Swirls and Scratches Don't Exist

[Mike Phillips]

Swirls and Scratches Don't Exist

Technically, you don't remove swirls and scratches because they don't exist, they are voids in the paint. You see, swirls and scratches have no physical substance or material, they are the visual appearance of missing paint.

In order to restore a flawless, swirl and defect free finish you need to gently, and in a controlled manner, remove a little paint off the surface which has a leveling-effect. You don't actually remove swirls and scratches, you remove the paint surrounding swirls and scratches.


Same thing goes for Type II Water Spots. You don't remove Type II Water Spots, your remove the paint surrounding Type II Water Spots.

Two Types of Bird Dropping Etchings


Because factory paint is thin, the approach you want to take when removing below surface defects is to use the least aggressive product to get the job done. By using this approach you remove the defects while leaving the maximum amount of paint on the car and this will help the exterior paint to last over the service life of the car.

All the UV protection for the basecoat is in the clear coat, so the more clear paint you remove off the surface, the less UV protection you have to protect the paint.

See this article,
"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

[A4 1.8tqm]

Beautiful, swirls and scratches don't exist... I love this type of thought process. Logical, accurate and drives the point home!

[Shawn T.]

When I first read the subject I was like, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........has Mike been abducted by aliens?

But, is the non-existence of one item, the existence of another? What if we define a scratch as a linear section devoid of substance? In that case, a scratch would exist because of the non-existence of something else.

Or, we could define a scratch as a line of some sort which has a lowest point that is lower than the surrounding paint.

Thanks for the little write-up Mike. Interesting idea.

[jpegs13]

Sure, and next you're going to tell me there's no Santa

[dougaross]

But, is the non-existence of one item, the existence of another? What if we define a scratch as a linear section devoid of substance? In that case, a scratch would exist because of the non-existence of something else.

I had a thought like this when I had morphine after surgery.

[Fly bye]

Is the glass half empty, or half full

[Shawn T.]

Is the glass half empty, or half full

Is there even a glass and if there is, what is it that's making it half full or empty?

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

Actually, this is part of another article for the forum and for another project and the other article hasn't been posted yet and the the other project isn't finished yet.

Woooo haaaaa

[arkus]

That's pure genius

[dad07]

I hear Twilight Zone music coming from this thread