When it comes down to maintaining a scratch and swirl free finish - it all comes down to how you touch the paint - Mike Phillips

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When it comes down to maintaining a scratch and swirl free finish - it all comes down to how you touch the paint - Mike Phillips

I teach and share so much information about how to REMOVE swirls and then as a follow-up, how to prevent swirls. And here's something I say often so now it's an article and a quote by yours truly.


When it comes down to maintaining a scratch and swirl free finish - it all comes down to how you touch the paint - Mike Phillips


How_You_Touch_The_Paint.JPG




And if you think about it, what I wrote above is 100% true. Let me use a simple explanation to share why.


If you polish your car (or anything), to perfection, and the park it in a safe, covered place, it won't get any new swirls and scratches BECAUSE - nothing is touching it.

If you take the same car, (or anything), that you polished to perfection and then USE IT, in other words, drive the car. Moving into the future, as the car becomes dirty, (or anything you polished to perfection), you will eventually have to

Touch it


By the words touch it, I mean,

  • Wash the thing
  • Dry the thing
  • Wipe the thing


All of the above mean using some type of material to touch the paint or whatever the surface is, (gel-coat, plastic, etc.). Your JOB is to make sure whatever is to touch the paint, (or whatever the surface is made out of or coated with), is of the highest quality your budget can obtain AND is as clean and sterile as humanly possible.

Anytime you "touch" a surface, the potential exists to scratch the surface, your job is to

Reduce the potential


And you reduce the potential for inflicting swirls and scratches by not doing stupid things. In fact, anyone that is a fanatic about keeping their own car clean, (or whatever), or details for money, MUST have a process and protocol in place to wash, dry, inspect and STORE the things that touch paint. This would include,

  1. Microfiber towels.
  2. Wash mitts.
  3. Drying towels or chamois.


It is these things that touch the paint.


How nice a perfect looking finish and how long the perfect looking finish lasts all comes down to how you touch it.


:)
 
Continued...


Here are in my opinion, two of the most important articles I've ever written, out of the 600+ articles I've written to date, since coming to Autogeek. My guess is more article than any other "instructor" you can name.


This article talks about microfiber towels but the same idea would apply to wash mitts and drying towels.

How, why & when to inspect your microfiber towels when detailing cars



This article talks about how to safely wash a CERAMIC coated car but the same principals would apply to ANY car or "thing" regardless of what you used to seal the paint or surface.


How to safely wash a ceramic coated car by Mike Phillips - Traditional Hose & Bucket Approach



As simple as it is - it all comes down to how you touch the surface and then of course, the cleanliness and quality of the things you use to touch the surface.



:)
 
I always strive to follow this advice. But inevitably, I fail somewhere along the line.

That said, for my daily drivers, I think the paint is in better condition than some (a lot) of people's show cars. (Thank you Mike, and AG).

Thank God for my trusty GG6, LC pads, and some great abrasive technologies to erase my mistakes every spring. :)
 
PaulMys said:
I always strive to follow this advice. But inevitably, I fail somewhere along the line.

That said, for my daily drivers, I think the paint is in better condition than some (a lot) of people's show cars. (Thank you Mike, and AG).

Thank God for my trusty GG6, LC pads, and some great abrasive technologies to erase my mistakes every spring. :)
Click to expand...


Don't let things like this drive you crazy!


:cheers:
 
Since I have been reading your posts Mike, this is 1 of your keys that stick with me.

Prevention and cure all wrapped into one.
 
Mike - I too appreciate your post.

I've ordered a new car and have the tools in place to follow your instructions explicitly.

Kudos for all you do for us amateurs.


:)
 
Willbeen said:
Mike - I too appreciate your post.

I've ordered a new car and have the tools in place to follow your instructions explicitly.

Kudos for all you do for us amateurs.
Click to expand...


Thank you. I appreciate the compliment.

I would also like to point out that myself and everyone else out there that knows the difference between a swirl and a squirrel - all started out at the same place and this was,

Knowing nothing (and lots of it) :)


Then, as each one of us learns something, put into practice this philosophy....

Each one teach on...



And just to follow along my own train of thought, in this reply, I share the story about how I got to where I'm at in the detailing world when Dennis Gage interviewed me on TV for his show, My Classic Car.


As corny as it is, the word is empathy.



Dennis Gage interviews Mike Phillips from Autogeek


:)
 
:updated:


I wrote this article on-the-fly and at the time I didn't have a picture for the top intro of the article, (it's always beneficial to have a picture for the intro of any article or review).


BUT - I recently detailed a 1988 Porsche 928 with most of the original single stage black paint on it. This paint was super soft and scratched if you just looked at it the wrong way. So soft for example, I corrected the single stage panels using a Lake Country 6.5" BLACK Force Hybrid Foam Pad - and all of you reading this that knows how soft this pad is - then you know what I mean when I say the original single stage paint is soft because this pad is SOFT and it removed decades of swirls and scratches with out hesitation.

Anyway, after doing the correction work I machine applied a finishing wax. Technically I machine applied a finishing HYBRID wax as I used the Wolfgang Fuzion Paste Wax which is a blend of natural waxes and synthetic ingredients, thus a HYBRID Wax.

When I went to wipe if off I used some new Wolfgang Concours-Series Microfiber Towels and of course, folded them 4-ways to spread out the pressure of my hand. Then I used a very soft, gentle overlapping circular wiping motion to carefully remove teh wax. I also let the was FULLY dry before removing so the wax acted as it's own dry lubricant to decrease marring from the friction between the towel and the paint.

How_You_Touch_The_Paint_02.JPG



Here's the final results...

How_You_Touch_The_Paint_01.JPG



Like the title of this article states, how any surface looks and especially how any surface looks over time always comes down to how its touched.



:)
 
 
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