BMW Decision

[TW]Fox · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:29

gurdas said:
Lol....are you taking the ****?

Which bit dont you get?

Dirty paintwork, so you wish to wash it. Hosing it down wont remove every spec of dirt from the car - hence, the use of a sponge/mitt/etc.

With a sponge, it wont absorb any crap, so instead you rub it into your paintwork. Lovely!

ironman · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:29

Memphis said:
Are you?!

A sponge is one of the single worst things you can use on your paintwork. Okay, not quite a Brillo pad, but still not even close to a washmitt.

Who says a sponge is the single worst thing you can use? What a load of rubbish, well looked after sponges are perfectly fine to use on cars, i'm not about to go and tell someone who has been working on bodywork repair for 25 years and tell him sponges are bad!

Memphis · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:30

gurdas said:
Who says a sponge is the single worst thing you can use? What a load of rubbish, well looked after sponges are perfectly fine to use on cars, i'm not about to go and tell someone who has been working on bodywork repair for 25 years and tell him sponges are bad!

Haha

.

[TW]Fox · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:30

gurdas said:
i'm not about to go and tell someone who has been working on bodywork repair for 25 years and tell him sponges are bad!

Given that every brand new BMW prepped by any of the dealers bodyshops are covered in swirlmarks I'd not trust the opinion of somebody who has worked in bodywork repair to know whether to use a sponge or not

ironman · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:31

[TW]Fox;11305139 said:
Which bit dont you get?

Dirty paintwork, so you wish to wash it. Hosing it down wont remove every spec of dirt from the car - hence, the use of a sponge/mitt/etc.

With a sponge, it wont absorb any crap, so instead you rub it into your paintwork. Lovely!

You are doing something wrong if you are rubbing your paintwork.......if what you are saying was the case, everytime i'd wash a car, it would never be clean and full of swirls?

[TW]Fox · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:32

gurdas said:
You are doing something wrong if you are rubbing your paintwork.......if what you are saying was the case, everytime i'd wash a car, it would never be clean and full of swirls?

Wash a lot of cars in central London do you?

You wash your Dads Silver S55, which doesnt show swirls unless you shine a light on them?

The people on the DW forums are so ridiculously anal they should be trusted on whats good and bad for your paint more than anyone 'in the trade'.

ironman · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:34

[TW]Fox;11305147 said:
Given that every brand new BMW prepped by any of the dealers bodyshops are covered in swirlmarks I'd not trust the opinion of somebody who has worked in bodywork repair to know whether to use a sponge or not

Professionals who rectify paint defects know a thing or two about the equipment they are using......taking poor care in washing the car will result in swirls...not what you use.

Also dealers aren't the best people to be washing cars.....you don't get them to wash your car when in for a service do you?

Griffo · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:36

Can it be agreed that the washmitt wins as it does what was said and pulls away the grit etc? I also heard sponges are the son of the devil, this is why I keep them pretty far away from my imaginary daughters.

Muffin` · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:36

gurdas said:
Professionals who rectify paint defects know a thing or two about the equipment they are using......taking poor care in washing the car will result in swirls...not what you use.

They restore paint they do not clean it.

[TW]Fox · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:36

gurdas said:
Also dealers aren't the best people to be washing cars.....you don't get them to wash your car when in for a service do you?

I was talking about the bodyshop - the people you are implying would know all about whether you should use a sponge or not

ironman · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:38

[TW]Fox;11305158 said:
Wash a lot of cars in central London do you? You wash your Dads Silver S55, which doesnt show swirls unless you shine a light on them?

The people on the DW forums are so ridiculously anal they should be trusted on whats good and bad for your paint more than anyone 'in the trade'.

What colour is the Vectra and the old S55? The blue one wasn't perfect when it was bought and was sorted out pretty sharpish, and was washed regularly with a sponge for months and months after, no degrading in the quality of the paintwork.....

Also DW is full of a bunch of guys who want to use popular 'look what i'm using' products so they can be flash in their detailing threads, yet you would trust them more than someone who worked in the field professionally?

[TW]Fox · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:39

gurdas said:
you would trust them more than someone who worked in the field professionally?

Yes.

Like I said - the bodyshop team at most BM dealers prep the new cars. These are the guys who work in the field professionally. They deliver cars to customers with swirlmarks..

ironman · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:40

Muffin` said:
They restore paint they do not clean it.

That's just like saying surgeons fix people but don't know what causes the issues in the first place...

[TW]Fox · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:42

gurdas said:
That's just like saying surgeons fix people but don't know what causes the issues in the first place...

Please don't try and compare a qualified surgeon with somebody who works in a bodyshop.

Would you go to the guy in the local TV shop for advice on which TV to get?

Would you ask the guy who runs a PC shop which is the best hardware for certain games?

No. So why expect somebody to be an expert on washing cars becuase they spray them?

Ben M · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:43

Fox is right, as per. With a sponge, the dirt particles stay on the surface of the sponge, so you wipe them across the paint. With wash mitts, the dirt goes into the material, and so is not rubbed across the surface.

Normally it isn't very noticeable, unless it is really bad. But really obsessive compulsive "detailing" type people cry when they see "swirl marks".

You can use a sponge and have nice looking paintwork, nice to normal people at least

ironman · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:44

[TW]Fox;11305195 said:
Yes.

Like I said - the bodyshop team at most BM dealers prep the new cars. These are the guys who work in the field professionally. They deliver cars to customers with swirlmarks..

Prep the new cars? Most people i've seen that wash cars at dealers are the same kind of people you see at the polish hand polish centres, hardly professionals are they?

Matt82 · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:44

ive washed cars with sponges for years. unless you are an utter lemon, you wont ruin the paint

i take it this is what you have read off a meguirs (mug buyers?) bottle?

[TW]Fox · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:45

Matt82 said:
ive washed cars with sponges for years. unless you are an utter lemon, you wont ruin the paint

You wont ruin it, no, but remember the comment I made which sparked this off is that 14 years of washing a black car with a sponge will result in paintwork that doesnt exactly look spiffing when the sun shines.

Ben M · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:46

Matt82 said:
ive washed cars with sponges for years. unless you are an utter lemon, you wont ruin the paint

i take it this is what you have read off a meguirs (mug buyers?) bottle?

No, this is from "detailing" sites. Where there are pros that charge stupid amounts for wash+ polishes (and i do mean stupid amounts)

ironman · 15 Mar 2008 at 21:48

[TW]Fox;11305209 said:
Please don't try and compare a qualified surgeon with somebody who works in a bodyshop.

Would you go to the guy in the local TV shop for advice on which TV to get?

Would you ask the guy who runs a PC shop which is the best hardware for certain games?

No. So why expect somebody to be an expert on washing cars becuase they spray them?

I expect someone to be an expert on washing cars because they know a thing or two about bodywork condition......spraying cars is different to final finishing cars....a sprayer isn't necessarily a finisher and my old man wasn't just the former.