How am I scratching my car?

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alexramsey

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I keep getting fine swirl scratches in the paint. I thought it was normal wear and tear: rain, road debris, etc. But now I'm wondering if my wash process is causing them. Take a look and see if any of this is likely to scratch:


I usually wash the wheels first with Griots wheel wash and a sheepskin wash mitt.


Then I wash the car with Griots car wash soap and their long handled soft boar's hair brush. I'm pretty careful about rinsing the brush in the wash bucket after every panel or so, and I always go from top to bottom.


Then I clear water off the larger panels with a water blade, and finish drying with a waffle knit microfiber towel.


Then I do the final drying of doorjambs, bumpers, etc and get any spots I missed with cotton terry (no polyester threads) towels.


All the towels and the mitt get machine washed and dried.


Am I doing something wrong here that's leading to scratches?
 
alexramsey said:
I keep getting fine swirl scratches in the paint. I thought it was normal wear and tear: rain, road debris, etc. But now I'm wondering if my wash process is causing them. Take a look and see if any of this is likely to scratch:


I usually wash the wheels first with Griots wheel wash and a sheepskin wash mitt.


Then I wash the car with Griots car wash soap and their long handled soft boar's hair brush. I'm pretty careful about rinsing the brush in the wash bucket after every panel or so, and I always go from top to bottom.


Then I clear water off the larger panels with a water blade, and finish drying with a waffle knit microfiber towel.


Then I do the final drying of doorjambs, bumpers, etc and get any spots I missed with cotton terry (no polyester threads) towels.


All the towels and the mitt get machine washed and dried.


Am I doing something wrong here that's leading to scratches?
Click to expand...
Do you really use a brush To wash the car??

Enviado do meu GT-I9195 através de Tapatalk
 
Some items that I believe could be causing your scratches.

The wash brush - From reading here there are mixed results as to whether they scratch or not. Soaking the brush first will help it be as soft as possible. The hardness/softness of your paint may determine if it will scratch.

Waterblade - This could also potentially scratch the paint. Maybe not the blade itself, but if a grit of dirt that had not been washed away gets dragged along with it, it could cause damage.

Terry Towels - These can be a little more “rough” than microfiber towel in general an could also scratch some.

What kind of vehicle are you working with?

Some paint systems are very soft and even using the best products and techniques will still produce swirls
 
What type of car are you asking about?

I agree with Mantilgh that it's probably the brush, water blade, and terry cloth towels. Regardless of if I'm washing my Toyota or Honda with super soft paint, or the VW which has hard dark paint, I'll always go with the softest wash and dry media.

Even though things appear to be safe and very soft when you touch them, you'd be surprised by their effect on the paint. Two examples from my personal experience:

1) Wash brush for our SUV. I used to use a wash brush on a long pole to wash the roof of our SUV. The brush had very soft bristles and I felt it would be safe. However after a few months I noticed a lot of swirls starting to develop all over the roof where the brush was used. Despite keeping it very clean, I came to realize that even a very soft brush is still too rough. When I started using my MF wash mitt on the roof, the swirls quit appearing.

2) Using an Absorber to dry the car. After years of using terry cloth towels and chamois to dry, I started to use an Absorber thinking it was safer and softer than my previous choices. While it was softer, and made drying faster/easier, it still marred the paint on all mu vehicles. When I quit using it and went to a MF waffle weave towel, the swirls and drying dropped off considerably...almost non-existent. I still use my Absorber today, but only to dab water off wheels. I don't rub/drag it on my paint.
 
Hate to say it OP, but pretty much your entire wash process is horrible for your paint. Water blades and brushes (no matter how soft or expensive) are damaging to your paint. You also didn't mention if you use a two-bucket wash with grit guards.

How long have you been washing cars yourself? Are you new to the hobby? This forum can point you in the right direction really quickly, and there's a sale today too that could help you stock up on the basics.
 
Any time I ever used boars hair bristle brushes, they would scratch the paint.
 
i agree with those above, see mikes video on washing your car to get some tips on the process but id get new wash gear sooner then later.
 
The Boar's Hair Brush and water blade has to go. Do you have grit guards in both of your buckets? I would stick with a dedicated wash mitt and just use a waffle weave MF towel for drying along with a small blower to get the excess water off.
 
alexramsey said:
Then I wash the car with Griots car wash soap and their long handled soft boar's hair brush. I'm pretty careful about rinsing the brush in the wash bucket after every panel or so, and I always go from top to bottom.
Click to expand...

Ditch the brush. I don't care what they products say, I know for a fact that any partical of dirt between those bristles will come out on your paint and eventually cause scratches.


Then I clear water off the larger panels with a water blade, and finish drying with a waffle knit microfiber towel.
Click to expand...

Toss the blade too. Even one spec of dirt under it from an area that you miss or don't flush away will cause RIDS. Use a leaf blower or a blower designed for drying.
Then I do the final drying of doorjambs, bumpers, etc and get any spots I missed with cotton terry (no polyester threads) towels.
Click to expand...

