There are many things you can prevent your vehicle from, swirl marks are not one of them. Swirl marks are unavoidable.
And your car paint will pick up some light marring after a while irrespective of how careful you are. For a detailing junkie, swirl marks can be unsightly.
Therefore, you may go to extra lengths to protect your vehicle from such. Unfortunately, you can’t avoid swirl marks completely.
However, by using the right car washing and care techniques, you can ensure that your car isn’t in bad condition after a couple of years.
The only way you can avoid swirl marks is to never drive or wash your car. And as you can see, this sounds impractical.
To daily drivers, you need to know that swirl marks are inevitable. Even if you are super gentle when touching the paint, or park your car away from everyone else, with time swirls will develop on the paint.
However, there are methods you can use to get rid of and prevent swirl marks from paint. And that’s what we are going to focus on in today’s article.
Let’s Look at What Swirl Marks Are.
Swirl marks can be referred to as scratches or tiny imperfections that are found in a car’s clear coat. They can be caused by a couple of factors. We will look into that later on.
Swirl marks are not present in new cars, those that have been recently painted or detailed professionally.
However, swirl marks are very present in all other cars more so those that are used daily. It is impossible to prevent swirl marks no matter how properly you maintain and take care of your car.
Though swirl marks are harmless, they can make your car look hideous, especially if there are many. Swirl marks are only visible when the sun comes out.
Failure to fix swirl marks may result in damage to the paint in the future. This is because swirl marks weaken the clear coat and this leaves your paint exposed.
The funny thing about swirl marks is that, when found on vehicles that are used for transportation or commercial purposes, most motorists and passengers rarely notice them.
However, if swirl marks do develop in the cars of detailing enthusiasts and perfectionists, they can be quite annoying and unsightly.
If you are reading this, chances are, you belong in the latter category. And worry not because we are going to help you deal with those ugly swirl marks on your car paint.
The Characteristics of Swirl Marks
You will find most swirl marks on either the hood or trunk. They love flat surfaces and in cars with dark color paint, you can find them on the doors as well.
In cars with light colors, swirl marks may be present but not that visible. This is because light-colored paint reflects more light.
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What are the Causes of Swirl Marks?
Familiarizing yourself with the causes of swirl marks is very important because it will help you know what to avoid. Here are the leading causes of swirl marks on car paint;
• Car wash brushes
This is the leading cause of scratches on car paint. From a general point of view, automated car washes are perfect. Yes, they are fast, efficient, and amazing.
However, they also have their downsides. The brushes found in automated car washes are designed to rotate at high speeds so that they can remove dirt faster from your car’s surface.
When these brushes touch paint that is very delicate at high speeds, there is a good chance of marring the paint in the process.
Even though the brushes are gentle, the speed at which they rotate is no match for your car’s clear coat. Let’s also not forget that these brushes wash hundreds of cars with various levels of dirt.
Probably, these brushes accumulate lots of dust and debris which can damage your car paint.
• Using the wrong car washing techniques
Remember when we said that the only way for you to avoid getting swirl marks on your car paint is by not washing it at all? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the main cause of swirl marks is how you wash your car.
Most people don’t know how to properly wash their cars. For instance, experts don’t recommend washing the car in circular motions.
You should scrub up and down or across. This ensures no dirt is left behind unlike in the case of using circular motions.
Secondly, failure to pre-rinse the car can also lead to dirt scratching the paint when being scrubbed. Pre-rinsing helps loosen dirt from the surface of the car.
A dirty wash mitt can also cause swirl marks. And we can all agree that most of the time, we do not use the two-bucket car wash method.
• Using a dirty drying towel
We have all done this. You are done washing your car and you see a ‘clean’ towel that you only used once last week.
Because you don’t have the time to wash it, you just take the towel and start drying the water on your car. If there is dirt or debris on the towel, it is going to mar the car paint.
• Using the wrong car wash products
You may be using the right car washing techniques, but if you are stuck with the wrong products. The outcome will be the same.
Car paint is very delicate and slight issues such as using the wrong product can have adverse effects on it.
Some of the incorrect car washing materials that people frequently use are bath towels and paper towels. These were not meant for car surfaces.
Please stick to a microfiber cloth and a quality car wash shampoo. Even with the right products, you have to stick to the correct usage of these products, lest you risk leaving swirl marks on the car paint.
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• Poor polishing techniques
Most websites talk a great deal about how easily you can polish the vehicle by yourself. What they do not tell you is how risky this can be.
As an amateur detailer, you may want to do the polishing by yourself. So, you buy a polishing compound and a machine polisher.
But because you lack the technique, you may end up buying an aggressive polishing compound and using the polisher incorrectly leaving behind tons of swirl marks.
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• Car covers
These come in very handy especially if you do not have a garage to park your vehicle in. As great as car covers are, when put on a dirty car, it may lead to similar effects as the one caused by using a dirty towel to dry the car.
How to Prevent Swirl Marks?
The first step towards preventing swirl marks is by familiarizing yourself with the above causes and how to prevent them.
The problem with swirl marks is that it’s hard to prevent them. The reason is, that swirl marks are caused by dirt. And dirt is everywhere. When dirt accumulates on your car paint, you must clean it.
This is when swirl marks develop on the car paint, especially if you use the wrong car washing techniques and methods.
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How to Get Rid of Swirl Marks?
Thus far, we have already seen that swirl marks are inevitable. So, the best course of action is to learn some of the ways you can get rid of swirl marks.
Here are some of the best ways you can get rid of swirl marks;
• Use a polisher
This is the easiest and most effective method on how you can remove swirl marks and scratches. Polishers work by filling in the cracks. These cover the swirl marks and leave behind a smooth finish on your car paint.
• Automotive paint correction
If you are interested in something more advanced than polishing, automotive paint correction is excellent at removing scratches.
This involves the use of cutting material and buffer to rub the surface into the clear coat.
• Giving your car fresh paint
This option is ideal for cars that have plenty of swirl marks that can’t be fixed by the above two solutions.
Even though repainting a car may come off as a bit extreme and expensive, it is a foolproof way of getting rid of scratches as well as major imperfections in the car paint.
What Will Happen If I Don’t Fix Swirl Marks?
As mentioned earlier, swirl marks don’t pose much of a threat. However, if your car gets many scratches on the paint, you need to do something about it.
Swirl marks which comprise tiny scratches cut through the clear coat and expose the paint. As a result, this leaves the vehicle’s metal vulnerable to rust and deterioration.
Because of these reasons, you should polish your vehicle if you notice many swirl marks on the surface.
And even though you can remove swirl marks at home, you need to do it correctly. There are several guides online on how to remove swirl marks. You can use these resources.
Wrong polishing techniques won’t fix swirl marks and can even cause more to develop. So, if you are doubting your polishing skills, have a professional do it for you.