Surface scratches [:(]

[Renegade]

Hi guys,

 

Newbie query here - found some (qutie a few, actually) surface scratches on the roof of my Toad yesterday while washing it (no idea how they got there - suspect either someone whom I gave a ride to put them there with his/her watch or bangle or something like that or someone out there really hates me and/or my Toad[:(] ). Thankfully they're not THAT deep.

 

Anyway, was wondering what would be the advice on addressing these marks - for example, what sort of polishing compound should I use and how should I go about taking care of it.

 

Thanks in advance....

[Carbine]

depends on how deep the scratches are. quite a few of these paint repairers in the market., namely: Meguiar's ScratchX, Mother's Scratch Remover etc..

 

but if you can feel the scratches when you run your fingers over them, well, ... the above mentioned are not going to help much.

[Carlover76]

If you need the Scratches removal compound, I have 2 with me, one is the japanese brand package in a black square box named Blizz if not wrong and the other I just bought yesterday with the colourful tube.

[Autodiy]

3M's got a lot of scratch removing products for autos. Just got to choose which to buy. You can get them at homefix.

 

I also found quite a deep scratch where I can see the bottom of the scratch and its white. No scratch remover can patch this baby.

 

Thinking of those paint pens that Autobacs is carrying. Really got no choice already. Otherwise got to spray the panel for abt 100 bucks.

 

I am using Scratch X (yellow bottle) which can be found in HomeFix and most DIY stores. They cost abt S$7 and they can easily remove swirls. The swirls are caused mostly by washing and drying of your car.

[Turbobrick]

Try a chemical based polish first (e.g. Autoglym Super Resin Polish). If it doesn't work then move on to a mild abrasive like 3M's swirl mark remover.

[Phalanx]

hey man, if it's deep, get BM to order for you the touch up pen that most closely matches your paint.

 

alternatively, get the 3M scratch remover, but take note to buy the appropriate one for your car, it comes in "for light coloured" and "for dark coloured" cars.

[Renegade]

Hey everyone,

 

Thanks for the suggestions - you guys are the greatest there. I was actually looking thru these products at both HomeFix and Carrefour but thought I'd wait for feedback, and, boy, did I get it.

 

As for the depth of the scratches, I'm not too sure if you'd consider them deep. They're not THAT deep till you can see the base but some of them can be faintly felt with the fingernail. Thing is that they can only be seen under bright sunlight or good lighting. Didn't even realise they were there till Saturday morning....oh well, if anything, we'll use that as a topic of discussion this Thursday should we run out of things to talk about....yeah, right - like we ever will..........

[Cardinal]

Hey alex, sorry to hear bout the scratches man... anyway, I'm seen the 3M scratch remover in action, and I can testify that it's pretty darn good. one of my friends was helping another polish up some deep scratches, and it sure made the scratches pretty undiscernable...

 

Actually, I've stopped worrying about scratches.. I've got tons of them on my car, whether it's from road debris, ignorant carpark users, malicious people, friends, and even myself.. scratches are not particularly obvious on your Toady right? anyway, scratches don't affect horsepower

[Phalanx]

Yeah after a while, you just ignore it...

 

Scratches may affect aerodynamics though, with its little eddies and such...hah hah.

[Renegade]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, C and P. I guess you're right - in time to come, I'll learn to overlook scratches. And perhaps, eve, ignore them altogether. Hopefully. +

 

Just wondered what I could do with them meanwhile, before I got to that stage of ignoring them....will look into the 3M thingy, too. Nik of the E46 did suggest the ScratchX product, so I'll probably shop around and see which of these is more effective.

 

And, oh, btw, I agree with P - the cumulative effect of scratch-generated eddies could just affect the car's performance long term....

[Phalanx]

heh heh...ok alex, you can forget about getting the meguiars scratch x as I have it and sad to say, it isn't that effective. the 3M one is the best! Some bugger scratched the corner of my front bumper probably while parking and I managed to polish it out with the help of the 3M scratch remover. one thing to note though, it ain't easy to find the bottle for dark-coloured car.

 

can't remember what's the colour of you car...

[Renegade]

Mine's the one someone calls antacid blue.

 

And thanks for the offer and heads-up on the SxratchX....

 

Anyway, question about these anti-scratch products - how exactly do they work ? Thin-out the paint ? Act like putty and cover up the micro-gaps ? Seeing that they're not paint themselves, how would these these products 'cover' up scratches ?

Edited August 20, 2002 by Renegade

[Madarmour]

< Mine's the one someone calls antacid blue. >

 

Are you sure it's antacid blue? Sounds so medicinal! BTW, I do have some antacids in my pharmacy.

[Renegade]

It's not - just that someone I know calls it that....

 

And, thanks for the heads-up, but I do have some at home, too. However, should I ever run out of them and need them urgently, I'll come look for you.....

[Madarmour]

Well, ALL the antacids I come across, liquid or tablets, happens to be....... white.

[Renegade]

And kinda yuckie, too, rite..... ?

[Seansene]

Actually, some of them taste quite good...

[Madarmour]

If you gotta take it, you've gotta take it!