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No matter how careful you are on your car's exterior surfaces, you still get light scratches and swirls. I have tried many techniques, from never touching the paint without lubrication to using as much mf towels as I can when detailing (so I will be using CLEAN mf towels on my paint all the times). Still, damages occur. What's your take on this? It's probably normal to have these on your paint.
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Re: No matter how careful you are...
Swirls and marring happen, especially if you are dealing with a black finish. My two black Harleys seem to get micro scratching from just looking at them. That's why we have polish.
Tom
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Re: No matter how careful you are...
Really depends on what you are doing... and to say that damage always occurs is relative. Relative to the extent of the "damage" and relative to the person viewing it. Washing a vehicle is probably going to cause some micromaring every once in awhile. Polishing might do the same thing if the surface is not prepped correctly.The other part of the equation is how much damage. To many people looking at the vehicle they may not even be able to see any damage. If you take an experienced detailer and some good light, they may be able to spot some scratches. So.... it's all relative.Comment
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Re: No matter how careful you are...
I 100% agree with this just the same as I agree with the fact you have never have a 100% mar-free finish. Why do I say such crazy things? Because as mentioned above, it is all relative.Originally posted by EPHIOS View Post
Even the wind blowing over your paint will cause some level of erosion, although it mike take 30,000 years. So while we cannot see the amount of erosion that occurs in 1/10th of a second, it is occurring. Obviously this is a crazy example, but only made to illustrate the point that you can make paint perfect.
In the context of machine polishing we are moving an abrasive over the paint in either a random or oblong motion. There is, at some measurable level, fine scratches that are always left behind by the machine polishing of paint. At some point these scratches become so small that the human eye can no longer see them and the paint appears amazingly perfect.
So can you wash a car with out marring it? I don't believe so. Again by taking things to the extreme, such as over hundreds of thousands of years, we can clearly see the effect of water erosion: Look at the Grand Canyon! While we cannot this is out of scope of perception, running water over the car thus is causing some erosion. It is safe to assume, at least IMO, that when you first rinse the dirt from the car; at some point somewhere on the paint, despite the protection afforded by any wax, an abrasive particle is going to contact the paint... Erosion.
When washing the car with the softest mitt, the slipperiest water, the slickest soap, some level of damage (measurable or not) is occurring to the outermost coating.
Is it possible to wash a car with out giving it swirl marks (visible damage)? A Corvette hard paint, that is never driven, and washed weekly to remove only any light dust that has settled while sitting the garage, and is rinsed with de-ionized water, that always is sealed frequently..... sure it's possible.
In the dynamic environment that we live and drive in (and detail in) something is going to 'get through'. There are literally millions of chances for damage each and every wash. It's a game of numbers.
The best we can do is take steps to reduce all and eliminate most of the opportunities for damage to occur as well as prevent any deeper damage from occurring. Keep the damage light!
Use two buckets, soft towels, ect... And keep a good coat of wax or sealant on the vehicle. A test done in the UK showed that the sub micron coating thickness of wax can be measurably reduced just by the abrasion from a towel. Hopefully are wash techniques are not as abrasive as a dry micro fiber being ground into the surface, but it does prove that wax does provide a sacrificial barrier to help protect the paint. How much of a benefit is there? I don't know, but I cannot help but believe that it cannot hurt, and likely reduces the chances of abrasion from occurring.
While we cannot (I believe) keep them looking as good as the day we polished them, by being responsible we can greatly reduce the speed the damage occurs and more importantly the depth of the damage.
Case in point, I own a Black HHR that I use for my business. I wash the car at least every week, and sometimes twice a week in the rainy months. It has been washed at least 50 times in the last 9 months and I seal it every two months. I am extremely careful with how I wash my car and dry it.
9 months after the last polishing I can see some light damage from up close. Any further then 10 feet away and paint still looks pretty much flawless, unless you stop and let your eyes focus in the direct sun for a little bit. Then you can see the occasional fine swirl. From 3 inches away, you can see some pretty visible damage. Light, semi frequent swirl marks. Again you have stop and look for it though, just passing by you would never see it.
However this damage is so light (depth into the paint) that nothing more then a final polish will restore my HHR to it's just polished brilliance (that only 1% might notice). In reality the VERY light swirls I have are only noticeable to the most discerning person that I am sometimes complimented on the quality of my finish.
Wow that was a crazy ramble...hahah
Let's make all of the cars shiny!Comment
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