Having come from 2BM to being an ONR for the last couple of years I've been contemplating this question. I'm thinking about it now especially when I go to correct the hammered paint on my old car.

Any of the above techniques will provide you with mar-free cleaning performance (Unless you have absolutely ridiculously soft paint.), though you do have to know when and how to use them. I'm a big ONR fan, but as a rule of thumb if you have large, loose solids on the paint it's best to get the hosepipe out to float them off the surface before your wash media touches the car. If your car is caked in adherent grime you'll want to do some form of pre-wash to get as much of debris off the car as possible to minimize your potential for marring. The effectiveness of snow-foaming is debatable in terms of actual cleaning power, so in the past I've always used varying grades of APC dilution when a pre-wash is necessary, and it has worked very well. Dodo-Juice shampoos are supposed to foam up very well when applied through a lance, however, so I would recommend trying out a couple of different techniques and finding what works best for you.

Hopefully this helps...

Steampunk

You don't really need a foam lance, just any sensible pre-wash. We run BTBM through our 80degree hot pressure washer and that will clean better than foam due to the high pressures and temp.

But pre-wash followed by a careful contact wash will work for most people. Marring is from contact - so keeping contact as clean and minimal as possible is the trick.

TBH, never really understood the foam lance/ pre-wash thing. My indecision comes from not wanting to do the work I'm planning in putting in my Jag. No I can't it perfect but want to keep the surface as good as possible for as long as possible. Here's a swirly shot:

Pre-washing (Whether it is with ONR in a spray bottle, or APC/TFR/Snow Foam.) helps to break down and pre-encapsulate large quantities of adherent dirt that could loosen up during the manual wash process and possibly abrade the paint. Most people who are serious about detailing never let their cars get that dirty, and if they do it is by incident (I.E. Your car gets splashed with salty slush/snow, you get mud thrown up on the sides, you have construction work nearby and your car gets covered in concrete dust, etc.). I do 50+ percent of my washing with ONR, and the rest with 2BM using no pre-rinse, and on the lower panels of our MINI where they curve in (The tops are in contact with the car cover, so they don't count.) show little to no wash related marring (Nothing that a quick shifty with a mildly/non-abrasive paintwork cleanser/glaze couldn't cure.). Once you correct that damage, as long as you take even a moderate amount of care with rinseless or 2BM washing you will not incur that many swirls again. You'll want to give it a quick buzz over with LP or LPL 1-2 times a year to freshen things up, but you won't have to do major correction unless you have bodywork done, or your mechanic (If you don't do your own work.) decides to rub a shop rag across your finish.

Do not be afraid to correct your paint; just take it slowly, panel by panel (Which helps if you have health problems that may preclude you from sitting/standing in an awkward position for an extended amount of time.) and you'll be perfectly fine . If you do your homework, your results will pay off in a BIG way, and you'll have one of the nicest XJS's around . Those swirls are robbing your paint of a lot of gloss and clarity, and you'll be blown away by the finish once you get it even 70% corrected. You have a DA, which is an advantage that I didn't have when I first tried to undertake major correction, so it will help and save you a lot of time/energy.

If you have any questions, or need any assistance, we're here for you .

Steampunk

Thanks for the respond Steampunk. I've got a couple of things to do before I get to the correction. I'm trying to rehab the driver's seat now starting with the worst bit (the outside lower bolster). Then before I correct I'm going to undo and then redo some stone chip repair that was horribly done by someone previously.

BTW, my car before the car before the Jag was a BRG MINI Cooper S cabrio.

Here's the seat I'm trying to save...


and the paint chips repairs...


ETA pics of my projects.

Come on lads, more votes please. It's tied right now. More comments so I can see what the reasoning or experiences are.

Thanks or Cheers as the case may be!

voted!!!

Obrigado!

(My wife lived in Brasil for two years)

Nice Cadfaeltex!!

Thanks for that Obrigado!! If you need any help just say!! I'll try to help you!!