| Welcome to the Autopia.org. You are viewing as a guest. By joining our FREE community you will be able to interact with others. Plus, when you join you will receive instant coupon codes for special discounts with our sponsors. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
|
09-13-06, 05:55
|
#1 (permalink)
| | Registered User
CroMag is offline
Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 58 | Splain something about swirls to me As one who is naturally compulsive about swirls on my own vehicles, I of course notice a lot of cars that have them as well. However, something about these cars always jumps out at me that I have not been able to come up with an answer to and is frustrating the h#ll out of me.
Swirls always seem to develop in the same pattern regardless of where they are located on the vehicle - a bunch of tight, symmetrical, convex swirls - kind of like ripples in a pond. Now given that swirls are largely due to poor washing technique that rubs abrasives into the paint, why don't they develop in a more random pattern?
People don't always wash in a symmetrical, circular pattern on every panel - you would think that swirls would look more like a pile of spaghetti, or that you would see vertical or horizontal scratches, but they never look like that. Maybe I am missing the obvious, but why do swirls look the way they do?
Please help so that I can move on with my life and contemplate other mindless things.... | |
| |
09-13-06, 06:10
|
#2 (permalink)
| | Registered User
Setec Astronomy is online now Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 7,668 | I think the swirls are actually random, but because the light source is usually a point, rather than diffuse, it reflects in a specific way.
__________________
Grumpy like Ketch...
"Well, it certainly does!"
| |
| |
09-13-06, 06:49
|
#3 (permalink)
| | Bad Boy Time Out
Anthony Orosco is offline
Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 3,317 | Pretty much what Mike stated above.
I call these halo-scratches because as the light catches the edges of these random scratches they appear to be circular patterns but in reality they are just thousands of random scratches.
Anthony | |
| |
09-13-06, 06:53
|
#4 (permalink)
| | WOOL4LIFE
Coupe is offline
Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Grand Rapids Mi Posts: 1,971 | Wow i never thought of that.
Thats actually really cool. | |
| |
09-14-06, 10:05
|
#5 (permalink)
| | Practical Perfectionist
Accumulator is offline
Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 20,886 | Playing around with the lighting can help illustrate this. A friend of mine gets linear marring from washing, but in many lighting conditions it looks anything *but* linear. Get the light right and sure enough, it's a bunch of straight scratches. | |
| |
09-14-06, 10:38
|
#6 (permalink)
| | Registered User
gopedhead is offline
Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 125 | mine are a little random too if i move the light or look at it at a diferent angle. however, on the streets the swirls on other cars show up in circular patterns. | |
| |
09-14-06, 10:42
|
#7 (permalink)
| | I don't have much to add
SpoiledMan is offline
Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Southern Cali Posts: 6,664 | Picture snippet.... 
__________________
The Power of Dreams... Club FLEX Member
Black cars are fun! Yes, I *do* use grout sponges! | |
| |
09-14-06, 11:06
|
#8 (permalink)
| | WOOL4LIFE
Coupe is offline
Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Grand Rapids Mi Posts: 1,971 | Quote: |
Originally Posted by gopedhead mine are a little random too if i move the light or look at it at a diferent angle. however, on the streets the swirls on other cars show up in circular patterns. |
Swirls arent circular, on your car or any other car. | |
| |
09-14-06, 03:15
|
#9 (permalink)
| | I don't have much to add
SpoiledMan is offline
Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Southern Cali Posts: 6,664 | One more pic even closer. 
__________________
The Power of Dreams... Club FLEX Member
Black cars are fun! Yes, I *do* use grout sponges! | |
| |
09-14-06, 05:12
|
#10 (permalink)
| | Registered User
gopedhead is offline
Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 125 | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Coupe Swirls arent circular, on your car or any other car. |
shoudl they be called swirls? swirls illustrate a circular pattern? dont they?
it's kinda contradictory how we all use teh term in that way. | |
| |
09-14-06, 05:20
|
#11 (permalink)
| | Practical Perfectionist
Accumulator is offline
Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NE Ohio Posts: 20,886 | "Swirls" gets used in all sorts of ways...to a purist, a "swirlmark" is something caused by a rotary buffer. | |
| |
09-14-06, 07:34
|
#12 (permalink)
| | WOOL4LIFE
Coupe is offline
Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Grand Rapids Mi Posts: 1,971 | Quote: |
Originally Posted by gopedhead shoudl they be called swirls? swirls illustrate a circular pattern? dont they?
it's kinda contradictory how we all use teh term in that way. |
Not really becuase the way our eyes see the scratches, they appear to be circular. | |
| | |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes | Rate This Thread | Linear Mode | |
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | | All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:35. | | | |