What causes swirls?
- Thread starter Suzanna
- Start date
JaredPointer
COME AT ME BRO
I'm sure someone will give you a pretty detailed response, but to be blunt they are usually casue by improper washing tools & techniques and drying a vehicle that's not completely clean. Pretty much when you "rub" dirt particles across the clear.
97F1504x4
New member
JaredPointer said:
I think that sums it up pretty well actually.
Richard
Suzanna said:
As far as how you got them, it can come as stated above, by less-than-perfect washing, drying, or cleaning techniques and products. Automatic car washes are supremely capable of introducing swirls quickly and effectively, too.
So, to not get them on the current car....
- use good towels to dry your car, or actually, be careful on anything that touches your paint, including your wash mitt. Some folks here will rub a towel across the playing surface of a CD repeatedly, while applying pressure, to see if it will scratch the surface. If it does, they won't use it (search for "CD test" or similar). Biggest thing is to use good microfiber, the best 100% cotton, or something like an Abzorber (what I use) when drying.
- Use good techniques. Two-bucket washing (one for the soapy water and one to rinse the crud off you mitt each time you take it off the car). Dry the verticle surfaces in an up-and-down motion, and horizontal surfaces in a straight line going in the direction the air flows over the car.
- Keep a good layer of protectant on your car (wax or sealant). I once thought I'd managed to put swirl marks into my car's finish when I used a less-than-perfect towel to dry. Turns out I'd managed to marr the surface layer of the Klasse SG. One pass with another layer of SG and all was good...
- Don't ever wipe anything over your paint without some type of lubricant. The exception is if you use a good towel of some sort to do a final rub-down, in which case you've thoroughly vetted the towel for it's non-scratch level, and you're very careful with it. I suppose the california Duster also fits into this category - again, generally safe if used with caution.
In general, it's really just an awareness that the surface layer of your protectant and the clearcoat can - and will - get microscopic scratches that are swirl marks more easily than you'd think, and the steps to make sure nothing does that.
blue skies,
Andrew
Brenton
aka PEI Detail
I'm not convinced swirls can be avoided altogether.
Beemerboy
Just One More Coat
PEI Detail said:
I agree with you with clear coats as soft as they are its something that you have to learn to live with...cutting down on them with proper techniques is the key as far as I'm concerned....I get allot of practice I own a black car
blkyukon
New member
PEI Detail said:
They can be avoided:
Never touch it, Never drive it and put it in here
joyriide1113
There is no cure!
Thats where proper techniques, steps, and tools come in. Which brings be back to an argument where I mention that no "one" tool will help avoid, swirls marks or marring, but combinations of many help in reducing them drastically. Every little bit counts.
I'm love to find out more opinions from people with Mercedes Benz Cerami-clear.
I'm love to find out more opinions from people with Mercedes Benz Cerami-clear.
) but the use of good techniques and awareness go a long way towards reducing them to the point they're manageable.They are sometimes called abrasion holograms. Here's a link that helps explain why they look circular, and how to make some interesting ones if anyone is at all interested. Usually we at DC are more interested in NOT making them.
http://www.amasci.com/amateur/hand1.html
http://www.amasci.com/amateur/hand1.html
If my car didn't see winter I could avoid most all marring except random incidental stuff. I buff the car to a marr free finish in the spring (just did it last Thursday and Friday) and it stays that way with twice a week washings. Fall comes and I do my winter prep which doesn't include defect removal because my finish is still marring free. The snow and ice is what causes it for me and I can't avoid that in my area. I do everything I can so that I keep the marring to a minimum. This springs detail I only needed FP II on a polishing pad for the horizontal surfaces and VM on a polishing pad for the vertical to clean up the very minor marring. If it wasn't for the winter I would not have had to do the defect removal step. I could get away with clay, prewax cleaner and LSP.
CalgaryDetail
Mike
to be techincal what casues swirls is ....... dirt. Dirt and grime get on yur paint and get draged arounf from wind and such and it digs into your paint. Its a fact of driving
CalgaryDetail said:
That is just one factor. Others include inferior tools such as towels, mitts, and applicators. Improper technique is another. How you care for the tools is also important. You can buy the best MF there is but if you care for it poorly it will perform poorly. How you store the tools is a major factor too. I put everything that touches the paint into sealed bags or containers to protect them from contamination.
Bottom line is there are many variables in the process to avoiding swirls/marring and the process is only as good as it's weakest link. For example use a good towel and store it in a place you know it will get contaminated and you will marr the finish even though it's a quality towel. It takes a lot of paying attention to the little things to avoid the swirls/marring but it can be done.