Another black paint wash question

I'm no detailing expert... but wax goes a long way to hiding swirl marks. I always wash and wax, if I can't wax, I don't wash.

As for water spots, maybe it is also drying faster than you can dry the car? I accidentally got water spots once when I didn't dry fast enough... but I'm in the PNW. 1) Water here is probably some of the softest you can find... everything is surface mountain runoff. The TDS (Total dissolved solids) coming from the tap water is usually between 10-15ppm! 2) It's often not easy to dry the car, especially if not garaged or you can't get the timing right to wash/wax when the sun is out and before it nears dusk, so as a result, water does not usually have a chance to dry on the car to leave spots.

I use a synthetic shammy to dry the car.

The paint on the hood is 24 years old.... the big ol chip is about 10 years old. LOL It does have swirls, but a good coat of wax and most of them disappear.

Your best bet is to do a full detail on the truck with a synthetic sealant instead of a typical carnauba-based wax. Carnauba has a low melting point and typical Florida heat especially in summer is enough to vaporize the protection in a short amount of time. Keeping a good coat of sealant on the paint will help water bead up and roll off when rinsing. Also, remove your nozzle and do a final rinse with the open hose, laminar flow to sheet off most of the water. You can also use a leaf blower to blast excess water from cracks and crevices. When washing, I'll do a panel then re-wet the entire vehicle if it's warm and sunny out. Make sure to wash from top down and only use back and forth, sweeping motions on horizontal panels and up and down motions on vertical panels. That way if you do incidentally cause some marring, it'll be in straight lines instead of circles making any swirls less noticeable.

As for drying, you don't need to apply much pressure to the towel. Best to just fold in in 1/2 then pull it lightly across the surface. Start on the roof and work down the sides in case you missed some dirt during washing. You can also spray some quick detailed on the wet panel before drying to add a little lubrication and deuce water spots.

Last tip: Don't wash when extremely warm or in direct sunlight. Hot paint is softer and more susceptible to swirls.

I dealt with hard water when I lived in Tucson. I would try to keep the car wet until done washing. Then, mist the wet car with detail spray before drying. Detail spray will soften the remaining water and make it dry better.

Swirls are difficult to manage. Foam gun, two bucket wash, rinse, and Leaf blower to dry go a long way. (although with hard water you can create spots this way. touch them up with a microfiber towel and detail spray).

Once swirls are there, you can fill with wax or remove them with polish. Search for Junkman's videos on how to polish. Lots of work, but I have never seen better results by simply filling swirls with Zaino or other products.

Preventing swirls is done by proper washing, and having a good coat of wax. Carnauba is fine, but it doesnt last long. Polymer products like Zaino will give longer protection. I use a hybrid of Klasse or Zaino with pure Carnauba on top. When Carnauba is gone, you still have the Zaino.

Its just a never ending battle, but the results are satisfying.

Edit: Figured I would list my steps for a new car.

1- Wash with Dawn.
2 - Claybar with proper lubrication.
3 - Wash with quality car soap.
4- Polish / paint correct using Junkmans methods
5- Rubbing alcohol wipe. (Need to dilute- this removes polishing oils)
6 - Wash with quality car soap
7- Apply Klasse / Zaino
8 Apply Carnauba

9- Maintain - spot repair swirls using the same process as above, but just on the affected section.

This is seriously a month long process (doing some each weekend). You can polish one section at a time. If you do all of this in one weekend, you are probably not spending the necessary time required to properly polish or let the polymers cure. Claybar alone can take some time.