Newbie question about scratches

[Pats300zx]

Hey guys I just wanted to get your expert opinion about some small scratches that I have on my 300zx show car. I assume the scratches are from towels that I have used for waxing or Qding. I will now only use Mf's.

I had the hood of the car repainted over a year ago and I can only see these scratches under fluorescent light in my garage.

Being the anal person I am, what do you recommend I use to try and remove them?? Do you think SMR would be ok. Granted the hood is perfect but only has some minor swipe scratches from the towels...I don't want to use anything to harsh. I just want to try and remove some of the light scratches.

I have also used some 3M Hand Glaze but I don't know if I should go more abrasive...Any ideas???? Thanks for the help...

[JasonC8301]

The next step up from 3M IHG is 3M SMR (swirl mark remover) PN # 39009. It contains slight abrasives and some fillers. This should be adequate for your towel marring. To check if you did anything to the marring after the 3M SMR, use one soft clean MF to wipe on some 70% rubbing alchohol, let it work for 2 min, then wipe clean and inspect. Still swirls, go over it again.

Use foam for the 3M SMR because it will provide the best polishing tool for this job. A terry towel for this may cause even more marring (swirls.)

Be patient, for those isolated areas (I assume, but make an *** if I'm wrong) work slowly and carefully, check your foam applicator pads, towels frequently for contamination and if they get gummed up with product. Don't rush.

Research the archives/forum/product review section (a great review was on Meguiars #9 2.0 SMR) for techniques on how to remove these scratches/marring by hand.

Jason

[Don2000g]

Young Jason is right on! You should get the results you want with 3M SMR. Try a few passes with this particular product. It is gentle (safe) stuff. The product a step up more aggressive would be 3M Finesse It 2.

[puterbum]

Unless you have an electric buffer, SMR may cause more marring than you started out with! Go with something milder like PPCL and you should be fine. These are very very small "swirls" aren't they? If it's from a cotton towel, I think that SMR would be way overkill and require too much more additional effort.

$0.02
puterbum

[Pats300zx]

Sorry I am kinda of a newbie. What exactly is PPCL??

[BradE]

PPCL= Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion. If the car is a true show car, I would not use abrasives unless I had no other choice. The marring might be in the wax/sealant on the car and not actually in the clear. I would strip and wax/sealant and then evaluate if you need abrasives.

[Pats300zx]

Wow guys I am totally confused now. I don't know if I should use 3M SMR or PPCL. The scratches that I have are very minor and can only be seen under artifical light in the garage at an angle. I assume them are simple towel marring. I am afraid that either SMR or PPCL will cause hazing or make my situation worse. Any thoughts???

[Every Little Detail]

Pat is this a true show car or a car in what you consider showromm condition? If it is going from show to show then glazing it about 30min before the show will leave the surface perfect for the remainder of the show as it will fill any of these light towel scratches in. When the glaze evaporates, presto the marks come back but the show is over.
If you actually drive the car what do you have on for protection? The reason I ask is the marring may only be in the wax or sealent. Once you determine if the marring is in the protection or indeed in the clear you will have to use a product with some abrasive as that is the only way to remove the light lines you have from the toweling. You will have to follow it up with a non-abrasive polish to get rid of any hazing. Remember any hazing will be even lighter than the toweling marks.
Hopefully the marring is just in the wax/sealent, then strip it off,
use any of the non-abrasive polishes until you get the car looking like you want and then follow up with your favorite wax or sealent. Do yourselve a favor and read David Byron's " The Perfect Shine" article, he is an expert on show cars.

[puterbum]

ELD, good point with the possibility of marring being in the sealant.

Pat: I'd really recommend trying the PPCL. I have used both SMR and PPCL and would highly recommend PPCL for any very minor "micromarring" like the stuff you have. Since what you have is so minor, SMR would be way overkill and it can be a pretty involved process to get a perfect finish with SMR applied by hand.

If you have major stuff you could use SMR or FI-II but from your description of it, PPCL will work fine. I really think that SMR will change the situation for the worse or remove excessive paint for the situation. PPCL should work wonderfully, I know I'm not the only one here that loves the stuff.