# Swirl marks in your paint ??? Cheap paint ???



## 2013Cruze (Aug 4, 2012)

I did have a 2012 Cruze LTZ RS black granite metallic. It seem like if you looked at it wrong the paint would scratch. I had to be careful what I would use to dry the car with after washing it. No swirl marks though.


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## Starchy (Aug 30, 2012)

Christrit said:


> I have a '12 Cruze, Crystal Red Tintcoat... A co-worker has the same one and we both are noticing that the paint is
> marking up really easily, more so than any vehicle i've owned...
> Mainly noticing swirl marks and various other minor scuffs.....
> 
> ...


Are you talking about "spider webbing" in your paint? Because Swirl marks are usually caused by either a high speed polisher, or an orbital polisher with too aggressive of a pad and/or not enough compound on the pad. However spider webbing is caused from the general wear and tear or everyday driving and dirt. And I do not think the paint is cheap necessarily. I see tons of "high end" cars at my car wash on a daily basis that have horrible spider webbing. To maintain that "new paint" look is actually pretty hard and depends on a variety of factors. From where you park your car to what climate you live in. To how often you wash it, what you use to wash it, and how often you wax the vehicle. I don't know if your eyes are getting better but maybe you pay more attention to detail since you like your brand new car and care about it more?? Idk just my 2 cents. Hope this helped. Oh and btw those imperfections are pretty easily removed without having to go deep into the restoration process. Good Luck!


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## sedanman (Dec 10, 2010)

All cars have this problem because most people improperly wash their cars.

Lexus 460 Detail - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Brush washing and crappy towels are usually the first I suspect


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## Beachernaut (Mar 27, 2012)

+1 on improper washing. Keeping spiderwebs and swirls out of your paint takes time and experience. I'm almost ashamed to say that my car does have some of each, though they are still very light. I'll be investing in a Porter Cable next spring.

Auto Geek is a great resource here's one of my favorites from there.
1954 Ford F-100 - Extreme Makeover - Process and products used - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum


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## Starchy (Aug 30, 2012)

Aeroscout977 said:


> Brush washing and crappy towels are usually the first I suspect


While that may be true. Technically everything that touches your car scratches the paint... from touching your paint with your finger to just driving down the road and dust hitting your car. However, handwashing your car or going to a touchless car wash are no better for your vehicle. If you choose to Handwash, you are scratching the paint with mitts or whatever you use to clean the vehicle.

And Lastly touchless car washes really bother me. Most people think that touchless is safe.... However this is far from the truth. Touchless car washes use heavily acidic detergents to clean the car. Most Acidic Presoaks for a Touchless Automatic | eHow.com Annnnddd To top it all off touchless car washes can make the paint look really dull and hazy!

If your paint is damaged it is correctable with compounds... but what the compounds are doing in all reality is taking a very fine layer of clear coat off of the car. If you choose to invest in Porter Cable Beachernaut I recommend them. We have a porter cable DA in our shop and it works wonders. If you are planning on using a DA to remove minor scratches I would look into Meguiars DA Microfibre Correction System(It is amateur friendly) Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction System, paint polishing system, car polish, car detailing system, compounding system, remove scratches If anyone plans on using a Rotary buffer or wet sanding to remove their imperfections in their paint. They should really consider investing in a paint thickness gauge which measures in Microns. or dont attempt the job at all if you dont know what you are doing! 

Once the paint has been corrected you can wax it... and wax it often... but that still will only slow the scratching process...Basically what i am trying to say is... no matter what you do to "protect your car" EVERYTHING is going to do some amount of damage. I guess you could park your car in your garage and never drive it or wash it... and it would stay "new" for a longer period of time... However I think most of us bought this car to be a DD not a trophy car


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## Beachernaut (Mar 27, 2012)

Starchy said:


> If you choose to invest in Porter Cable Beachernaut I recommend them. We have a porter cable DA in our shop and it works wonders. If you are planning on using a DA to remove minor scratches I would look into Meguiars DA Microfibre Correction System(It is amateur friendly) Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction System, paint polishing system, car polish, car detailing system, compounding system, remove scratches



Thanks, I'll look into that system when the time comes. I agree, keeping your paint perfect is an exercise in futility. However, I love that first few minutes looking at my car after I've just put all day into detailing it.


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