plow scratched my truck, I need help!

[ReaperHWK]

I had my truck parked in the street, and a plow truck drove by it with those long "flexible rods" that hang out to the side so he knows the limits of his plow.



Anyway, on this truck the rods were hanging out horizontal(most trucks have them 45 degrees to the vertical) and proceeded to scrape my truck from rear to front (almost like I got keyed on the entire left side).



Luckily those things on the plow are flexible and the scratches are surface, I couldn`t get my fingernail in them.



To fix it (I wanted to do something because I wanted to see if I could fix it), I cleaned the area with instant detailer and then used 3m polishing compound PN 39009. After buffing I got 90% of it out however now my paint is swirled to crap now(black truck).



I think my problem was wiping off the salt with the instant detailer and a rag(cloth rag), and also buffing with the polish without washing the whole panel first (fine dirt/salt maybe scratched up the paint).



How do I fix this? I figure I can use ONR then use microfiber towels to get the swirls out with the 3M stuff I have. Am I on the right track? All these scratches are not through the clear so I know I can get them out, but it seems like I add more then I take out!



THanks.

[paco]

You`ll probably need something more aggresive them 39009. You planning on correcting by hand? If so, get some Meguiars SwirlX and see if that does the trick. Just make sure to work the polish long enough.

[ReaperHWK]

Yeah I do everything by hand for two reasons. One I`m not that crazy about detailing and jsut want the truck to look descent, and the other reason is I don`t want to mess up the paint (I hear by hand it`s REALLY hard to).



Since my car is COVERED in salt, do you think I can use the ONR without a problem. I mean the truck is FILTHY. I have no access to a hose righ tnow since it`s freezing out.

[JCturboT]

It could have been worse-



YouTube - NY`s Dumbest; NYC workers DESTROY A CAR



Jeff

[imported_dfazekas]

YouTube - NY`s Dumbest; NYC workers DESTROY A CAR

Thats exactly the video i was thinking about when i read this post.



Personally, if the car is filthy and you don`t want to swirl it, I`d opt for a pressure washer and some foam. I know you said that`s not really an option, but I don`t really use ONR unless the car`s fairly clean. Maybe some avid ONR users could chime in on that one.

[Scottwax]

ONR should have no problem cleaning your truck but if you want to be on the safe side, blast off the excess dirt at a coin-op car wash, then ONR wash it at home.



It is very hard to properly polish out a vehicle by hand, but if you want to try, Meguiars 105/205 or the new Optimum Polishes work very well by hand. You have to use a folded MT towels and even pressure (not your finger tips but your whole hand) and work into the paint until the product clears out.

[imported_dfazekas]

Also, if you`re set on doing it by hand, meguiars makes a hand polishing kit that utilizes their pad system...might be easier to get the results you`re after with something like that.

[paco]

Hey Reap,



Can you post some pics of what you`re dealing with? Then we can make some recommendations. What do you have lying around as well in addition to the 3m 39009.



Paco

[ReaperHWK]

It`s all surface scratches in the clear. 39009 either got it out or concealed it, because I can`t see the scratch from the plow anymore. However, I did put in swirls. I`ll try and get pics, but you can only see the swirls in direct sunlight or under a work light.



I bought some microfiber pads and mcguires swirlX from pepboys just now, you think that would work better than the 39009?



Also paint job is 3 months old, I figure I don`t want to go to aggressive.