How to remove the etching left by a bird dropping with ScratchX

[Mike Phillips]

How to remove the etching left by a bird dropping with ScratchX

At the recent San Diego Viper Detailing Clinic here at Meguiar's in Irvine, one of the club members showed me where a bird left him a little present on the hood of his black Viper. Below is a picture of the car after the Meguiar's polishing system...



Before ScratchX


After ScratchX


This was all done by hand following the how-to directions posted here,

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

Mike

[NVCobra]

Hi Mike, was this etching just to deep to completely remove?

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by NVCobra
Hi Mike, was this etching just to deep to completely remove?

No, we completely removed it. Because we were going to polish the entire car out with the G-100, and time was an issue, I stopped there and snagged a picture. I feel I could have completely removed it with one or two more applications of ScratchX. What you see above is 3 applications.

At the time we were removing this etching, the San Diego Viper Club was at Meguiar's and we had other products to demonstrate and questions to answer. I'll post the after picture that was taken after the entire car was polished out by machine.

Point being, for the majority of people in the world, when they discover a below surface defect in their paint, ScratchX, applied by hand will often remove the defect, or improve the defect t the point that it is no longer visible without getting 6-7 inches away from the finish.

Mike

[Estranged]

ScratchX is an awesome product to use by hand for spot jobs!!

[Tim Lingor]

Great write-up Mike!!!

I have found that when worked properly, ScratchX can do an amazing job; but it does take some effort. It is not a wipe-on, wipe-off product.

Tim

[Mike Phillips]

At the time the above after picture was taken, neither any polish or wax had been applied. The results will only get better with an application of a pure polish and then a couple of coats of wax.


Below is a picture of the same defect after a thorough polishing and waxing procedure was performed by the owner using the following products. (Note: The below is a list of all the products used over the entire car including the etching left by the bird dropping.

Products Used
Quik Clay System
G-100a
W-8006 foam polishing pad
W-9006 foam finishing pad
#83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish
#80 Speed Glaze
Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax
Ultimate Wipe
Ultimate Bonnet

After


The 6.3 mega pixel camera, held about one foot away was able to capture what remains of the etching. The above photos are what are referred to as RAW format photos. That is they have not been altered or modified in any way, including resizing. They have been cropped out of the original at 700 pixels wide.

The after picture shows just a small amount of pitting, but not enough to continue removing clear coat from the finish because with your eyes up close, about one foot away, you cannot see this pitting. Standing directly over the hood of the car and looking directly into the hood, you can see no sign of the original etching.

When were were all through, the defect was no longer visible unless you knew where to look, were in the right light, and put your face right down close to the finish.



Mike

[Mike Phillips]

All three pictures in a row,

Before ScratchX


After three applications of ScratchX


After final polishing and waxing with the G-100


Mike