How am I scratching my car?

[mk9750]

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.

[Calendyr]

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

[TiredOfPaintStains]

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.

[Kamakaz1961]

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/timothyl...6/original.jpg

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

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/im...9/original.jpg

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

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/im...6/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/im...8/original.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/im...8/original.jpg

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!