Help! How do you remove scratches?

Two Wheel Peel · Jun 13, 2004

Hi all. A few days ago my girlfriend accidently backed her 99 Mustang up into some tall grass and weeds and hit a chicken-wire fence that was hidden in the stuff. Her driver-side rear bumper cover has like 30 scratches on it now and it looks bad because the car is dark satin green (almost black) and the scratches are white.
I bought some rubbing compound that says it will take out big scratches and swirls so I was thinking of using that stuff with my buffer and see what happens. Then I'd try to wax over it.
I know some experts use wet-sanding to get out scratches but I'm a little nervous about that. And I see where Meguires has something called scratch-x but I never tried it before and I have no idea if it really works. What do you guys reccomend? Please help!

Dark Knight GT · Jun 13, 2004

If you bought some clear coat rubbing compound, I'de give it a try. You can also try Meguiars Scratch X and be sure to use Microfiber towels to remove the excess to keep from putting further scratches in the paint. Be sure to use it multiple times if needed.

I'm going to be honest with you. If you can hang your finger nail in the scatches, there's probably not much you can do for it but you can try. I have a black car so I know how hard scratches are to get out. To be honest, the best thing I've seen besides scratch X is Mothers Sealer glaze. Its number 2 in a 3 step system and it does wonders for a dark colored car.

EDIT: I would personally avoid wet sanding. Thats not a good idea as if you aren't careful, you can completely fugg up the clearcoat.

Two Wheel Peel · Jun 13, 2004

Thanks for the Info. Dark Knight GT!

szer0 · Jun 14, 2004

You probably have to put in a ton of elbow grease with scratch-x to work. It didn't do a thing for me ...black car though.

rjstaaf · Jun 14, 2004

If you can catch the scratches with your fingernail there isn't going to be a lot you can do by hand. If you are talking about those turtle wax rubbing compounds you find at the auto parts store I would avoid those. That is basically the equivellant of taking cleanser to your paint. About the most agressive products you are going to find at the auto parts store are Meguiars ScratchX and Meguiars Body Scrub Paint Cleaner. Both contain abrassives that will help remove light swirls and scratches.

If you have access to the Meguiars professional line there are move agressive products that you can use by hand. My suggestion would be Meguiars #82 Swirl Free Polish by hand and if you have a machine like a dual action polisher you could go with Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish.

Dark Knight GT · Jun 14, 2004

Rjstaaf, I've never heard of those products before. How good are they ? I can't believe I'm asking this as this might give me another idea for another product to buy and I have to many as it is lol.

rjstaaf · Jun 15, 2004

Meguiars #82 and #83 are part of their Body Shop line and are marketed to body shops where they are used extensively. They work best by machine like the dual action polisher or a rotary buffer but, if you have arms like the Governator you may be able to use them by hand

I would give the Porter Cable dual action polisher a good look. It was the best investment I ever made. It just makes life soooo much easier and is totally safe for your paint. There is no way you can damage your paint with it like you can with a rotary.

paver1 · Jun 15, 2004

If the scratches are all the way down to the primer you can't do a lot about it but go to the automotive paint store and ask them to mix you a small bottle of touch up paint using the paint code on your door......If the scratches did not go to the primer then use 3M Imperial Hand Glaze on a soft buffer to get them out........

Dark Knight GT · Jun 15, 2004

Hey, I found this. It's Mothes line of products. They have something called chip remover but it looks better than touch up paint. It might work so here's the link.

http://www.mothers.com/products/

rjstaaf · Jun 15, 2004

paver1 said:
If the scratches are all the way down to the primer you can't do a lot about it but go to the automotive paint store and ask them to mix you a small bottle of touch up paint using the paint code on your door......If the scratches did not go to the primer then use 3M Imperial Hand Glaze on a soft buffer to get them out........

Technically 3M Imperial Hand Glaze is primarily a "glaze" as the name suggests. It does have mild abrassives in it but, for the most part the oils in it only hide scratches. It is designed for "light" swirls and scratches. 3M does make more agressive products.

Here is a quote directly from 3M's web site.

Imperial TM Hand Glaze, 3M TM

Used to fill minor surface scratches and swirls by hand. Clear coat safe, produces high luster on all automotive paints.

http://www.3m.com/product/i_index/Imperial_(TM)_Hand_Glaze,_3M_(TM)_(BK)_00.jhtml

rjstaaf · Jun 15, 2004

Dark Knight GT said:
Hey, I found this. It's Mothes line of products. They have something called chip remover but it looks better than touch up paint. It might work so here's the link.

http://www.mothers.com/products/

It is similar to, if not just repackaged Langka. It is a solvent that dissolves the touch-up paint in order to level it with the rest of the paint surface.

http://www.langka.com/newsite/index2.html

I have been using Langka for some time with pretty good results.

Help! How do you remove scratches?

Two Wheel Peel

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