In Australia there are waxes available to hide scratches. They come in the colour of the car. That's how I got caught once when buying a car. It looked beautiful first but the more I washed it the more scratches appeared. Maybe your customers use the same detailer/car yard. Hope that info helps.
Car Wash Forum
This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Swirl marks
- Thread starter Lofty
- Start date
Earl Weiss
Well-known member
I am not sure if this is how he came across, but sometimes there is not much else you can do. Had a lady just the other day saying we scratched her car. She brings it in and theri a couple of scuff lines from the side of the trunk lid toward the center about 6 inches long.
I ask if there is anything I can say or show her to prove she is mistaken. She says go ahead. Show her only the top brushes do this are of the car and there is no side to side contact, only along the length of the car. (You had to have your eyes about 6 inches from the car to see the marks. ) She says she knows it wasn't there she just did the laundry and saw the car (dirty of Course) and I'm thinking she probably put the laundry basketon the car. Blah Blah blah curse and moan. Wanted to ask if she didn't trust what she saw with her own eyes.
pitzerwm
Active member
You will find that your customer doesn't care how the swirls got there, "it is your fault" and they want you to pay to fix them. I once had a woman admit that if she ran over a nail in the street and it went flat while she was washing, I should pay to have it repaired.
Good luck, educating a customer that doesn't have any concept of personal responsiblity.
Good luck, educating a customer that doesn't have any concept of personal responsiblity.
rph9168
Carwashguy
Some people will never accept your explanation. I used to be the General Manager of several touch free tunnels. Whenever we had someone complain we scratched their vehicle we would take them through the tunnel and show them the equipment never touched the vehicle. Many just would not accept the fact that we did not do any damage.
Thanks all, I understand they might not accept my explanation but I do feel responsible to at least be able to explain with confidence as to why this has occurred. If they don't want to accept that then i know I've done all I can to explain. This forum has enabled me to develop a suitable explanation for this.
Earl Weiss
Well-known member
HAd one customer drive into another in the tunnel. HAd the video. GAve it to the customer in the front car and told them to make a claim against the driver behind them. The license plate was clearly visble. They said "But it happened in your place". I asked if another car hit theirs in the parking lt of Target, would they say Target was respnsible? They said yes!. I told them to contact whoever gave them their legal education and ask for their money back because they were taught wrong.
I then get a letter from their lawyer who was located quite some distance away, so I guess there was some sort of relationship there. All sorts of BS about having cars too close etc. I respond that I expect he has not seen the video and he should ask his client for a copy. Once he sees it he will know there is no basis for the claim and if he puruses it I will seek sanctions for having brought a bad faith action.
I am now making similar statements with regard to a State Farm Subrogation suit for a lady whose bumper came off and I refused to pay because the right side of the car and bumper was damaged before it came in.
Wash it, you raise a good point. We don't prep with high pressure but do apply a high PH bug remover to bird droppings, tree residue etc. It is possible some staff could have hand rubbed some of these marks after applying the chemical, however the vehicles we have seen which are worst have swirl marks everywhere, way in excess of what we would hand prep. We built our business with the view of not prepping but we do find there are certain small things which need that bit of extra attention.
Well OK, there's been a healthy discussion about these swirl marks. The one thing I don't see is where in blazes do they come from? I have seen them on several cars and vans that I owned. When you look at the surface with the sun at a glancing angle, you see these round/spider web kind of things. It is obvious that rotating brushes, cloth, or mitter curtains do not operate this way. It could happen from an inexperienced buffer operator, but I have never used a buffer on any on my cars. So where do they come from? It has to be something inherent to the paint or finish of thr car. Any ideas?
rph9168
Carwashguy
I have seen an inexperienced, poorly trained lot boy put swirls on brand new cars. Spider webbing is something different. It is in the paint. They come from either paint that was not cured properly or from the paint job itself. If it is a clear coat the chances of removing them are slim because they are usually in the base coat under the clear coat. You tend to see them more on darker colors but they can also be found on lighter ones.
Here is some additional information.
http://www.expert-mobile-car-detailing.com/paint-spider-webbing.html
Here is some additional information.
http://www.expert-mobile-car-detailing.com/paint-spider-webbing.html
If a finish is properly perpared, it is polished using abrasives. These chemicals can finish to a "swirl free", mirror finish. After which wax (natural) or sealant (synthetic) is applied. Sometimes, to save on labor, a glaze is used. A glaze fills in imperfections, and covers them like make up. It is then coated with a wax or sealant.
The problem is a glazed car can be revealed with one wash cycle.
The other problem is that some operators aren't using enough soap and water on their cloth. At my last job, we had someone from Chrysler Tech Center bring one of their brand new mini vans through our wash 100 times, testing a new wheel paint process. We ran a normal operation that day, washing some extremely dirty, muddy cars and trucks. At the end of his visit we inspected his factory fresh vehicle, and yes there were some visible hairline scratches that could only have been instilled by our brushes. We installed a set of 18" bristle brushes and they're leaving deposits on all our cars, and the bosses car. I'm using cloth on my Peco 118's, and my guys aren't having that problem. I do use more soap and water on my brushes though...
The problem is a glazed car can be revealed with one wash cycle.
The other problem is that some operators aren't using enough soap and water on their cloth. At my last job, we had someone from Chrysler Tech Center bring one of their brand new mini vans through our wash 100 times, testing a new wheel paint process. We ran a normal operation that day, washing some extremely dirty, muddy cars and trucks. At the end of his visit we inspected his factory fresh vehicle, and yes there were some visible hairline scratches that could only have been instilled by our brushes. We installed a set of 18" bristle brushes and they're leaving deposits on all our cars, and the bosses car. I'm using cloth on my Peco 118's, and my guys aren't having that problem. I do use more soap and water on my brushes though...
