Yea..what I was saying was, and I see now the sentence didn't make sense: Unless it's polished SS which shows everything then a bit of water and a microfibre is enough. I know SS can't be anodized.
I used to use cotton...100% egyptian cotton with the borders taken off until I found swissvax years and years ago.
You won't find a single hairline scratch or swirl on any of my nicer vehicles under any kind of light. Most of them have non metallic paint too which makes any kind of surface swirl much easier to spot. Yes I'm nuts enough to have a special light to look for swirls....
I won't go through my entire washing process but it gets complicated around here lol. There is the pre-rinse, the foam cannon soak, the second rinse, the second foam cannon soak, the bucket wash with different washing towels for different sections of the vehicles. Followed by the filtered water rinse and then the dry is done with a metro blaster dryer that shoots filtered hot air. Then of course clay barring as needed, spot polishing and periodic waxing. Of course the actual products used make a difference too. The swissvax crystal rock wax has at least gotten me down to waxing only once a year unless I have to touch up a spot that was barred and polished. LUCKILY I love doing this stuff.
Most cars from the factory come in absolutely unacceptable condition for my tastes. I've never had a car not come pre-swirled even though I ask them not to "detail" it when I buy it.
I'm a freak when it comes to car paint