Toss the terry towels and use only quality MF Towels. NEVER start with a dry towel. Best insight I can provide is you use a Rinseless Wash product like Wolfgang Uber mixed up to 1oz per 1-3 gals. soak the drying rag in it and wring it out so it's just damp. Use that after you use the blower and you're golden. If you don't use a blower, just be sure to wring out the drying rag on the the floor or in a dirty bucket, re-rinse/soak it in the rinseless solution, wring it out in the dirty bucket too and begin again. Repeat until dry.

I own black cars and have for years. They maintain their flawless look with ease using good technique.

Here's my Pure black car that I just sold:

http://http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/166455866/original.jpg

Here's my latest car, metallic but still black.

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/166697619/original.jpg

Wife's van is the same and it's nearly 11 years old now.

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165897316/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165897318/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165897908/original.jpg
 
I bet that you’ve also been
using a California Car Duster
between car-washing sessions.


Bob
 
I'm pretty new to caring for my paint with care, and read and learned a lot here about how to safely wash our cars to prevent scratches and swirls. Once I started to do it "right", I went the extra mile and did some paint correction on my black Lexus ES350 (which, I understand, has soft paint). I'm not a pro, but I would say I achieved 85% corrected paint. Thrilled with the results, I was excited to keep my car looking great.

The one aspect of my wash process I didn't want to give up was the water blade. I figured that if I were careful and wiped the blade down after each swipe, it's gotta be safe, right? It certainly is faster, and helped eliminate water spots, so I decided to keep it.

I can't say with absolute certainty that I cleaned the blade with each swipe, but I think I did. Regardless, the second time I washed my car, and was applying wax, I noticed a straight, long scratch on the hood of my car that followed EXACTLY the stroke I would have made with the blade. I know for sure that something about the water blade scratched my car. As soon as I figured it out, the blade went in the trash!

I am no expert, and you should know for sure I have no standing to offer advice. But I can say with 100% certainty that from here on, I will be following the processes I've learned on AutoGeek to the best of my ability. None include a brush on the paint (your brush is probably fine on the wheels), a water blade, or terry towels. I believe a few hours spent reading the guidelines you can find here for caring for a car, and watching the videos here, will do a world of good in answering your questions concerning how your paint became damaged again.

Best of luck to you on your journey. By being here, you've got a great start on fixing your problem.
 
Like everyone said, you should rethink your entire wash process.

There are plenty of videos on Youtube explaining how to do it correctly but here are the major rules you should go by:

1) Pressure wash the car before you ever touch it with any mitt, cloth or brush. This will remove most of the heavy dirt and grime and make the rest of the process safer.
2) If you can, do a car shampoo using a foam lance. This help loosen the dirt still attached to the car and will also start to break down the road film (oil, grease, chemicals, etc) bound to the paint.
3) Pressure wash the foam away after letting it work for about 5 mins.
4) Wash the car with a microfiber mitt using a solution that has plenty of lubricity. Do not apply pressure while washing, let the mitt do the work.
5) Rinse off and inspect for missed spots
6) For drying, use compressed air or a dedicated car blower like the Metrovac Sidekick to remove water for cracks and mirrors (optionnal but really useful)
7) Dry the car off using a microfiber towel and use spray wax as a lubricant to insure no scratches are done during the drying process

If you follow all of that, there is very little chance to scratch your paint during the w
 
IME, EVERYTHING will scratch your car. Depending on the paint system, some will be more obvious while others won't be as obvious. I always reference soft paint. You can scratch it by just sliding your finger lightly across it. You could also scratch paint with even the softest mf towel or material by pressing too hard. That's why it's best not even to touch it. But, that's within reason of course. If yours is a daily, who cares about a few light scratches. Just practice your technique like everyone's already mentioned. Use good washing products and learn how to buff your paint once in awhile and you should be good. It gets addicting and will open up your OCD that you never thought you had. Autogeek store has everything.
 
TTQ B4U said:
Ditch the brush. I don't care what they products say, I know for a fact that any partical of dirt between those bristles will come out on your paint and eventually cause scratches.




Toss the blade too. Even one spec of dirt under it from an area that you miss or don't flush away will cause RIDS. Use a leaf blower or a blower designed for drying.


Toss the terry towels and use only quality MF Towels. NEVER start with a dry towel. Best insight I can provide is you use a Rinseless Wash product like Wolfgang Uber mixed up to 1oz per 1-3 gals. soak the drying rag in it and wring it out so it's just damp. Use that after you use the blower and you're golden. If you don't use a blower, just be sure to wring out the drying rag on the the floor or in a dirty bucket, re-rinse/soak it in the rinseless solution, wring it out in the dirty bucket too and begin again. Repeat until dry.

I own black cars and have for years. They maintain their flawless look with ease using good technique.

Here's my Pure black car that I just sold:

http://http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/166455866/original.jpg

Here's my latest car, metallic but still black.

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/166697619/original.jpg

Wife's van is the same and it's nearly 11 years old now.

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165897316/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165897318/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/165897908/original.jpg
Click to expand...

TTQ B4U Thanks for teaching me something new! My waffle weave towels are damp just like you do when you dry your ride. I NEVER thought about using rinseless wash as my damp towel drying technique! SO COOL THANKS a bunch for letting me know about this! I like this site as you will always learn something new! Thanks again! As for everything else, it's similar too!
 
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