The round shapes appearing like a halo on your car's surface is what swirl marks tend to look like.
Scratches and swirl marks go hand in hand, and they can cause an unattractive look to your vehicle.
The swirl marks and scratches appear on the clear coating of motor vehicles, which affects the appearance of the paint of your car.
In most situations, the swirl marks and scratches are much more visible of darker vehicles than white or light-colored ones.
Unlike scratches, which can be light or deep, swirl marks tend to be thin in appearance, and even though they appear to be light, removing the swirl marks from the surface of your vehicle can be a challenging process.
In most cases, swirl marks and scratches do not affect your vehicle's performance;
However,
Esthetically and in terms of its value, it matters a lot. When planning selling your vehicle, most buyers make their first impression on how it appears on the outside before looking at the rest of the vehicle.
So, in regards to keeping its value high, keeping the exterior service clean and smooth, scratch-free is highly recommended.
What causes swirl marks and scratches?
Scratches can be caused by just about anything, including but not limited to harsh weather conditions, tree branches, pebble rocks, road salt, malicious intend by others, and many more.
Scratches on the surface of a vehicle can be so thin that it could be difficult to see; however, other deep scratches can easily be spotted.
Regarding swirl marks, this is typically caused by using improper cleaning equipment such as abrasive towels that can be rough on the surface of the paint.
More often than not, when people wash their car at home or drying it after getting it car washed at a washing station, people don’t pay attention to how clean a towel might be.
A clean towel is a must when washing or drying the vehicle, anything less than that could cause swirl marks and even scratching.
People often think that since the vehicles are solid and can stand any rugged exposure; however, this is not always the case.
No matter what the brand or the make and model of the vehicle might be, the surface paint and clear coating are fragile and sensitive, and they are prone to get scratched easily.
Another bad habit that most drivers have is allowing the vehicle to collect dirt and dust for days and weeks.
Even though some dust and dirt might blow over, they do nonetheless contain fragments of super tiny dust particles that are sharp enough to cause scratching and cause swirl marks when wiped improperly.
The other primary culprit of swirl marks on a car's surface is caused by inexperienced detailing professionals.
Compounds like CleaRub 305 are used to remove the scratched surface from clear coating using a buffing machine.
Using a buffing machine is a skill on its own, and when an inexperienced detailer decides to use the buffing machine, it can create havoc to the paint of your vehicle.
Buffing machines constantly rotate, and when done incorrectly, this process can cause swirls on the clear coating.
It may look easy when seen from the outside, but please, if you have no extensive experience using a buffing machine to apply a scratch cutting compound, take the job to a skilled professional to prevent more headaches and cost.
We can’t stress the fact as to how important it is to use clean and appropriate towels when washing or drying the exterior of your vehicle.
Just because you can’t see the damage caused by tiny particles of dust and dirt at present on dirty towels, it doesn’t mean that it won’t cause any harm.
Often when drying, people tend to apply a lot of pressure to wipe off the excess water or soap from a car's surface.
However, choosing the right towel material will allow you to dry the vehicle without a hassle and much effort.
Microfiber towels are best at drying the car because microfiber material absorbs more water than any other material.
Anything that seems abrasive needs to be far away from your vehicle's paint's surface, which includes those popular car washing stations.
The traditional car washing establishments use stiff brushes that spin at a fast rate, causing numerous light scratches and swirl marks on your vehicle.
If you must use a car washing station, opt for the ones that are brushless or touchless. Traditional car wash stations can also shorten the ceramic coating's lifecycle that you may have on your vehicle.
Tips on Removing Swirl Marks and Scratches
The most proper and safe way to remove scratches and swirls from your can is to buff them out with a cutting compound.
As mentioned before,
cutting compounds like Nasiol’s CleaRub helps to sand out the scratched surface and bring it to a leveling field where it would be free of scratches and swirl marks.
Buffing with a compound is the proper way of removing the scratch and swirl marks.
Going to a professional detailer to have the entire car buffed out does cost money, and because of this, people at times look for short cuts by finding cheap products to cover-up scratches or swirl marks, such as scratch filling pens.
These products, even though they promise to make the scratches disappear, are often making false claims.
These quick-fix products do not remove scratches;
INSTEAD,
they cover them up, and chances are the application will fade away in days, and the scratches will re-appear.
Retrieving the original smooth surface to your vehicle, buffing with a compound is the only way to go.
Scratches are not something that you can erase, they are at present on the surface of a clear coat, and that scratched surface needs to be removed and cutting compounds are the only way to do this.
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