Swirled up C pillar...anyone else? How to fix?

Toyotas aren’t considered premium vehicles and dealers run them through car washes all the time, some have one on site.

They also employ half ass detailers who don’t know what they’re doing.

I’ve seen new trucks on the lot with swirl marks.

Some dealers think they’re doing you a favor washing your truck, others scam you into one with the Auto Butler BS.

 

I wish I would have asked the dealer not to touch our ORP before we picked it up. It's midnight black metallic and their 'prep' consisted of smearing dirt/debris around and causing a ton of extra work for me. Swirls and scratches galore. They were kind enough to leave the roof filthy though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

 

My dad bought a Limited for himself and they give a complementary tank of gas and car wash on delivery, so they filled up his truck, took it to one of those crappy car washes down the road, and then when he came back, the service driver essentially took a dirty rag and started touching up some of the water spots on the wheels and tires before running the dirty rag all over the body.

And this is a black truck.

 

I know exactly what you guys are talking about with dealer detailing. About 2 years ago, I walked into a local Toyota dealership looking for a part time / retirement job. They gave me a job delivering wholesale parts. After a couple of months, they discovered I knew how to detail (I'd been doing it out of my house for over 20 years) when I detailed my delivery truck - a Tacoma 4x4. They were so thrilled, they offered me a job detailing all of their used cars. Previously, they just washed and vacuumed them. So I became their first "real" detailer and the Used Car Manager was thrilled. The New Car Manager was also happy because I could address most of the common new car detailing issues. (Yes, new cars occasionally arrive with damaged paint.)

Getting back to classic dealer detailing, I had to stomp out some long standing practices such as washing cars (even brand new ones) with long handled brushes. (And they used the same brushes to clean wheels and tires.) They had nobody that knew how to use a buffer or polisher and if anybody complained about even simple paint correction, it had to go to a local collision shop. Yes, it was everything some of you have (unfortunately) experienced.

All was well for over a year until a Mega dealer bought us out. It should have been great for me (because they doubled the volume), but the new owners farmed out all of their detailing to an outside company. Oddly enough, all they do is wash and vacuum everything. They offered me $15.50 an hour and I told them I could make that at Burger King. They now have four minimum wage kids washing cars (with brushes) and none of them knows how to run a buffer or polisher. Yep, that's progress. At least I can be proud of what I did when I was there. Sadly though, 99% of customers don't know the difference.

 

You nailed it.

Those long handled brushes will swirl the hell out of a clearcoat, you should only use them to wash things you don’t care about, and if a dealership is using them it means they don’t care about their vehicles.

The other thing I really hate is the jackass with a pressure washer hitting every car in the morning to remove water spots.

That is a great way to get water under the roof rack or into the doors and unsealed lights.

Bonus points if he pops the hood and blasts every corner of the engine with pressure high enough to strip the top layer of concrete off your driveway.

 

Okay guys, update. Arranged to have the truck paint corrected professionally and then ceramic coated.

In hindsight I should have just left the swirls alone but either way it'll probably need a 2-step correction from the looks of things. Will report back when the show is over but cross your fingers for me guys that these come out so I can start enjoying the truck again lol haven't even had my first service yet,

Never owning another black vehicle again, that is for sure.

 

Good that you're on the path, but damn. If you're one of those guys who's into the details on everything you own, never ever ever get a black car (which you've apparently already quickly learned). I learned a ton of paint correction skills owning a black Rubicon that I adored, but when I caught it in the right light? Pulled out the compounds and DA polisher. It literally took the fun out of the vehicle. One reason silver was at the top of my 4Runner list.

 

Have you tried this polish? Used this back when I owned a Black 1986 Ford Mustang SVO and it worked great for removing swirl marks.

 

If you look closely at the label, you'll see that it's not a polish. It's simply a wax - probably with a few fillers that temporarily hide minor marring.

 

most products are like this now. They last a month or so before they are washed out

 

As far as the original topic, I’ve had some success with some products over the years, but I’ve come down to the conclusion that it’s just a vehicle. It’s the reason I love silver.

 

Hear ya and look if it was a 12 year old used 4th gen I'd say fine, it even adds character but the damn thing is basically new, haven't had so much as a first seevice so this is kind of killing the new car experience for me lol.

