Why automatic car washes scratch your paint
Those fine circles you see in the sun have a cause. Here is what tunnel washes do to your clear coat, and how a hand wash prevents it.
From our detailers · 4 min read
Look at a dark car in direct sunlight and you will often see fine circular scratches spreading out like a spider web. Detailers call them swirl marks, and the most common cause is the automatic car wash.
What happens inside the tunnel
Spinning brushes and cloth strips touch hundreds of cars a day. They pick up sand, grit and road film from every car before yours, then drag that grit across your paint at high speed. Each pass leaves tiny scratches in the clear coat.
Many tunnel washes also use strong, high-pH soaps so they can clean fast without much contact time. Those soaps strip away wax and sealants, leaving your paint unprotected.
How a hand wash is different
- ✓A pre-rinse and foam soak loosen dirt before anything touches the paint.
- ✓Clean microfiber mitts and towels for every car, so grit from another vehicle never reaches yours.
- ✓pH-balanced products that clean without stripping protection.
- ✓A person who sees the car and slows down around emblems, trim and mirrors.
Already have swirl marks?
Swirls live in the clear coat, so washing won't remove them. Machine polishing will. Our One-Step Paint Correction removes up to 50 to 70% of surface imperfections, and The Works goes further.