Clearing out light scratches

[ghoonk]

Hi guys,



I`ve searched the forum but have not been able to find an answer that addresses my quest to completely rid my car of the light scratches and light swirl marks that my previous groomer introduced. To set the scene, my car is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX in Lightning Yellow, 3 months old.



At this point in time, I have light scratches and swirl marks that appear only under white light (the kind used by petrol stations), and I have tried various means to get rid of them -- Autoglym Super Resin Polish, ScratchX, AIO -- all by hand. I haven`t the skill with a PC to get through it that way.



Still no luck in hiding them, and certainly that would not be the approach I would prefer. I`m hoping to be able to completely polish off the scratches and swirl marks, but have no idea how to get about it.



The car currently has a layer of AIO, 4 layers of SG, and a layer of carnauba wax. The approach I have in mind so far is to



1. go at it (starting with the bonnet) with a strong paint cleaner (the swissol clean fluid and cleaner fluid strong are good, but expensive)



2. get a good polishing compound and try to polish out the scratches



3. apply AIO, followed by 4 layers of SG (with at least 18 hours between layers)



4. carnauba wax (probably switching over to P21S since I can`t get Pinnacle Souveran here in Singapore)



Can someone tell me if the approach is correct, and what products would you recommend?

[aaron33]

Hi! I have those kind of scratches too. Only come up under the fluorescent lights of the petrol station. I`ve also tried ScratchX and AIO by hand. Won`t fix it. I now use a random orbital (Bosch), a light polish pad and Poorboys SSR2.5 to deal with it. If it is deeper, then you`ll need a cutting pad. Bottom line is that your hand can`t move fast enough to repair these scratches.

I`d also put a pure polish before using AIO, just to add that little bit of oil back into the clearcoat.

[Accumulator]

ghoonk- Depending on your paint, removing the marring might be *very* difficult. It`s seldom easy even in the best cases.



Of the products you metioned, the Scratch-X is the only one that should`ve really done anything. You might pick one area and use the Scratch-X over and over and see if it does it. If not, you might need to use a machine. Even then it won`t be all that easy. I`m serious, this stuff takes some doing.



I would:



Get some lighting that shows the flaws so you know if you`re making progress.



Use rubbing alcohol to remove the current products.



Polish with the appropriate abrasive polishes, first an aggressive one, then a milder one. Not sure what to recommend as I don`t know what you can get and my favorites have been discontinued (3M PI-III RC 05933 & PI-III MG 05937).



Then do the AIO/SG/wax.



Heh heh, don`t worry about the cost of products, consider what the car cost ;)

[jmsc]

aaron,



Just curious, but what kind of pure polish are you using before AIO?



Never thought of doing it that way, a polish before a cleaner. I always do cleaner then a polish.

[Accumulator]

Just curious, but what kind of pure polish are you using before AIO?



Never thought of doing it that way...





Yeah, I`d expect the AIO to just clean the pure polish off/out of the paint :nixweiss

[DM101]

I would use a buffer with Menerna PO85RD or check out http://www.sportscarcare.com/scc/product.asp?ItemID=men-ftg



The start over Aio, SG, wax topper



Or sealant Wolfgang, waxtopper



Or UPP sealant. wax topper



Just my opinion.

[ghoonk]

Thanks for the advice, guys!



I only used SX once, but not repeated applications. Looks like I`ll need to get out some rubbing alcohol and clear out the wax and Klasse on the bonnet, then go at it with SX a couple of times. May just try this during lunch and see how it goes :)



I`m having a really bad time here trying to get Poorboy`s SSR2, 2.5 and 3. No one carries it, so it looks like Autogeek for me. Have been hearing good stuff about this from you guys, but am still not sure if SSR requires an orbital to apply. Any advice here?

[aaron33]

aaron,



Just curious, but what kind of pure polish are you using before AIO?



Never thought of doing it that way, a polish before a cleaner. I always do cleaner then a polish.

I just use Meg`s DC#2. AIO does take off the polish. But what ever little oil that manages to get into the clearcoat, that is enough for me. I`ve seen clear coat failures where the clear actually cracked eventhough the weather was always humid (Malaysia, same weather as Singapore). After that, I always put a pure polish after using any cutting compound or swirl removers.

[ghoonk]

what`s a pure polish?

[HomicidalSloth]

Thanks for the advice, guys!



I only used SX once, but not repeated applications. Looks like I`ll need to get out some rubbing alcohol and clear out the wax and Klasse on the bonnet, then go at it with SX a couple of times. May just try this during lunch and see how it goes :)



I`m having a really bad time here trying to get Poorboy`s SSR2, 2.5 and 3. No one carries it, so it looks like Autogeek for me. Have been hearing good stuff about this from you guys, but am still not sure if SSR requires an orbital to apply. Any advice here?



I don`t think anyone really carries PBB products in a physical business, so autogeek would work, but I do prefer to just go to their website: http://www.poorboysworld.com

[ghoonk]

SX didn`t work for me, or I just wasn`t doing it right. might need to seek professional help (my friends believe I have OCD with the way I`m trying to rid my car of any form of scratches, completely and forever) to get the scratches off, then AIO and SG, SG, SG, SG, SG, wax it to death *grin*

[Accumulator]

what`s a pure polish?





"Pure polish" is Meguiar`s-speak for a nonabrasive polish/glaze. Examples include Meg`s #3/#5/#7/#81/Deep Crystal Step #2.

[ghoonk]

after a weekend of trial and error, i`ve ended up with swirl marks in addition to the scratches. man, i do suck at this. think it might be time to bring the car down to a paint / spray shop and get them to polish the paintwork back to perfection (hopefully that works), then it`s back to lots of AIO, SG and wax.

[Accumulator]

after a weekend of trial and error, i`ve ended up with swirl marks in addition to the scratches. man, i do suck at this. think it might be time to bring the car down to a paint / spray shop....



I`d strongly advise against taking it to an unkown shop. You think *you* suck at this, just wait until you turn some bubba loose on it :scared: I`m serious, the odds are overwhelmingly against things turning out well.



Despite the tendency around here to make this sound like some esoteric art form, polishing paint isn`t all *that* tricky unless you`re dealing with something unusual. And if you *are* dealing with something unusual, you don`t want some twit at a shop messing with it.



IMO you oughta pick one spot on the car to work on. Don`t move on until you get that one spot right. I dunno what products you can get over there, but you might see if you *can* find the 3M stuff I like (I`ve found it on the internet). Again, that`s their Perfect-It III Rubbing Compound (pn 05933) and Perfect-It III Machine Glaze (pn 05937). Both work fine by hand, it just takes a lot longer than with a PC. By PC, both are generally used with polishing pads. If your paint is very hard you should consider 4" pads for the aggressive work instead of the usual 6-6.5" ones. Buff off the residue while it`s still just barely wet, use a soft plush MF. Get things almost perfect with the RC before switching to the MG.

[imported_rfinkle2]

i agree w/ the menzerna product recommendations, and feel your pain. The PO85RD mentioned (or the FPII) for that matter , will get you there.



I know that $45.00 is alot to spend on a polish (especially when you`ve spent $ on others that haven`t worked to your liking), but if you want perfection (i.e. no hazing), the only I could find to step up to the plate has been menzerna.



KLASSE AIO and SG may be causing some / all of your problems...imo. I have found AIO to have a pretty strong (IMO) abrasive, and SG to be too hard to apply / remove without increasing the chance of causing sirls from buffing too hard to get it off.



I`ve also noticed many people to mention that SG may actually "highlight" swirls / scratches...



hope that you get things worked out...