We report on spiral wear patterns produced at constant angular velocity by hot tip atomic force microscopy (HT-AFM) on surfaces of two common amorphous polymers: polystyrene (PS) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Topography of these patterns is obtained with regular AFM cantilevers. Topography cross-sections taken from a center of each spiral at a given azimuthal angle Theta relate changes of surface corrugation h(corr) with tangential velocity v of a thermal cantilever. Polymer wear is characterized by a power law h(corr)(v) = alpha(v/v(max))(-beta), which yields a pre-factor alpha and an exponent beta. Below the glass transition temperature T-g, alpha is polymer specific and beta varies weakly between similar conditions and samples. Variations of beta are hypothesized to reflect polymer relaxation processes, which are expected to vary only weakly between amorphous polymers. At and above T-g, alpha approaches initial thermal tip indentation depth within a polymer, beta plummets, and a power law relation of h(corr) with v diverges. These results are explained by heterogeneous wear around T-g due to a local nature of glass transition. At all studied temperatures, additional wear heterogeneities are found as due to position on the polymer and Theta. Variations of alpha and beta with position on the polymer are found to be only marginally larger then uncertainties of the thermal tip-polymer interface temperature. Variations of alpha and beta with Theta are found to be largely influenced by buckling of thermal cantilevers traveling in a spiral pattern. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.