SCRATCH & SWIRL MARKS

The short answer: Mr. Bubbles Luxury Auto Spa did not make the swirl marks on your vehicle’s finish. But we can help you fix them! The developer and designer of our wash (Car Wash Pro Designers) has been designing, building, operating, and washing vehicles since 1991, and they stake their business and reputation on producing clean, shiny vehicles without damage, this includes swirl marks. With close to 30 years’ experience in the car wash industry, Car Wash Pro Designers can say this with authority. That is the short answer.

The longer response provides information about swirl marks – what they are, what causes them and other information to help you understand why Car Wash Pro Designers can say with confidence that Mr. Bubbles Luxury Auto Spa does not cause swirl marks.

Let’s first define what “swirl marks” are so that there is the same understanding. Swirl marks are circular microscopic imperfections on the surface of vehicles, best seen on black or dark blue vehicles when illuminated by a single light source (like the sun). They are not to be confused with cracking or spider webs, both of which lie beneath the clear coat and are a result of imperfections or micro-fracturing in the paint itself. Most vehicles will develop swirls, cracking, and other surface marring in their lifespans to one degree or another. These can usually be resolved or minimized with professional and regular wax treatments.

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Even the most cursory of online search (or dinner conversation) will turn up loads of anecdotal information about automated car washes causing swirl marks and reveals the incredibly strong feelings many people have about the relationship between these abrasions and automatic car washing, with friction cleaning systems. It’s often just assumed as common knowledge that car wash brushes are too harsh, scrapping vehicles and marking the clear coat, or the brush material (and sometimes even the water in the high-pressure hoses) becomes impacted with dirt and grit, which in turn is spread from vehicle to vehicle, resulting in scratches.

But the truth is more complicated and can be much more interesting, whether you’re a car enthusiast or a car washer!

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Vehicle paints, coatings and finishes, and car wash chemicals and cleaning technology have significantly changed and advanced a great deal over the past few decades. Mr. Bubbles Luxury Auto Spa has leading edge technology in car washing equipment installed in Aurora, IL. The perceptions were created back in the early days of car washes, because up until as recent as a decade, most of the wash power came from scrubbing action rather than liquid solutions or detergent action or wash pressure. When most of the cleaning had to be done with brushes and friction, the degree of friction was ramped up with brushes that took off more of the dirt but had a greater impact on the surface as a result. Older style brushes were more abrasive and often worked with less lubrication, which in combination with single-stage paint jobs, made minor scuffing a regular occurrence.

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Today it is virtually unheard of when a professional car washer cleans and maintains its equipment. Mr. Bubbles Luxury Auto Spa has dedicated staff to perform meticulous day and evening maintenance and quality checks, and other safeguards in place to prevent anything that could cause damage to our customers’ automobiles. Some of the safeguards in place are water filtration systems (R/O), measured detergent application, water PH level testing, and high-pressure washing, and all cloth cleaning material has zero nylon.

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Back in the 1970s and ’80s the height of using nylon brushes was famous for creating swirl marks. Today our MacNeil SuperFlex foam wraps are the gentlest, safest, and most effective foam wrap-around tunnel car wash brush you’ll find. It offers controlled cleaning pressures with total foam brush clutching for safe and effective cleaning, regardless of the conveyor speed. Plus, it has an over-center reach of six feet, meaning that you have excellent front coverage to clean the bugs and grime off of bumpers and grills effectively.

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But what about the occasional customer who does report scuffing and swirl marks? There are several reasons why swirl marks occur and each of which holds truth depending upon the situation.

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Single-stage paint: High-quality foreign cars in dark blue or black are sometimes still painted with old-fashioned single-stage paint, resulting in a more fragile clear coat that is more easily affected by regular washing materials in both hand washes and automatic washes. Antique and high-end vehicles should always be cleaned with great care.

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Revealing wear and tear: As a car wash cleans a vehicle it can reveal imperfections and scratches that had previously been obscured by dirt and dust. The cleaner the vehicle, the easier it is to spot regular lines and nicks that can result from blowing sand, particle debris on highways, and even damage from improper hand washing practices like one-bucket washes, dishwasher soap, and artificial sponge use (which have been shown to be far more damaging to vehicle exteriors than most auto owners realize). At Mr. Bubbles, we cringe when we hear people feel that home bucket washing is “safer” and we know that’s not true.)

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Perception bias: Nearly every vehicle on the road has marks of one kind or another, regardless of how it is cleaned or maintained. Usually, you only see them when you are looking for them, and then when you spot a problem it’s all you can see! Because smart consumers look more closely after they have paid for a car wash, they are more likely to spot pre-existing damage and blame it on the wash, even if the type or pattern of damage is clearly inconsistent with the action of the car wash’s components. When we review scratches, we know to compare the scratches or swirl marks to the pattern of our brushes. If the swirl marks go in a different direction, then we know it wouldn’t be possible for our equipment to make them. Additionally, Mr. Bubbles has an Ultra 4K surveillance video system that reviews the vehicle prior to entering the car wash and can most times identify any scratches prior to entering the tunnel, so that we can discuss perception bias.

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Wax layering: new vehicles fresh from the dealer usually have a heavy, brand-new coat of professionally applied wax to protect them from the elements, improve their gloss, and disguise those very same cracks and spider lines we mentioned in the opening paragraph. As these brand-new vehicles are driven that wax begins to break down, and when they go through the car wash the first-time exposure to detergents and cleaning can actually thin and polish the original wax further, bringing out existing imperfections that had not been visible before (and often enraging the new car’s owners). A fresh coat of professionally applied wax easily corrects the issue, which is normally only present on very dark vehicles or vehicles with certain ‘flat’ paint tones. New car owners typically feel that their new vehicles do not need wax, but new car owners with black or blue vehicles are typically the customers that accuse car washes of making swirl marks, and what they are experiencing is this dealer gloss that is wearing thin. Regular waxing eliminates this.

But how can our customer determine if Mr. Bubbles equipment were to make the damage?

If the brushes or chemicals in the wash were to damage a vehicle, the pattern of damage would be expected to follow very specific patterns matching the motion and action of the equipment used, and typical swirl marks usually don’t fit the bill. We would also be happy to demo a vehicle through our wash to demonstrate the quality of the wash and lack thereof any damage as a result.

It’s also important to note that there is a science, or chemistry to cleaning vehicles. Many believe it’s just soap, water, and friction that cleans the car – but it really is a science. The science considers the PH level of water which allows our cleaning solutions to lift most typical vehicle soils up from the finish, always maintaining a barrier between the vehicle’s finish. Home and bucket washing or using car wash systems that aren’t well maintained (such as the unattended gas station type car washes), unprofessional detailers using old or dirty cleaning supplies are more likely to cause damage.

 

So now you’ve got the long response, and hope you feel comfortable trusting Mr. Bubbles to clean your new or used vehicle without fear.