Swirl Marks: How to Minimize Them and Wash Your Car Properly

Do you regularly wash your car / have it washed? Or do you just wreak havoc on its paintjob by giving it unnecessary swirl marks every other day?

Swirl marks are those circular scratches which you see on your cars paint. They are caused by dirt particles rubbing against your car’s paint without any lubrication, and mostly these are caused by using an inferior way or tools for washing.

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Now, a way around this is to wash your car using the ‘two bucket method’. But before you begin, you need to gather all the tools you would need. Ordinary detergents, fabrics or sponges just won’t do since regular mitts and sponges won’t drive the dust particles away from the paint, instead the dust particles would just be dragged along surface and abrade the paint.

Cleaning Equipment Required

• Buckets x 2
• Washing mitt / sponge x 1
• Car shampoo x 1
• Waffle Weave Microfiber towel x 2

The process

Step 1: Fill one bucket with clean water and the other with water + car shampoo solution

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Step 2: Rinse and loosen the dirt off your car through a garden hose or by using a bucket of clean water only without getting in contact with the surface of the car.

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Step 3: Take your wash mitt/sponge and dip it in the lather solution and then clean the top most panel of your car, i.e. the roof and work your way down. You will need to rinse the wash mitt/sponge in the bucket of clean water after washing each panel of the car in order to remove the abrasive dirt from the mitt.

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Step 4: After your cars completely washed and covered in the lather solution just rinse the car with fresh water.

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Step 5: Dry the car panel by panel using a slightly moist microfiber cloth. Use the following order for drying:

1. Roof
2. Windows
3. Mirrors
4. Bonnet
5. Boot
6. Doors
7. Bumpers
8. Door-shuts
9. Wheels

There are two main methods use for drying, you can use any of the following methods based on your preference.

1. Swipe and drag method:

It’s the most common and convenient kind of method use for drying where you use the microfiber cloth and drag it across the surface. One towel is used for picking up majority of the water off a panel then the second one is used to wipe off the residue. The downside to this is that there is a minute risk of inflicting swirl marks since the cloth is being dragged.

2. The soaking technique

With the soaking technique you put the microfiber cloth on the wet surface and allow it to soak the water, this is then repeated and the cloth is put across all over the wet surface. The advantage of this method is the risk of causing swirl marks is minimized.

Source: Hagerty.com

Whether you’re a car person or just want to see your ride clean and swirl free, one thing is for sure, a clean car will definitely leave heads turning and provide you with that inner peace of mind.

Helpful pointers:

• Glide the wash mitt or sponge across the paint gently ahnd don’t apply pressure while drying or washing the car.
• Use the cloth while dragging it across one direction and not in circular motion as it leads to more swirls.