i was just wandering wut the hell causes swirls in auto paint? i bought my firebird last june, and it had a perfect paintjob i take it to an automatic carwash every now and then, but i doubt the car wash causes it. i mostly use 100% cotton rag to wipe my car off, and to wax it but i still get swirls? wut is doing this?:

 

Basically, if you are the only person laying hands on the paint, you are causing the swirls which are just scratches with what ever you are rubbing the car with, other than that does the auto car wash use anything that actually touches the paint like brushes, as that will do it also.

The word "rag" is probably not good for your paint, if you want to use cotton towels you need to use very high quality, not something left over from the motel or some you bought at an auto parts store, the best and softest towels are sold at places like bed, bath, and beyond, look for white colored towels, made in the USA only, and the best cotton is Supima cotton, you have to look for all of that info on the tag. I also use the micro fibers from www.dftowel.com

Also, if you are wiping on the car when it is dirty or dusty with your rags, that will scratch the surface also, I never, ever recommend wiping on a paint surface dry, always use a detailer spray or wash the car. Also, you need to tell us what you are using the wash the car, sponges will scratch the clear coat as well as polyester wash mits sometimes. I only use a cotton wash mit.