Oh well whatever, I should have ceramic coated it from the get go anyway.

And agree, Silver may be the most boring but it's basically scratch and swirl camoflauge. Def gonna consider Silver next time.

 

100%!! to all. I told myself I would never own a silver vehicle because it is super boring. Bought my Tacoma and it was silver. I will never go back. Sooooo little care needed. I clay it once a year on the day I bought it and wax it every three months with

$21 Collinite 845 Insulator Wax-Easy to Use Carnauba+Polymer Wax Sealant-High Gloss Shine+Durable Hydrophobic Beading & Long Lasting Paint Protection for Cars/Boats/Trucks/RVs & Motorcycles (16 fl oz)

Collinite 845. Don’t touch it otherwise unless I get a chip down to metal. Those are the only chips I will touch up

 

UPDATE:

Okay folks, so I got a 1-stage paint correction and a ~3 year ceramic coating. Set me back $650 CAD (so around ~$518 USD).

The truck looks much better and honestly had no idea it could sparkle so much in the sun, basically looks blue.

Hazing that I caused was completely fixed, the worst of the swirls are gone too but sadly not all. It seems some were deeper than I thought and would have required more aggressive polishing, and the cost to gain ratio was looking like diminishing returns. The swirls now are way harder to see and they don't look anywhere near as bad, livable for 4x4 like a 4Runner.

The only tricky part was the badging, I didn't want to de-badge and that affected how close they should get in and around the letters.

Overall I would say it looks better than when I picked it up at the dealer. We'll see how easy this ceramic coating is to clean and maintain but I am basically fearful of whipping a MF towel on any part of the truck now.

 

Congrats - looks good. My unprofessional opinion going forward, if you like what you have now, then you don't need polishes or compounds. You simply need gentle waxing every now and then. Remember, you're trying to protect the paint, not improve it. Personally, I wand-wash at a car wash (no brushes or contact), air-dry (70mph plus will work, lol), then use Turtle Ice. I'm sure there are similar products you can use. But after almost 80k miles, my Nautical Blue paint still looks like new (Nautical Blue is one tiny step away from black). And personally, I don't aggressively try to remove scuffs, such as the one I have from someone opening a white car door into my fender trim. I don't want to make a dull spot by scrubbing at it. It's slowly going away with the waxings. That's just me, though. Others may go nuts until it's gone.

Enjoy your shiny black beauty!

 

Looks much, much better. Truth be told, a 2 stage polish would have taken care of the last bits of marring and holograming. With almost any other color but black, the single stage polish would have done the trick.

Going forward, the big thing you want to think about is how to care for the finish without reintroducing new marring. Obviously, automated car washes with spinning brushes are a big no-no. Dragging any kind of sponge, mitt or towel without proper lubrication (lots of soapy water) is also a no-no. Speaking of soapy water, make sure to use a high quality car wash soap and not dish detergent. As for actual drying, I use my leaf blower to get most of the water off, then follow up with high quality microfiber towels which then get washed with special detergent in cold water, then low temperature dried.

As for caring for the ceramic coating, talk to the folks who applied it and see what they recommend. I do not recommend waxing for a number of reasons. (For instance, waxes with cleaners in them can actually damage the coating.) Most ceramic coatings have a "recharge" process that's actually pretty simple. Again, see what the folks who applied it recommend. Otherwise, enjoy your T4R!

 

Thanks! Agreed, my next truck (whenever that is) will be something super easy to maintain like silver. Black is such a no-no for people with even the slightest OCD.

To maintain I asked the guys if in-bay touchless car washes are good enough until the car gets really dirty, they said it should be okay as long as I buy the basic wash and none of the more aggressive chemical additives.

As far as handwashing I am thinking of going with ONR or one of the "rinseless" washes as I keep they are super safe on ceramic and the 2-bucket wash method seems to be really time consuming.

 

My God........some of you guys are fanatical.

 

The only reason I mention that about microfiber towels is that most folks don't know that you can literally destroy one is a single washing / drying cycle - if you use too much heat. But yes, some folks go pretty well off the deep end.

 

That's some amazing attention to detail.

I'm impressed.

 

i tried not to mess around and hang dried them, wife was starting to get annoyed with the drying rack up just to try 30 car towel lol