How to remove swirl marks

 What are Swirls…?

Swirl marks are scratches in the finish. Sometimes these scratches are microscopic in size and only visible in bright light, like direct sunlight or very intense artificial lights. Other swirl marks are very deep and are easily visible in just about any lighting condition.

Swirl marks can generally be placed in two categories, which describe the origin of the swirls.
a.) Cobweb-effect also called spider web scratches, car wash scratches, towel scratches etc. Its visual appearance of the thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of tiny scratches inflicted into your car's finish through normal, everyday wear and tear.
b.) Buffer Swirls or Holograms
Buffer swirl, also referred to as holograms, are circular scratches grooved into the finish through either the improper use of a rotary buffer, or using the wrong pads and chemicals with the rotary buffer. Buffer swirls can either be very deep or very shallow, depending on how forcefully they were created and depending on the products and type of pad used while buffing.

What causes swirl marks?
Here are the ten most frequent causes of swirl marks:
I. Polishers/buffers with the incorrect pad or an untrained operator.
II. Harsh polishing compounds and paint cleaners.
III. Towels and applicators containing polyester threads.
IV. A dirty chamois or a chamois that has not been properly maintained.
V. Wiping down a dusty or dirty car with a dry towel.
VI. A dirty car duster or a car duster used on a car with too much dirt on the surface.
VII. Not keeping your wash mitt or sponge properly rinsed.
VIII. Automated car washes with brushes and other wipers.
IX. Not rinsing your car completely before washing, or not washing your car thoroughly before drying.
X. Using a car cover when the car or the cover is not clean.

How do we remove swirls?
Options for reducing or removing swirls, spots and minor paint blemishes:
1. Temporarily hide swirls marks:
In this procedure, Swirls can be visually hid by polishing the surface with a non-abrasive polish. These polish round off the top edge of swirl, robbing sunlight of a sharp edge to cause a reflection. When you buff off the polishing residues, fillers will stay in the depressions. Finish it by applying wax or paint sealant to hide swirls. As mentioned above, these procedure only hide swirls not remove it. Swirls may be visible in certain light conditions and reappear as the wax ages.






2. Remove the swirl, water spot or paint defect:
In this procedure, firstly remove top layer of paint or clear coat that contain the swirl by using circular machine polisher which is designed to remove paint. These polishers will do better job than manually. Deeper swirls, water spots or light scratches require three steps:
a.) Compound
b.) Polish
c.) Finish

Compounding involves abrading away the area surrounding the scratch or blemish until the defect is no longer visible. Polishing removes compounding haze and restores surface gloss. It creates highly reflective finish ready for waxing. Finishing protects the surface with wax or sealant. It can be accomplish manually or with a dual action polisher.


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