Hi guys - I am looking at getting an X-fire for my father. He takes good care of his cars but does not wash and wax as often as I would hope. Because of this, although he likes the darker colored Crossfires, I know that Black is definitely not an option. My question is how readily do machine gray or graphite crossfires show scratches/swirls when compared to a SSB crossfire? Would someone who only waxes their car once a year and washes it once a month have a swirly mess on their hands? Any guidance you can provide will be appreciated.

ORoadster

 

The swirls will come from how you wash and dry the car and can show quite clearly regardless of color. I know of one forum member with a white car (he shall remain nameless ) and you can swirls a mile away. Machine Grey and Graphite are great colors and I would suggest you dial in the paint and then just make sure he's using the correct tools to wash and dry: microfiber or natural sheepskin wash mitt, two bucket wash method, and a couple of waffle weave microfiber drying towels to dry the car. Stay away from terry cloth and leather chamois at all costs.

 

Mike,

What are your thoughts on the California blade to get majority of water off and then use the mico waffle sheets to dry down.

Appreicate your input.
PS: Mike is correct we have a Graphite Gray PT Cruiser for my wife and using cotton terry towels it still had swirls.

Regards,
Jake80

 

Jake, I hate those water blades....... all it takes is one little errant bit of something under it and you're screwed. Do this instead: after your final rinse take the nozzle off the hose and turn your water pressure down to about 1/2, then hold the hose close to the surface and parallel to it so the water runs out onto the panel in a gentle stream. On a well waxed surface this will sheet the vast majority of the water off the car, so instead of having to dry a billion little beads of water you've got just a few big ones. Use a couple of waffle weave microfiber drying towels to pick those up and you're good to go.

By the way, I've got a 2004 PT Cruiser Turbo in Graphite Metallic and the last time I machine polished it was over two years ago and it has barely a mark in it. I use Ultimate Quik Detailer and a few microfiber towels to clean it off several times a week and only wash it once a month at the most. I've got a write up on this over at meguiarsonline.com.......... I'll copy it over here in the next few days as a guide to maintaining your finish once it's dialed in.

 

Mike
Thanks for the input. Will retire the blade.

As far as avoiding washing. I live in MD. near DC so we don't have the wonderful weather that you have In past few weeks we have our wonderful three pollen which makes the car green. Add a little rain to the mix and you get the picture.

Appreciate all your tips and input.

Jake80

 

jake - have you had your car at Burtonsville? If not why don't you try and hook up with us this Sunday morning for our weekly cruise in. There was a Machine Gray last year, beautiful color. Please pm me for directions and times to Burtonsville - Pat

 

Those are our chosen colors, and one advantage is they don't show dirt easily. However, if you run them through a carwash (which previous owners did with the SRT6 and the 2007), the brushes leave scratches in the clearcoat. On the other hand, the roadster has always been hand washed and was "teflon" coated by the dealer, and the paint is perfect. The graphite gray also shows less wax residue than the machine gray, which has a more blue tint to it. I consider both beautiful colors, which explains why I have three of them.