EightBall

Whats the best way to permanently remove scratches from my cars paint and to get it looking showroom new? I hate it and its only a year and a half old. Still glossy but has many imperfections and I want them out NOW

Any help is appreciated...

qwik3r

www.autopia.org and www.properautocare.com help sections. To properly and perminantly remove imperfections you need to remove the layer of paint/clear that they reside in. If the imperfections are in the top layers of clear and not through the bottom layer of clear right above the paint, than u won't have to much of a problem. Rule of thumb is to always use the least abrasive material first. Try Menzerna Intensive Polish with a porter cable 7424 followed by Menzerna Final polish. If the scratches are through the paint and or primer u will be able to probably mask them not remove them, or you can use touch up paint, wetsand than buff. Read up on the 2 sites they are probably the best on the net regarding proper paint care. There is a forum on autopia.org btw.

EightBall

wow, great info, thanks a ton

Zangel

iTrader: (11)

How deep are the scratches? If the scratch goes through the clear coat, it is likely that you will have to sand and repaint the area. However, most surface scratches will buff out.. I believe 5 star makes an entire kit for scratch removal or you could try the Meguire's ScratchX.

qwik3r

Zangel thanks for basically reorganizing what i already said...

Zangel

iTrader: (11)

Actually, I offered a suggestion of 2 completely different products. I am sorry, but I didn't see that you mentioned those... but I might have missed that part. If you haven't noticed our replies were 6 minutes apart. Your reply was not up when I began typing. I had to walk away from the computer for a second and I am sorry if I could not press the submit button before you. However, I would hope that you aren't suggesting that there is only one right way to remove a scratch. I am sure several people will have several different suggestions that differ from yours. I always believe the more suggestions, the better.

ZaneO

www.autopia.org can answer any question you have - You have received great advice so far.

qwik3r

I was always wondering why your name was ZaneO now i know, thought it had something to do with zaino, but i found that ironic since you use everything BUT zaino. Now i see the sig lol.

SuperBuick

Zangel - I agree - the more suggestions the better. There is no one solution to a given detailing problem, despite what so many on the Ls1/ls1tech boards think.

Qwik3r - I agree that the sites you posted are a great place to start, I also used Menzerna IP and FP to rid my car of swirls, etc.

Blu Beast

iTrader: (1)

If they(scratches) are in the clear coat(heres another suggestion), try "Safe Cut" from The wax shop, goes on like syrup, very thick "feel" when buffing, but comes off very "clean and slick"........you have to liquid Dawn wash the car first to remove any wax or polish you have on her, then work in small areas going over each section several times( I did 5 aplications per area) and buffing as fast as you can, it will kill your arm, but after your done, they should be 99.9% gone, then when you apply your polish, you will get results that will astound you.......

it will make you appreciate why you got Black in the first place....

SuperBuick

Blu Beast. If you are using a product like Safe Cut (or any other polish - menzerna, meguiars scratchX, Meguiars DACP, 3m Finesse-it) you DO NOT need to dawn wash first. I highly DIScourage dawn washing. Any application of a polish (a real polish, not a sealant that calls itself a polish aka Zaino or Tropi-Care) will remove the existing wax/sealant coating.

Again - a dawn wash is NOT necessary in those cases



Tom

qwik3r

Ah yes my fellow gurus, Superbuick and ZaneO :o)

99SSCamaro

I personally am not a fan of Meguire's ScratchX. Cant really tell that I did my whole car.

Blu Beast

iTrader: (1)

Hmmm.......all I can say is I liked the idea of being sure that I was starting with a polish free surface, I don't think it did any harm to my paint, and after I did the Safe Cut, 3 coats of Z5 went right over the top.....I also didn't consider the Safe Cut to be a polish, i.e. long lasting protection and shine, I just saw it as a swirl remover which it did very well, the Zaino was the polish and protectant......

I think after re-reading your post that I'm considering a "polish" differently than you are, I'm sure the terms are correct the way you are using them, it's just my brain has them in the order that I wrote.....no biggie, the end result was the same I'm sure, shiny, spider web free NBM paint.......

98trans am

iTrader: (2)

as far as i know, polish is an abrasive that will remove a small amount of paint in order to smooth everything out, wax is applied over the paint and fills in imperfections.

SuperBuick

Blu Beast - no biggie - I figured as much. Just some confusion in the term. I was harping on the "no dawn" bit because you really want to use this stuff ONLY when you have to - prolonged/repeated use isn't great for the pait - I get afraid that readers will assume a Dawn wash is part of a regular procedure when it really should be kept to an "only if I REALLY REALLY have to" basis.

-Tom

EightBall

hey I was talkin to another guy on the forums who got his car resprayed. I asked him about the factory paint job and how it compares. He claims that the respray, if done right and professionaly, should last like 10 times longer than the factory one. I think her paid around 4000-6000 for it. Im not a big fan of the stock black, would love something a bit deeper or something...would like some input from you other guys...