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Common Automotive Paint Defects Defined Pt 1: Introduction & Spider Web Swirls
Common Automotive Paint Defects Defined Pt 1: Introduction & Spider Web Swirls
Each Week I will be posting a thread exploring and explaining the common types of automotive paint defects which ALL detailers, enthusiasts and professionals alike, encounter on a regular basis.
The goal is to provide a resource to classify, explain, and offer insights on how to correct these common defects with may arise, causing a bit of anguish, frustration, or additional time to detail sessions.
INTRODUCTION
In order to properly deduce and correct flaws in automotive paint, it is necessary that detailers, professionals as well as the enthusiasts, have a clear understanding of what it is they are looking at. Furthermore, it is important to understand the cause and most plausible solution to cure the common defects with plague most vehicles on the road. This article delves into the most common types of automotive paint defects that most professional or enthusiast detailers will encounter on their mission to make paint as shiny, clear, rich, and reflective as possible. While this is not meant to be an encyclopedia on the subject, the vast majority of questions for commonplace paint defect conditions, on most daily drivers and garage queens, should be found here.
► In order to speak about Paint Defects, they must first be classified by type.
The two major paint defect classification types are:
1] Topical Defects and Contamination: Paint Defects which Exist ABOVE, or on top of, the painted surface.
2] Below Surface Defects: Paint defects which are embedded in, or below, the surface of the clear coat (top coat in single stage paint).
Topical Paint Defects are typically more mild in nature and are removed with Decontamination processes which are usually abrasive and/or chemical in nature. These processes include traditional clay bars, nano mitts, and pads (synthetic clay replacements), and may also call for the use chemicals to dissolve topical contaminants or to loosen them up so slight agitation (abrasion) will remove them entirely.
Below Surface Paint Defects exist embedded within the layers of the paint itself or even deeper. Sometimes, these can be removed with the aid of chemical decontamination, however, most below surface paint defects are mainly removed through paint polishing
SPIDER WEB SWIRL MARKS
Spider Web Swirl Marks are the common all direction scratches visible on the majority of vehicles on the road. These below surface paint defects are caused by lack of regular wash cycles which cause vehicles to be washed with a high concentration of topical dirt and grime on them, greatly increasing the likelihood of scratching during the wash process. Also, improper wash technique; which usually means the wash media (mitt or sponge) is not cleaned out enough during the washing process, contributes to these swirl marks. If a vehicle is washed with no rhyme or reason of methodology, then the filth from the lowest 1/4 of the car, where the majority of chemical contamination and the heaviest concentration of larger contamination particulates appear, can be transferred to the rest of the paint, creating a large number of deeper defects in the process. Spider web swirls can also be caused by touching of the paint with material that is not safe for automotive purposes, therefore great care needs to be taken to ensure that any media which will touch ANY painted surface is gentle and not cause defects itself.
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