Troubleshooting: Why You Are Still Getting Swirls

It is often swirls, that are secretly giving your paint that dull appearance.  It would be fair to say it could also be the invisible grime that builds up affecting your appearance.  But even if YOU do not SEE them an accumulation of swirls DO affect the beauty of your paint.

Perhaps you are asking, “what am I doing wrong?”  Are you pampering your paint?  Literally, being gentle and caring!

You hear all of the advice.  You get all of the instructions.  What has not been working according to your detailer has been brought to your attention.  But you do 6 or 7 out of 10 recommendations or do not take the key recommendations seriously.  The swirls immediately coming back after the first wash is the consequence.

One of the biggest misses is not using a grit guard.

The elephant in the room is not taking the suggestions seriously like the importance of grit guards or a second bucket, while spending twice a year polishing swirl marks.  Perhaps the paint is not as bad as before.  But perhaps what may take 2 or 3 years to accumulate, you are unnecessarily fixing this damage still twice a year.

Rushing to get around a problem (like the sun), consequentially creating a bigger problem.  There are water spot removers of various strengths.  Some formulations work as Quick Detailer and drying aids.  Rushing and car care do not go well together.

Not washing the wash mitt.  I often see microfiber towels get pampered, yet the mitt gets hung up somewhere in a garage.  Yes, you have an advantage of it being introduced to soapy water.  But why take it for granted that you are self cleaning a mitt through a wash process or neglect the fact that from the last use to the next time you grab a mitt something doesn’t embed itself in your wash media?

Also, you need to use a good quality mitt, unlike most found in typical big box and auto parts stores.  Take care of the mitt.  Preserving means washing and drying your mitt properly.  The same goes for all towels.

In general, many people go back to square one because they halfheartedly perform most of the suggestions.  Near perfect paint is more challenging and understandably not always sustainable in the very long run.  But getting very close to perfection can happen if you consistently take ALL of the suggestions seriously.  Most people who even claim to pamper their cars do not even do the former, which is not that difficult.  The latter is a little more challenging, but many people have embraced this mindset into habit.

You may have heard the term pamper paint?  We are not kidding!  If your mindset shifted to treating your paint like a baby’s skin, the way you approach car detailing and washing might change dramatically.  This shift would most likely be in your execution of the suggestions already stated, perhaps long before reading this article.