Clear coat finishes are incredibly sensitive to scratches and swirl marks. Because the top layer is clear, light reflects through it and bounces back highlighting these scratches from behind. This tends to magnify defects making them easier for your eyes to see.

Although most clear coat finishes are much harder and more resistant to oxidation than traditional lacquers and enamels finishes, they still scratch very easily. For this reason clear coat paints should never be worked on with old-fashioned, harsh abrasive products like rubbing or polishing compounds.

Even professionals in the refinishing and detailing industry can make mistakes if they don't keep up on evolving technologies in surface coatings and car care products. Before allowing a body shop or detail shop to work on your car, we recommend you be upfront and ask them if they use Meguiar's. Typically, the sight of Meguiar's bottles and Meguiar's foam buffing pads abundantly displayed throughout a paint or detail shop should be enough to convince you the shop in question is up-to-date and takes pride in their work.