Seeking advise for a noob.

[Izhar]

Hi Guys,

Been trawling the forums for a bit and am super amazed at the kind of detailing that some of the guys here have gotten.
Decided to seek some advise from the masters here in the forums and to actually go on the right path and move into the world of detailing.

I have two pretty bad scratches on my car and am wondering if this can be salvaged.
Here is a pic of both the scratches. both are attempts to get rid of bird poo on the roof.

I have gone to a detailer, but he told me was he was not able to remove the scratches.

Would a session with some scratchX or ultimate compound by hand, work?






Another query i have is that, i recently did a mini project where i sprayed my rims white. Well, i thought i knew what i was getting myself into but i guess i was wrong.
The brake dust went into the paint and now im left in a fix.



Im all ears in getting the whiteness back in my rims.
Not too sure if any products are able to remove the brakedust stains or would i need to resort to sanding?

Appreciate your kind inputs. I do intend to go all the way on my own to make my car a showroom shine car and i am looking forward to doing it with the advise that i will get from the forum members.

Thanks,
Izhar

[wifpd4]

Izhar,

Just a few questions. Please tell us about your car. Model, age, color?
What have you tried to remove the "bird poo"?
What made you believe it was bird poo?
You said the detailer was unable to remove the two scratches. Do you mean areas of scratching? There appears to be more than two scratches.

How fresh was the white paint before it became stained? Like same day it was painted or over weeks?
What have you used to try and remove the staining?

Thanks,

[Izhar]

Hiya wifpd4,

It's a 2007 Honda Fit. I got it second hand. Not too sure about the color code but it's black with blue metallic specks.

Well, I have not tried using any product to remove the bird poo, It was in my moment of folly that I used a scouring pad to try and remove it, which resulted in two large scratched areas. (sorry bout the bad description :-))

What the detailed told me was the stain has gone into the 'clear coat' and the only best solution is to respray the car.

On how I determined that it was bird poo? It just looked like it, white, irregularly shaped, on the hood of the car.

For the wheel, to date, it is about 5 days old only. I'm doing my frantic best to try and keep it white... I've only tried to use normal car wash soap with a brush to try and clean it.

Thanks,
Iz...

[Murr1525]

You can certainly use Ult. Compound on the scratches... I dont know how it will remove them, but certainly will be an improvement.

The wheels are tougher... usually there are specific wheel paints, etc. But a good wheel cleaner, or even UC could help. But if it isnt a good quality job, I dont know what may damage it.

You may want to look at the Break Dust Barrier after you get them cleaned off at least. A good coat of that seems to allow just car wash soap to rinse dirt off easily.

[Izhar]

You can certainly use Ult. Compound on the scratches... I dont know how it will remove them, but certainly will be an improvement.

The wheels are tougher... usually there are specific wheel paints, etc. But a good wheel cleaner, or even UC could help. But if it isnt a good quality job, I dont know what may damage it.

You may want to look at the Break Dust Barrier after you get them cleaned off at least. A good coat of that seems to allow just car wash soap to rinse dirt off easily.

Hiya Murr1525,

Thanks for the advise. For me to do ultimate compound, (please do fogive me for the dumb question). Would it mean that i will need to go through the 5 step process?
As the car was recently detailed, the surface is smooth, however, do i need to clay before using Ult Compund?
Also, i hope its fine to do by hand, albeit taking a while to do it.
i do not have access to a DA currently,is it something i should look at right now?

Have you got any recommendations for a wheel cleaner? I would try UC and then will do the brake dust barrier on it as well.

[Murr1525]

Well, you dont 'need' to do anything... it is just a matter of what you feel like.

You can certainly get some UC, and apply it, and see how it goes.

As far as applying, that is a bit up to you. By hand, you would want a smooth foam aplicator... and then work on about a 1 foot sqaure at a time. You dont want to just rub with a lot of pressure on a small spot, that causes problems.

A machine can help, but same product by hand, so no problem trying by hand first.

Well, I like the Aluminum Wheels Wash (mildest), or the Wheel and Tire Cleaner, or All Wheel Cleaner. Those are good wheel cleaners on OEM wheels... but like I said, no idea what your paint job is like.

[Izhar]

Well, you dont 'need' to do anything... it is just a matter of what you feel like.

You can certainly get some UC, and apply it, and see how it goes.

As far as applying, that is a bit up to you. By hand, you would want a smooth foam aplicator... and then work on about a 1 foot sqaure at a time. You dont want to just rub with a lot of pressure on a small spot, that causes problems.

A machine can help, but same product by hand, so no problem trying by hand first.

Well, I like the Aluminum Wheels Wash (mildest), or the Wheel and Tire Cleaner, or All Wheel Cleaner. Those are good wheel cleaners on OEM wheels... but like I said, no idea what your paint job is like.

Thanks for reverting. the paint job on the wheel is not a professionally done one, it was done with spray paint. I was also contemplating just sanding it down and respraying them again if i cannot get them clean.

Ill pop by the nearest hypermart to grab the ultimate compound, all wheel cleaner as well as the Brake dust barrier.
I am hoping that these guys can do the job on the wheels, else i may also try to sand down a bit to see if the paint clears up and then clean them up again.

Will try to post up results soon.

[Humbled]

Im a noob too. As you can see by my thread "embarrassed" from last week. I followed the advice from some of the fine members on here(thanks again). The ultimate compound is great!!! I have a cheap orbital polisher and I found some foam bonnets this past weekend. I went ahead and picked up the ultimate polish as well. I did my whole hood(one small section at a time) First with the UC and following with the UP. Then I put on a coat of NXT wax by hand. Simply Awesome!!! I cant believe it turned out this good. I know there are products out there that might work faster and more aggresive but if your new to all this, The UC and UP cant be beat!! I know this for a fact!! Im getting a new DA polisher in a few weeks, then Im going over the rest of my camaro with the UP and wax(No need for the UC on the rest of the car since I only screwed up the hood!!!) I started with the UC by hand because I wanted to make sure I wasnt going to make my problem worse. Then I went to the polisher,using just a little more pressure than the weight of the polisher(very little).Then changed the bonnet to another new foam one and used the UP. This stuff can even make a moron like me look like I know what Im doing!! Im not trying to give advice(im the last person for that!!),but these products are great!!!!

[h_bomm]

Thanks for reverting. the paint job on the wheel is not a professionally done one, it was done with spray paint. I was also contemplating just sanding it down and respraying them again if i cannot get them clean.

Ill pop by the nearest hypermart to grab the ultimate compound, all wheel cleaner as well as the Brake dust barrier.
I am hoping that these guys can do the job on the wheels, else i may also try to sand down a bit to see if the paint clears up and then clean them up again.

Will try to post up results soon.

If your wheels weren't painted by a professional and the UC and Wheel Cleaners don't give the result you want, I see no harm in sanding them down and starting over, but maybe as a last resort.

[Izhar]

Humbled,

i am very certain that we are in very good company here. Which is why i have decided that im going to care for my car on my own, aided with all the advise from the experts here.
Going to pick up the phone to give the local distributor in Singapore a call and place my order for the whole slew of Meg's products.

h_bomm,
That would be my last resort, at least once i re do the paint, i would be able to protect it properly. :-)