Hi,
My car is coming out of the body shop in a few weeks and thought I'd ask before I screw it up.
It was painted 5 years ago and I took it back to the same body shop that painted it 5yrs ago since they did such a great job.
This body shop mainly does antiques and customs and a bit of insurance work to help pay the bills.
The owner said to me two times on different days... "man, you really kept up with the paint, it still looks great!
I replied to him... "Thank you, but I feel I screwed it up since it has spider web swirls in the paint".
I've only used Meguires products on the car in the past five years and I must say they make a great product.
But I screwed up somewhere along the line and when you looked at the car in general.... it looks like glass or as though the paint is wet all the time, but when you look at it at certain angles you see the spider webs or super fine scratches in the clear coat.
And this bugged the heck out of me.
I live in the high desert in Cali and we have dust storms all the time. I got a car duster and think that is what caused the spider webs. Dust = small particles of dirt... add dusting off the dirt.... results in scratching the surface of the paint.
I just saw a post in another area on this site and a few pics of the cars are great shots of the condition of the paint. I noticed they don't have ANY spider webs.
What am I doing wrong?
I'm thinking it's the car duster.
As I mentioned above..... the car is coming out in a few weeks and it will be like glass and I don't want to screw up a $3,000 paint job.
I do need to mention.... I live in a Apartment with covered parking, so I have no garage. The car will only be driven 3 times a week at the most and thought about buying a car cover for it, but I had one many years ago (for another car) which was the breathable kind and the car also sat outside..... I still had dust under the cover and with the high winds we get at times makes me think the cover is only going to be a waste of money. With dust on the car.... add wind.... = constant rubbing on the paint which will = spider webs.
Oh... My defineiition of spider webs is...
On a sunny day you walk up to your car and you see the suns reflection on the hood. You also see thousands of tiny swirls or scratches.
In the past I've tried at least 5 different products with no results what so ever.
So what is the trick in keeping the spider webs out?
My car is coming out of the body shop in a few weeks and thought I'd ask before I screw it up.
It was painted 5 years ago and I took it back to the same body shop that painted it 5yrs ago since they did such a great job.
This body shop mainly does antiques and customs and a bit of insurance work to help pay the bills.
The owner said to me two times on different days... "man, you really kept up with the paint, it still looks great!
I replied to him... "Thank you, but I feel I screwed it up since it has spider web swirls in the paint".
I've only used Meguires products on the car in the past five years and I must say they make a great product.
But I screwed up somewhere along the line and when you looked at the car in general.... it looks like glass or as though the paint is wet all the time, but when you look at it at certain angles you see the spider webs or super fine scratches in the clear coat.
And this bugged the heck out of me.
I live in the high desert in Cali and we have dust storms all the time. I got a car duster and think that is what caused the spider webs. Dust = small particles of dirt... add dusting off the dirt.... results in scratching the surface of the paint.
I just saw a post in another area on this site and a few pics of the cars are great shots of the condition of the paint. I noticed they don't have ANY spider webs.
What am I doing wrong?
I'm thinking it's the car duster.
As I mentioned above..... the car is coming out in a few weeks and it will be like glass and I don't want to screw up a $3,000 paint job.
I do need to mention.... I live in a Apartment with covered parking, so I have no garage. The car will only be driven 3 times a week at the most and thought about buying a car cover for it, but I had one many years ago (for another car) which was the breathable kind and the car also sat outside..... I still had dust under the cover and with the high winds we get at times makes me think the cover is only going to be a waste of money. With dust on the car.... add wind.... = constant rubbing on the paint which will = spider webs.
Oh... My defineiition of spider webs is...
On a sunny day you walk up to your car and you see the suns reflection on the hood. You also see thousands of tiny swirls or scratches.
In the past I've tried at least 5 different products with no results what so ever.
So what is the trick in keeping the spider webs out?
Yes they do.
And I've tried 5 different kinds with no luck what so ever in the past year. Keep in mind I did not use the cheap stuff.
I paid around $8 for each bottle or tube and these were small bottles and tubes.
