streaks in them, and think to myself that if the owner just put a little more attention to detail, then his car would look a lot nicer, but some people's standards aren't as high as others I suppose 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Try (I don’t care if you do or don’t), instead of the chamois, use some quick detailed spray as a drying aid, spray on an area, and wipe over with the microfibre.

The best watch cases are finished by hand as are the movement plates. I  restore chronographs, two or three a year for those who can afford it. 

I shall try the detailing spray out of curiosity as I tried the microfibre cloth. The thread was far from pointless as far as I was concerned. Opinion was divided so I tried both approaches. Had the microfibre cloth given a better result I would have chosen it but I did not find that it did. Ok if time is pressing, I would use it if I were in a hurry but if there's time, which there usually is, I get a better result from a washleather.

6 minutes ago, MarksST said:

Try (I don’t care if you do or don’t), instead of the chamois, use some quick detailed spray as a drying aid, spray on an area, and wipe over with the microfibre.

I might try it, but I'd prefer to see someone else using it before I go and buy it, just to see what effort/results are had, as I don't want to waste my money on something that might or might not be as good or efficient as I'm already doing (but not bothered if I do or I don't really). 

Is there a detailing spray that is universally used or is it a bs market like HiFi where you will be driving a muck spreader if you don't spend £500/ ml?

7 minutes ago, Chinadoll said:

I might try it, but I'd prefer to see someone else using it before I go and buy it, just to see what effort/results are had, as I don't want to waste my money on something that might or might not be as good or efficient as I'm already doing (but not bothered if I do or I don't really). 

And thee we have it, just use what your used to. 

Theres countless YouTube videos on this sort of thing, theres a good forum called detailing world where you may or may not learn something about drying using a chamois.

a bottle of detailer doesn’t cost much and if it’s not used as a drying aid use it for last step wipe over.

6 minutes ago, anon said:

Is there a detailing spray that is universally used or is it a bs market like HiFi where you will be driving a muck spreader if you don't spend £500/ ml?

Every brand has at least one, it doesn’t really matter though as your not going to take anyone’s advice on anything as usually but expect us to take yours.

this is worth a watch, pun intended

https://www.rolex.com/about-rolex-watches/the-art-of-the-sheen.html

await comment that they aren’t high end.

1 minute ago, MarksST said:

And thee we have it, just use what your used to. 

Theres countless YouTube videos on this sort of thing, theres a good forum called detailing world where you may or may not learn something about drying using a chamois.

a bottle of detailer doesn’t cost much and if it’s not used as a drying aid use it for last step wipe over.

Will have a look, I always say that you're never too old to learn new things, 'everyday is a schoolday' as they say, just sometimes people (including myself) get stuck in your ways and sometimes find it difficult to change those ways, but I am starting to be more adventurous when it comes to my car👍👍👍👍

They aren't. At last you're right about something. 

7 minutes ago, anon said:

They aren't. At last you're right about something. 

🤔🙄🙄🙄😒😒😒

See this is why this thread was pointless, you know best, no matter what was said you will put it down. Stick to what works for you.

Just a suggestion;

wash your car as you do, one or two bucket method, then rinse.

Personally I then prefer to dry the windows and some of the awkward areas such as the underside of the rear spoiler with a microfibre towel.

I then use Auto Glym Aqua Wax as a drying aid, one or two sprays to a wet panel then wipe over with a microfibre cloth for a more-or-less flawless finish. As someone who lives in a hard-water area this is my time tested route to avoid watermarks. It’s also a very quick and easy way to top up any protection you have applied to the paintwork after a wash.

Bit of an update on ‘Freddy’ the Fiesta,thought I would have ago & ceramic coating him,all in all a very good result.Gave the car a good decontamination wash with ‘Autoglym Polar Blast’,then a soap wash with a Mit.Then clay barred the paint work & a final IPA wipe down of the paintwork.First ceramic coat took around 1-45mins,then two hours later a final coat,took about an 1-30.Did not do a two stage paint correction,as the vehicle is really only a run around & 2nd vehicle,also do not have a DA polisher & cannot justify it.All in all car came up far,far better than expected.Very happy with result.Ceramic coating used was ‘CarPro’ CQ.UK 3.0 ceramic quartz paint protection.Definitely more depth in the colour & gloss depth.They manufacture a very good range of products(which I have many)manufactured in S.Korea.All in all,looks like the car has just come out of a dealership showroom!Photo’s don’t do it justice unfortunately.

I'm late to the party here, but in the 70s when I first started washing cars, it was a chamois, it was the only thing around! Hated them, such hard work, and I'm inherently lazy. On visiting the USA in early 80s, I noticed professional 'detailers' used bath towels, so for years, I used a squeegee I bought in America (still have it), and a proper deep pile towel. Then someone invented the microfiber cloth! I now have a fleet of 3 Meguiars drying cloths which are just brilliant. So if you are still using a chamois, all respect, nothing wrong with being old school, but if you're lazy like me, head towards a Meguiars drying towel!

9 hours ago, StephenFord said:

I'm late to the party here, but in the 70s when I first started washing cars, it was a chamois, it was the only thing around! Hated them, such hard work, and I'm inherently lazy. On visiting the USA in early 80s, I noticed professional 'detailers' used bath towels, so for years, I used a squeegee I bought in America (still have it), and a proper deep pile towel. Then someone invented the microfiber cloth! I now have a fleet of 3 Meguiars drying cloths which are just brilliant. So if you are still using a chamois, all respect, nothing wrong with being old school, but if you're lazy like me, head towards a Meguiars drying towel!

Absolutely,towels are the only way to go now.