fine scratches in clear coat

[asm505]

I am sure this has been asked a million times but I am new to the forum. First let me tell you that I love my car (01 Mercury Cougar) and I always thought I took good care of it but I found out I have been doing something (possibly) stupid that could be adding the the swirl mark issue. My car being bright yellow, you really can't see them so I don't know if I should even worry about them...

I wash my car about every 1 or 2 weeks and try to wax it atleast 2 times a year with quick spray waxes in between. Here is what I have been doing that is stupid - I have been using my bug net to wash the whole car. The thing says that it is clear coat safe so I didn't think anything of it till I was on a website that said not to use them because they will scratch the clear coat. I immediately freaked. I love my car and try to treat it right, but what if I caused tons and tons of swirl marks. You can't really see anything unless you are looking at it just right at the right lighting. My husband looked at it and said that he sees cars everyday alot worse (he is a mechanic). Anyway, my question is what can I do to fix this stupid mistake?

[Jeepster04]

What products do you have? From what Ive been reading(Im kinda new) #80 with a pc on a polishing pad will remove mild swirls when worked in. If that doesnt do it then try #83.

Of those numbers mean nothing to you then go here.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1293

They are just different types of cleaner polishes.

PC= porter cable polisher.

Good luck.

[Mike Phillips]

Hi asm505

Welcome to Meguiar's Online!

When a product states that it's clear coat safe, part of the problem probably lies in how the word safe is defined by the manufacture.

In this case the manufacture might mean that the product won't scrape off the paint.

The definition people that love their car want the word to mean is different in that for the person that loves their car, you want to think that the product does no harm.

There's a whole lot of room for difference between these two ideas. The good news is that it's likely the swirls and scratches in your car's paint are very shallow and we make products that anyone can use to remove these type of defects and restore that factory new appearance.

Chances are good you're going to want spend a Saturday loving on your car to get it back to where you want it to be, this would include our 5-Step Paint Care Cycle

• 1) Wash and dry your car. After you wash and dry your car you'll want to Evaluate the condition of your car's finish to see which products you'll need to restore your cars paint to show room new.
  
  Evaluating your car's finish
  Evaluate the the finish with both your sense of touch and with your eyes. After drying your car you want to run the clean palm of your hand over the finish and feel it for what we call above surface bonded contaminants. These will feel like little bumps on the paint. If your car is parked outside for at least part of most days, then chances are good your car's paint will need to be clayed. Detailing clay is a special clay that when rubbed against the finish with a high lubricity spray lubricant like our Quik Detailer, (which comes in our Smooth Surface Clay Kit), it will gently remove the above surface bonded contaminants and restore a smooth as new glass feel to the paint while restoring the gloss your car's paint had when it was brand new.
  
  After you inspect your car with your sense of touch to check and see if your car's paint needs to be clayed, the next thing you want to do is to inspect your car in bright light, like sunlight to inspect for swirls and scratches. Since you say you've already done this we know it's going to need a paint cleaner to remove these below surface defects
  
  
  2) Surface Prep - This step is where you'll use the clay and a paint cleaner like ScratchX to remove both above surface defects and below surface defects.
  
  3) Polishing - This step will restore the brilliant gloss your car had when it was new.
  
  4) Protecting - This step is where you apply a coat or two of wax to lock in the gloss and shine and protect your car's paint from attack from the elements.
  
  5) Maintain - This step is the use of products like Quick Detailer and Quik Wax to keep the finish clean, free of light contaminants and protected in-between regular washing waxing

You can read more about this process by hand here as well as see pictures of the products, click on links that will take you to them on our store where you can learn more about them as well as see the before and after pictures of the results you can expect.

How To Remove Swirls By Hand


Here's a link the full article on our 5-Step Paint Care Cycle,

Meguiar's 5-Step Paint Care Cycle


And here's our List 'O Links with more interesting and helpful topics related to taking care of your car.

List 'O Links

Many of the things we cover in our Saturday Classes are discussed and talked about in the threads found in the sub-forums of the Information Station


How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX
Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line
Circles or Straight Lines?
Which LSP is Best for Light Colors
How to locate Meguiar’s Professional & Detailer products in your hometown
How to tell when a Meguiar's wax is ready to remove - The Swipe Test
The Dual Action Counterweight "Controversy"
What are the Differences Between Meguiar's Waxes
What's the Deal with "Layering"?
Measuring Clear Coat Thickness
Rotary vs. PC vs. Regular Orbital Buffer
Glass Polishing...Deep Cleaning
NXT Tech Wax Cure Time
Suggested Products for Taking Care of a New Car
Colored Waxes - Do they really work?
PC + #83 not "Cutting" it! - The Limits of the Dual Action Polisher
What it Means to Remove a Scratch
Why Meguiar’s Recommends Polishing Paint
A Lesson From White Paint
Each one, teach one... Ferrari Fiorano 355 F1 Spider

[asm505]

Thank you for the info. I am really nerveous about doing anything because as mentioned in your link, using scratch X or a similar product you have to remove some clear coat to remove the swirl mark. Aren't I comprimising the paint underneath?

[Magic]

Originally posted by asm505
Thank you for the info. I am really nerveous about doing anything because as mentioned in your link, using scratch X or a similar product you have to remove some clear coat to remove the swirl mark. Aren't I comprimising the paint underneath?

Yes and No... I'll explain

Yes you are removing some of the clearcoat, but that is the only way your going to fix it. No you are not damaging your paint. There is enough clearcoat on your finish to work with. If your working by hand and Scratch X, you will not have anything to worry about.

Read the info Mike posted, and ask any questions you may not understand. We'll get you going in the right direction..

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by asm505
Aren't I compromising the paint underneath?

Washing with materials that scratch paint is compromising the clear coat finish. Removing these scratches with a product specifically designed to remove scratches without instilling them at the same time is restoring a smooth finish that will look better to your eyes and accept a wax better for long term protection.

Another product you can use for very light cleaning would be Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner, basically apply this just like you would the ScratchX, that is to work a section at at time and thoroughly work the product against the finish and then remove if after you've worked it in and against the paint. (No need to let it dry).

This product is very gentle to paint while still cleaning it very thoroughly and removing the finest of light swirls and scratches. Afterwards, you'll want to either apply a pure polish and then a wax, or at a minimum, apply a coat of wax for protection.

Here are two more articles you can read for more information...


What it means to remove a scratch out of anything...

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7228

Which products need to dry before removing?

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12031