I have not tried the rubbing stick simply beacause of fear of causing even more damge after having read the label.
I forget the proper term they use on the rubbing stick.
My main question is..... how can I avoid them to begin with?
I'm still thinking the culprit was the duster.
And I've tried 5 different kinds with no luck what so ever in the past year.
Keep in mind I did not use the cheap stuff.I paid around $8 for each bottle or tube and these were small bottles and tubes.
I have not tried the rubbing stick simply beacause of fear of causing even more damge after having read the label.
I forget the proper term they use on the rubbing stick.
My main question is..... how can I avoid them to begin with?
I'm still thinking the culprit was the duster.
Supreme Member
Ive been using the duster for awile now over a year and havent notice anything different. I know with polishing u can leave the swirls you are talking about.
Senior Member
Wash the car the same way the wind flows on your car.
(sounds crazy).Example washing the hood in Up and down w/ the windsheild.
There is tons of information on the web. i got most of mine through the detail shop at my work and i also took a autobody class that had a 2 week long detail lesson.Its also a plus that i detail/wash cars for fun and i do it about 3 times a week rain or shine.
http://detailingtips.blogspot.com/20...yna-paint.html
(sounds crazy).Example washing the hood in Up and down w/ the windsheild.
There is tons of information on the web. i got most of mine through the detail shop at my work and i also took a autobody class that had a 2 week long detail lesson.Its also a plus that i detail/wash cars for fun and i do it about 3 times a week rain or shine.
http://detailingtips.blogspot.com/20...yna-paint.html
Member
Sunbitz, please tell me you didn't repaint your car just because of some spiderwebbing or swirling in the paint!!
Over a period of 5 years you are bound to get some of these defects in your paint, unless you take the proper steps to eliminate them. It is virtually impossible to go that long without getting these defects, especially on a daily driver. The simple act of driving in the rain and then washing the car will introduce a few marks, and over time they just accumulate. If you've EVER taken your car though an automatic car wash, or even a commercial hand wash - swirls. If you ever applied wax and buffed it off with a towel - swirls. You can do a lot to minimize the appearance, but you can't 100% prevent them from showing up. You can get rid of them without resorting to a repaint.
In order to properly remove swirling in paint you either need to use a high speed rotary (extremely dangerous if you don't know what you're doing but awesome results if you do) or a Porter Cable dual action polisher (almost idiot proof but takes longer to get results). I use the PC with Meguiar's #83 & #80 from their professional line and the swirls/spiderwebs do come out. Trying to do it by hand requires forearms like Popeye and the stamina of an Ironman Triathlete.
Here's a great example of a black Hummer that had horrendous swirls and the steps used to get rid of them. Those steps included the products I mentioned above. (NOTE: I did not do this detail job - I only wish I had that talent) Autopia is a great site for anyone wanting to learn more about keeping a car looking its best. Be forewarned - detailing can be very addicting!
Over a period of 5 years you are bound to get some of these defects in your paint, unless you take the proper steps to eliminate them. It is virtually impossible to go that long without getting these defects, especially on a daily driver. The simple act of driving in the rain and then washing the car will introduce a few marks, and over time they just accumulate. If you've EVER taken your car though an automatic car wash, or even a commercial hand wash - swirls. If you ever applied wax and buffed it off with a towel - swirls. You can do a lot to minimize the appearance, but you can't 100% prevent them from showing up. You can get rid of them without resorting to a repaint.
In order to properly remove swirling in paint you either need to use a high speed rotary (extremely dangerous if you don't know what you're doing but awesome results if you do) or a Porter Cable dual action polisher (almost idiot proof but takes longer to get results). I use the PC with Meguiar's #83 & #80 from their professional line and the swirls/spiderwebs do come out. Trying to do it by hand requires forearms like Popeye and the stamina of an Ironman Triathlete.
Here's a great example of a black Hummer that had horrendous swirls and the steps used to get rid of them. Those steps included the products I mentioned above. (NOTE: I did not do this detail job - I only wish I had that talent) Autopia is a great site for anyone wanting to learn more about keeping a car looking its best. Be forewarned - detailing can be very addicting!
