# Sheesh, car paint sure is wussy these days.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheesh-car-paint-sure-is-wussy-these-days/566161>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 2, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheesh-car-paint-sure-is-wussy-these-days/566161 "2011-01-02T19:35:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheesh-car-paint-sure-is-wussy-these-days/566161/1 "2011-01-02T19:35:23Z")

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Wasn’t car paint, at some point, meant to _protect_ a car? Nowadays it seems like the most vulnerable part of the car. You can’t so much as look at it or it will scratch.

So there was snow on our car and I swept it off with a broom. The broom had nylon hairs, just strong enough to move dust and dry leaves. Now the snow has melted and yes, the car paint is scratched.

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**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheesh-car-paint-sure-is-wussy-these-days/566161/2 "2011-01-02T19:37:41Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> Wasn’t car paint, at some point, meant to protect a car? Nowadays it seems like the most vulnerable part of the car. You can’t so much as look at it or it will scratch.

it’s always been scratch-prone. it’s just that cars used to rust/wear out long before the paint got crappy looking. Back in the day, paint would just fade and lose its gloss.

> [@](#):
>
> So there was snow on our car and I swept it off with a broom. Nylon hairs, just strong enough to move dust and dry leaves. Now the snow has melted and yes, the car paint is scratched.

it’s not the broom, it’s the dust and other abrasive grit that was already on the car.

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**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheesh-car-paint-sure-is-wussy-these-days/566161/3 "2011-01-03T18:56:36Z")

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Don’t touch a dirty car with anything. Get it nice and wet first, and then rub it off with soapy water.

You probably just scratched the clearcoat. It should wax out pretty well.