How well has Scratch X remover worked for you?

E

E30 325i

New member
First off, I’d like to say I’m a new member and still learning about how to properly detail a car.



Now, I used Scratch X remover, but I didn’t get the results I wanted, it didn't remove a lot of the swirls that were on the car. One week before I used the Scratch X remover, I had applied some Meguiar’s cleaner wax. Could this have anything to do with the scratch X remover not working that well? I’m guessing the cleaner wax didn’t let the scratch X remover really penetrate the clear coat and do it’s thing. I don’t have a lot of scratches on my car, but a TON of swirl marks and it drives me crazy. I contacted Meguiar’s about this and they said “Rub the product into the surface and then remove immediately. Repeat the process 3-4 times before judging the results.� Hmm, 3-4 times? Does that sound right? I probably did something wrong, i'm guessing I shouldn’t have used the cleaner wax a week before, but I got some free samples of the Scratch X remover, that’s why I decided to use it. I’m going to use it on my other car, which also has a ton of swirl marks all over. Has Scratch X remover worked well for you? Should I use it all over the car? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
When I used scratch-x it took out scratches I could NOT feel with my fingernail. That does not include swirls.



Swirls should be taken out with 3 swirl mark remover. It is better to use SMR with a random orbit buffer, but can be used by hand in straight lines. (look in Autopia Guided for more info).



I applied SMR by hand, and now regret it. In Aug I will be purchasing a PC and I wish I waited so I could use it for the SMR. Now I need to buy a new bottle.
 
Use the Search function and search for ScratchX. There is a fairly extensive thread or two on it in the forums. They are complete with before and after pictures too. Welcome to the forums!
 
samiam513 said:
I applied SMR by hand, and now regret it. In Aug I will be purchasing a PC and I wish I waited so I could use it for the SMR. Now I need to buy a new bottle.
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Hey samiam..... you say you regret using SMR by hand. Why? Did you mess up your finish or was it just a pain in the ;)



thanks!
 
E30 325i said:
Hmm, 3-4 times? Does that sound right? I probably did something wrong, i'm guessing I shouldn’t have used the cleaner wax a week before, but I got some free samples of the Scratch X remover, that’s why I decided to use it. I’m going to use it on my other car, which also has a ton of swirl marks all over. Has Scratch X remover worked well for you? Should I use it all over the car? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...



Swirl-removal by hand is an especially tough, laborious task that will take all day long if you plan to treat your entire car. I've gotten great results using FI-2 by hand followed by a paint cleanser. I've never tried Scratch-X.
 
ScratchX is a particularly coarse grit abrasive that I find rather inconsistant in make-up. I am not extremely impressed with it. I would not recommend it for all over use on paint. It is not in the caliber of a 3M product such as Finesse It or Swirl Mark Remover. Use it instead for spot work like scratches and such but follow up with finer abrasives like FI or SMR.
 
I use it primarily for removing paint swaping from door dings or fender benders. It gets rust off really well too. You know those diamond plate things that you can put around the bed of your truck? I did a white Tacoma once that had rust dripping out from under his diamond plate rail things. I used GS27 but its basicly the same thing. Maybe it doesn't work that great on scratches for y'all but there are a million uses for the stuff. I think its still a valuable thing to have in your detailing tools.
 
I was thinking about getting the 3M swirl mark remover, I hear it's really hard to apply by hand (I don't have a buffer). I'm going to keep using the Scratch X because I got a ton of free samples :D.

Looking through some of the old topics on this site, it seems like Meguiar's # 9 swirl remover works pretty well too. When I run out of the Scratch X i'll either buy some of that, or the 3M swirl remover. Any other suggestions?
 
two weeks ago i used scratch x and followed with zymol. while i thought the scratch x did a decent job of removing some swirls i had a hell of a time removing some oily residue even after qding a couple of times. after posting a thread i found out my towels were just pushing some of the oils around insted of picking it up. yesterday i washed with dawn and used 3m swirl mark remover by hand followed with meguiars gold class using the same towels. the 3m with meguiars had much much better results with no oily residue whatsoever. can't wait to try it with my zaino.
 
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