Member
Holy Crap! that is some of the worst swirling ive ever seen. that guy did an amazing job.
Supreme Member
yea its bound to happen, the dusters leave a wax line if you use it on a hot car or in teh sun, i use microfibers for anything i do on it, towards the end of the year i get a few hear and there but nothing bad
Member
A couple more quick comments here:
I live in SoCal and we often go several months without any rain at all. I often go two weeks between car washes but I will use my California Duster every other day or so, and do a quick detail with one of a variety of QD sprays I have in my collection (I told you detailing was addictive!) and I always use a microfiber cloth. Still, some marring happens over time.
I also realized I never answered Sunbitz's real question: How to best care for the fresh paint. In all honesty, the painter should be the best one to answer that question. I can tell you that, having recently gotten our '92 RS painted, our painter recommended nothing more than a cold water wash for the first month, then I could give it a proper wash and apply whatever wax I wanted. At the end of that month there were a fair number of swirls but a quick pass with Meg's #80 on the PC took care of them. Of course, the paint was still relatively soft compared to a factory paint job, but it looks far better than what was left of the '92 paint job!
I live in SoCal and we often go several months without any rain at all. I often go two weeks between car washes but I will use my California Duster every other day or so, and do a quick detail with one of a variety of QD sprays I have in my collection (I told you detailing was addictive!) and I always use a microfiber cloth. Still, some marring happens over time.
I also realized I never answered Sunbitz's real question: How to best care for the fresh paint. In all honesty, the painter should be the best one to answer that question. I can tell you that, having recently gotten our '92 RS painted, our painter recommended nothing more than a cold water wash for the first month, then I could give it a proper wash and apply whatever wax I wanted. At the end of that month there were a fair number of swirls but a quick pass with Meg's #80 on the PC took care of them. Of course, the paint was still relatively soft compared to a factory paint job, but it looks far better than what was left of the '92 paint job!
Thanks for all the great info!!
No, I'm not getting it re-painted because of the swirls.
It was in a accident and I scraped the drivers side of the car on a sign.
I've always washed my own cars and never take them to a car wash. I'll definately be using these techniques when I get the car back.
As for the "fresh paint".
I remember them telling me 5 years ago... only wash the car for the first month or two and do not apply any waxes.
thanks for refreshing my memory on that.
Something about the clear coat has to have time to cure.
They put two heavy coats of clear on the car the last time and it looked wonderful. A real deep shine to the car.
Keep the ideas coming, and thanks again.
No, I'm not getting it re-painted because of the swirls.
It was in a accident and I scraped the drivers side of the car on a sign.
I've always washed my own cars and never take them to a car wash. I'll definately be using these techniques when I get the car back.
As for the "fresh paint".
I remember them telling me 5 years ago... only wash the car for the first month or two and do not apply any waxes.
thanks for refreshing my memory on that.
Something about the clear coat has to have time to cure.
They put two heavy coats of clear on the car the last time and it looked wonderful. A real deep shine to the car.
Keep the ideas coming, and thanks again.
Supreme Member
Wow they must have washed that thing with a broom. 
Those are some serious swirls. He did a great job cleaning it up though.
Always use microfiber towels and make sure they are clean as can be before touching the finish. For drying I like to use a chamois. When actually washing, using your microfiber towel, scrub in straight lines going from front to back of the car on all surfaces facing upward ie; hood, roof, decklid, etc. On areas such as the quarter panels, doors, and fenders, make straight lines going from top to bottom of the car.
When the time comes for waxing I like to throw on a coat of Meguairs NXT Tech Wax.
Those are some serious swirls. He did a great job cleaning it up though.Always use microfiber towels and make sure they are clean as can be before touching the finish. For drying I like to use a chamois. When actually washing, using your microfiber towel, scrub in straight lines going from front to back of the car on all surfaces facing upward ie; hood, roof, decklid, etc. On areas such as the quarter panels, doors, and fenders, make straight lines going from top to bottom of the car.
When the time comes for waxing I like to throw on a coat of Meguairs NXT Tech Wax.