What you need to know about how to avoid the most common type of car scratch (swirl and spider). This article covers what to avoid and the single easiest way protect your car paint from the most common type of scratches that degrade the overall look of your paint finish. If you decide to remove micro swirl scratches yourself look for a car scratch remover designed to give professional results at home with a guarantee and good product support.
You may have noticed numerous ultra fine scratches known as a swirl or spider that is most noticeable on the hood, trunk and roof of cars. They usually stand out on a sunny day when you look straight down at them. If you really want a shock pull your car in a garage under direct overhead fluorescent lighting and brace yourself for car paint scratches galore. The majority of swirls or spider scratches can be traced to a poorly maintained car finish that is not regularly waxed or sealed. The 7 innocent things you may be subjecting your car to that can cause a micro swirl car scratch.
– Automatic drive through car washes are hard on paint.
– Automatic car wash workers with poor hand drying technique and substandard towels.
– Abrasive or dirty at home or self serve “brush wands” the type that connects to a hose.
– Using dish washing soap when washing your car at home.
– Wiping or rubbing dust or grit off a dry paint with a dry towel, rag or paper towel.
– Not using a chamois or premium micro fiber towel to dry a car paint finish after washing.
– Improper at home hand car washing technique – a subject all by itself.
NOTE: Anything from under the kitchen sink should never be used on your car because household cleaning products are designed to remove grease etc and are not properly pH balanced for automobile paint therefore over time they have dire effects on not only the paint but rubber and plastic as well. A high quality car washing shampoo is designed to gently lift dirt from car paint and leave behind luster enhancers that help protect the paint.
Pro trick to reduce the incidence of micro swirls after hand washing a car. Dry hoods and trunks front to back in one motion, not circles. Only use a chamois or micro fiber towels to dry car paint. Wipe the side of your car, side to side in a horizontal motion, not circles. The reason for this is any micro scratches you may induce will not reflect light as much as circular micro scratches will. Additionally, a professional quality car scratch remover designed for home use can remove fine micro spider scratches with great results.
The single most important thing you can do to protect your car from micro spider swirls is to use a quality sealant or wax at a minimum of twice a year . Preferably a quality car sealant which bonds to the paint which will last longer and stands up to the environment much better than ordinary car wax. Properly sealed paint will resist all sorts of scratches because the paint is protected with a slippery barrier.
A neglected paint finish allows dust, grit and substandard washing accessories to dig into the paint thus causing micro swirl automobile scratches. To prove my point about a properly protected car finish and scratches I took a plastic fork and ran it hard across the hood of my black BMW with barely any visible damage. Next I did the same to my friend’s car hood … he NEVER waxes or uses a sealant on his car… and it left a HUGE scratch… which I of course then had to remove since he went through the roof.
The point is, using a high quality auto paint sealant makes your car so slippery that you can’t even make a plastic fork bite in to cause car paint scratches. Simply using a high quality sealant on your car finish at least twice a year goes a long way to protecting your vehicle paint from typical micro swirl car scratches.