How Often Should Paint Cleaners be Used?

[MtCamry09]

Right now my car has very light swirls which don't bother me too much. I believe they came from bringing it to the car wash over the winter.

My question is should I take care of these now, or wait until some areas get worse. If I'm not mistaken, paint cleaners are light abrasives. With that, common sense tells me that abrasives shouldn't be used very often. I've read that the general answer is as often as necessary.

I know the best method is preventing the swirls in the first place. After watching Mike's video How to Wash Your Car Show Car Style Most of the points made fortunately are things I already do. But I'm looking into getting the grit guard and a lambswool wash mitt instead of the MF one I have now.

Which option would be worse: Leaving the swirls until more appear, then taking care of them at once... or taking care of the swirls more often as they show up. Obviously removing the swirls has a visual advantage of making the car look better; but does it have any advantages to the paint such as extending the life or possibly on the contrary shortening the life (by its abrasive properties)?

Thanks,
Matt

[Calais]

Re: How Often Should Paint Cleaners be Used?

Wait to remove all the swirls until you have the means to prevent them for as long as possible. Swirls are inevitable but preventing them and reducing the chances of causing them should be your number one concern. Most paint can handle quite a bit of correcting, get a paint depth gauge to determine how much wiggle room you've got. Correct the paint to your liking, polish it nicely and seal it. Use a synthetic sealant and put 2 layers of high quality wax on it (NXT, GC, M26, etc.) and use techniques and products that will keep swirls to minimum. Use limited passes when washing your car and touch the paint surface as little as possible. Rely on your ability to prevent swirls more than your ability to correct them, that way you reduce the frequency of your need to abrade your paint.

[Murr1525]

Re: How Often Should Paint Cleaners be Used?

Well, fixing a few mild swirls in an area should be as easy/hard as fixing a lot of mild swirls on your paint.

As long as you are not causing deeper swirls, the effort required to fix should stay similar.

Its really more a question of how often do you want to have a project on your hands. I certainly dont try to fix every little mark all the time. Have a few things right now that need some more work, but I'll get back to it eventually.

[miahjohn]

Re: How Often Should Paint Cleaners be Used?

Ultimate quick wax or a quick coat of NXT 2.0 usually satisfies my eye for the minor swirls here and there