Advice needed on dealing with a scratch

I’ve got a one inch scratch in the door of my 2019 Golf R. It doesn’t look like it’s through the clear coat but I can feel it easily with my fingernail.

I had a go at it with my DA and Meguiars Ultimate Compound. I was pretty gentle and got some improvement. I can still feel the scratch with my fingernail but the edges of the scratch look rounded/smoothed out and it’s a lot harder to see the scratch. But I’m worried I’ll do damage if I try to get rid of it completely, or go through the clear coat.

Does anyone have any idea how thick the clear coat is on a VW?

Any general tips for dealing with scratches?


Ben - Melbourne/Australia

Now: ‘19 VW Golf R, ‘15 Polo GTI
Before: ‘06 RenaultSport Megane 225 Cup, ‘14 VW Polo GTI, ‘12 VW Golf GTI, ‘06 VW Golf GTI, ‘05 VW Golf Sportline, ‘01 Holden Astra SRi, ‘00 Nissan Pulsar SSS, ‘99 Holden Astra CD, ‘98 Nissan Pulsar SLX, ‘91 Nissan Pulsar GL with Q engine swap, ‘80 Subaru Leone

Need to figure out whether or not your clear coat is actually clear or tinted. If the clear coat is actually clear, your best bet would be Optimum Polymer Technologies Clear Coat Restore. One caveat, I am not sure if you can get it AUD.

phatrs- Without having a clue about your cc thickness I`ll answer anyhow: Leave it alone, don`t abrade it any more. Try to just live with it as-is. That "can feel with nail" bit means it`s way beyond polishing out, so I hope you stop now and just Finish Polish the area (and don`t correct it more in the future).

Remember that it`s *NOT* about "going through" but rather about thinning it so much that it fails. And it doesn`t take much to do that; the UV protection is in the very top few microns of the clear.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Accumulator

phatrs- Without having a clue about your cc thickness I`ll answer anyhow: Leave it alone, don`t abrade it any more. Try to just live with it as-is. That "can feel with nail" bit means it`s way beyond polishing out, so I hope you stop now and just Finish Polish the area (and don`t correct it more in the future).

Remember that it`s *NOT* about "going through" but rather about thinning it so much that it fails. And it doesn`t take much to do that; the UV protection is in the very top few microns of the clear.

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I thought that would be the answer, which is why I only did a few passes. Thanks for the advice.


Ben - Melbourne/Australia

Now: ‘19 VW Golf R, ‘15 Polo GTI
Before: ‘06 RenaultSport Megane 225 Cup, ‘14 VW Polo GTI, ‘12 VW Golf GTI, ‘06 VW Golf GTI, ‘05 VW Golf Sportline, ‘01 Holden Astra SRi, ‘00 Nissan Pulsar SSS, ‘99 Holden Astra CD, ‘98 Nissan Pulsar SLX, ‘91 Nissan Pulsar GL with Q engine swap, ‘80 Subaru Leone

phatrs- It *is* a drag when something so new suffers a can`t-fix though, huh? Good on you for being sensible about it. I thought of you yesterday when I saw a New Beetle with over-polishing-precipitated clearcoat failure, I could tell just what the "Detailer" had been doing that caused it.