Question from a loyal customer who now has a Black Car


Diamond Dog

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I previously owned a Meteor Grey Audi S5. I had it Ceramic Pro'ed. I used this (which I will explain) method before, and got very little if not any swirling.

4 years later I sold the S5 and now I purchased a BLACK Panamera after I swore I would never get another black car again. And I am more concerned with this car because its black.

My method is to use a a pressure washer to hose off the car, I then use a foam cannon with Optimum Car Wash (3 oz to a quart bottle in the foam cannon) , I let it foam, sit for about 3 minutes, I use wheel woolies to go over  the wheels only (not the rest of the car)  during this time, then pressure wash it all off. I then use a leaf blower to blow my car dry. I then Use Optimum Products Optimum No Rinse diluted to quick detail-er proportions (I ounce to 1 quart water) and spray that on visible places the foam did not get left over stuff  (e.g. pollen spots) completely off with a plush micro fiber. Its usually only about 3 or 4 places. I also wipe down some light water spotting areas (4 or 5 areas).

I theorized that less touching of the car is better and I want to minimize touching to avoid swirls.

But I see almost everyone using the cannon, then the 2 bucket method and it makes me wonder if I am not getting all the dirt off and run the risk of swirling that into the paint?

Again, my Audi always looked great with this method and there were virtually no swirls over 4 years, but it was grey and not black. I decided not to OPticoat Pro this car because of the raised prices over 4 years  on the Opticoat and I had to apply wax or sealants (eg. OPtiseal) over it every 4-6 months anyway to keep it super glossy (Ceramic Sealers seem to still need maintenance to look good). So I figured I would just traditional wax every 4-6 months since I did it even with he Optic-Coat Pro. I'm too afraid to do the Opti Gloss on my own.

  • Could you please comment on your thoughts on my washing method? 
  • Is not going over it with a mit after foaming it leaving Dirt behind that can swirl the paint or is touching it with a mit more of a risk for swirls?
  • I am almost out of ONR. Is there a better product of yours I should be using as quick detailer? I use 1 oz per 1 qt of this stuff in hopes it lubricates so that when I spot wipe, it won't swirl.
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Also wondering of this would be an ideal process to get good results and limit touching to avoid swirls on a black car

  1. Rinse car with just water from pressure washer
  2. Spray car with 1 gallon of water and .5 ounces of ONR  with pump sprayer
  3. Spray car with foam cannon with 3oz of Optimum car soap  via pressure washer 
  4. Let's sit for 3 minutes
  5. Rinse car with pressure washer
  6. Blow dry with blower
  7. Touch up with ONR used as quick detailer with 1oz diluted into 1 qt of water in a spray bottle to get any residual spots or left over gunk
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  • 4 weeks later...

Everyone has their preferred method to wash cars and yours is as good as any.  Optimum agrees that the less contact with paint, the better, so if you're happy with the appearance I would NOT use a mitt.   The only "better product" than ONR as a quick detailer might be Optimum Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer - it's not as good at cleaning as ONR, but is slicker and has great gloss.

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