Hi everyone ,

I have a question I was wondering if atomic silver paint shows swirl marks. Reason I ask is because I am looking to trade my ultra white RC in and I am leaning towards getting the atomic silver IS.

I absolutely love my RC and I will be very sad to turn it in but the car sits very low and has been aggravating a pre-existing back condition which I need surgery for. My IS didn't aggravate my back issues but I have had them since 2 weeks after I took delivery of my RC. The car sits really low for those of you wondering, it's much lower than the IS. And I did not have these issues when I had any of my IS's.

I've had a black IS, tungsten pearl and I've had ultra white. I feel it's time to change the color so I've been looking more and more at atomic silver, but admittedly I am OCD and I don't want to have a paint that I can noticeably induce swirl marks too so I was wondering over time how does the atomic silver hold up and does it show swirl marks.

I have had my last three cars coated with 22 PLE and I do plan on coating the atomic silver if I get it but I was just wondering what others think about the paint and whether or not it shows swirl marks and if it's pretty easy to maintain like my ultra white and the tungsten Pearl was. I do mostly waterless washing with Meguiars professional detailer product D115 rinse and wax, and I do know how to do that without inducing swirl marks but I was just curious on how the atomic silver paint is.

Thanks in advance everyone for your help I appreciate it

 

Yes any paint color will show swirl marks. It may not be easy to see with atomic silver though.

My car is atomic silver but u can't tell you for sure how bad swirls would be because I had Ceramic Pro applied to the car. I highly recommend it because it protects from that, small scratches, spray paint, bird poo, etc. It also adds an extra layer of gloss and makes water roll off instantly.

 

Swirls are actually very easily preventable for the most part. The vast majority of swirls are caused by incorrect washing. This is going to sound nuts but the absolute best way to prevent swirls is not touching the paint. If you have to touch the paint, which to wash it you obviously do, you need to keep it lubricated. Dragging little bits if dirt across the paint causes those little scratches, swirls are the same thing except done in a circular motion which is why you should always wash in a straight line. I use a foam gun on my car first thing, it's very good at getting the majority of dirt off to minimize the swirl risk when I use a microfiber mitt to contact wash it afterward. Use the two bucket method to wash...get yourself two grit guards from Amazon for about 7 bucks each and 2 buckets. I've got the "homer buckets" from Home Depot, they fit the gritguard perfect and they're about 3 bucks. I also use a blower to dry it, it not only keeps touching the car to a minimum with a drying towel but its very good at drying the rims and the "problem areas" like the drip under the rear view mirrors and under the door handles. I used my cheap little leaf blower which did very well (neighbors gave me a few looks ) but then my wife who just loved when I wash it at 830am on her day off bought me one of the specific car dryers on autogeek.com. It's way quieter and works better for the purpose. Go on youtube and search "junkman2000". He's a former marine who's nuts about his corvette, he's got tons of good detailing videos but look specifically at his 2 bucket wash technique videos (I think there 5 video parts to it). That's pretty much exactly what I do, even use the same foam gun and I have very minimal scratches and no swirls, the ones I do have since there is so few, I can easily hand polish them out each time I wax with a light polish or glaze.

 

Any paint color will show swirl marks if washed incorrectly. Some just show them more than others ... like black! Having a reputable detailer (or yourself if you have the skill) put on a very good coat of wax from day one will help eliminate the swirl marks.

 

I had a silver car and swirl marks doesn't show as much as darker color. It's there but it blend very well with silver.

 

Yes, I too have my car coated in 22PLE. Its very easy to maintain and I will do that when I get a new car. I was only concerned because the Atomic Silver is darker than silver lining metallic so I was just wondering from those that have the car whether or not its more prone to show swirls. I do know how to wash it so that I do not induce swirl marks. My detailer taught me that. For the most part 95% of my car washes are waterless now. I love the product I use, its easy to use and provides great shine and luster to my Ultra White paint.

 

My atomic silver is very comparable to my starfire pearl I've had before, in terms of maintenance. Very easy color to live with, in my opinion.

 

Hi dstopie,

I agree with JDR76.

My 3IS is also in atomic silver and swirls are very difficult to find. Despite the perception that atomic silver is darker than regular silver and hence swirls are more noticeable, it is not quite the case. I also have coating (Polish Angel Cosmic 9H) on paint which helps.

In fact, looking for swirls and scratches to correct on atomic silver during machine polishing is a bit difficult . You need to have the right and correct type of light source.

 

I bought my IS 250 AWD F Sport 3 same colour back in December, I wash the car myself, I bought high quality car wash products, as well a good quality wax, no swirls so far, I don't have an extra coat of any type on it, I use the 2 buckets technique, I guess it's all about how careful you are and which products you are using, my 2 cents.

 

i have an atomic silver car and it's so much easier to take care of than my other, which is matador red mica.