Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

[commandozx76]

hi there..

my carbon hood for my car is badly damaged after using Scratch X
i was following the recommendation in the forum to remove oxidation but seems like its not working
anyone know if i can reverse this ...

thank u so much

regards

[Nick Winn]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

Hello,

Sorry to hear about the trouble. I have a few questions:

Is this hood aftermarket?

Was the hood originally intended to be glossy or was the original appearance a non-glossy flat or matte appearance?

Was the hood wet sanded with automotive sand paper for any reason prior to applying Scratch X?

What accessories were used to apply & remove the Scratch X?

[commandozx76]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

hi Nick, thank u for coming to my rescue,

yes its aftermarket, porsche dont provide carbon hood

its originally glossy

i didnt sand the hood....... and only scratch X was use...

i read the best is M105 or M105 but i cant find it around area

pls help tks

Hello,

Sorry to hear about the trouble. I have a few questions:

Is this hood aftermarket?

Was the hood originally intended to be glossy or was the original appearance a non-glossy flat or matte appearance?

Was the hood wet sanded with automotive sand paper for any reason prior to applying Scratch X?

What accessories were used to apply & remove the Scratch X?

[rapport25]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

As this is a composite hood, I would imagine it has a gel coat over the carbon vs a clear coat that is sprayed on metal/ plastic body panels.

Just a thought. You may get better results using Megs marine products.

Rappy.

[commandozx76]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

hi Nick, any advise?

[Selectchoice]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

Can you provide more information on how you applied the product?

What kind of applicator did you use (foam pad, towel)?

What did you do to prep the panel before using Scratch-X?

Did you wash and or clay the panel prior to Scratch-X?

[commandozx76]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

hi.. i use a microfibre polishing cloth
and i wash the hood before applying the scratch x
and i tried both using hands and DA .. both result are catastrophic.....

Can you provide more information on how you applied the product?

hi.. i use a microfibre polishing cloth
and i wash the hood before applying the scratch x
and i tried both using hands and DA .. both result are catastrophic.....


What kind of applicator did you use (foam pad, towel)?

What did you do to prep the panel before using Scratch-X?

Did you wash and or clay the panel prior to Scratch-X?

[commandozx76]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

meguiar's personnel? no one can help?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

Wow, that looks absolutely scoured! Extremely strange that ScratchX alone would do this as it's a very mild product.

I would suggest this at this point: put the microfiber towel away and apply the same ScratchX using a soft foam applicator pad, using gentle pressure with your fingers spreading the load across the pad. You want to avoid using your fingertips as that can cause pressure points that can be problematic. See the images below for what I'm talking about:

This is bad technique - very bad!!


This is how you want to hold the applicator pad:


Don't try to fix the entire problem at once. Concentrate on a small area, maybe half of what has been impacted at this point. Use only light to moderate pressure in an overlapping circular pattern, just as you would when applying wax. Better to work for several passes with light pressure than just a couple passes with heavy pressure.

Looking at your first picture it seems as though finger impressions are present, which would indicate that hand application with a microfiber towel was overly aggressive and caused much of the marring. This post might help shed some light on what you should and shouldn't do with hand application of any product. Now, with this being an aftermarket hood, there's no telling what the actual finish is, and just how delicate and touch sensitive it might be. The softer the finish, the more gently you need to approach it. ScratchX should be perfectly fine and safe on this, but the application process can and will make or break the outcome.

[commandozx76]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

thank u mike...

i tried ur method but it seems to have no hope
i ever brought my car to professional shop and they say they cant do anything
seems like this scratchX is really bad...
is there any other product u can suggest to help?
i saw some where about Meguiar M80 or M105 ? pls help... i am really desperate now thanks

Wow, that looks absolutely scoured! Extremely strange that ScratchX alone would do this as it's a very mild product.

I would suggest this at this point: put the microfiber towel away and apply the same ScratchX using a soft foam applicator pad, using gentle pressure with your fingers spreading the load across the pad. You want to avoid using your fingertips as that can cause pressure points that can be problematic. See the images below for what I'm talking about:

This is bad technique - very bad!!


This is how you want to hold the applicator pad:


Don't try to fix the entire problem at once. Concentrate on a small area, maybe half of what has been impacted at this point. Use only light to moderate pressure in an overlapping circular pattern, just as you would when applying wax. Better to work for several passes with light pressure than just a couple passes with heavy pressure.

Looking at your first picture it seems as though finger impressions are present, which would indicate that hand application with a microfiber towel was overly aggressive and caused much of the marring. This post might help shed some light on what you should and shouldn't do with hand application of any product. Now, with this being an aftermarket hood, there's no telling what the actual finish is, and just how delicate and touch sensitive it might be. The softer the finish, the more gently you need to approach it. ScratchX should be perfectly fine and safe on this, but the application process can and will make or break the outcome.

[commandozx76]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

anyone?

[Selectchoice]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

thank u mike...

i tried ur method but it seems to have no hope
i ever brought my car to professional shop and they say they cant do anything
seems like this scratchX is really bad...

Was the 'Professional Shop' a detailer or a panel repair/repaint shop? Can you list their advice to you in more detail? I'm surprised they said they can't do anything without pointing you in an alternate direction to resolve the issue.

Without meaning to be rude I do think it was your hand applied technique that was the issue here. ScratchX is a really, really mild product. It's likely the coating over the carbon fibre is on the softer side and if so then any kind of downward pressure is likely to have caused the marks and not the ScratchX itself.

The surface marks are more than likely able to be corrected, however the issue that often arises with these aftermarket purchases is the inherent quality (or lack thereof) of the surface coating and the thickness of the coating itself. Coating thickness will come into play as you now have to remove some quantity of the coating to remove the defects. Hopefully there is enough coating remaining to safely remove the marks without removing the coating completely and causing another issue altogether.

Have you had much experience detailing cars in the past or is this your first attempt?

[commandozx76]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

hi there, the shops... actually 3 shops. are professional detailer.. they even try to sand wash and polish again for me but the mark created by scratch X came back after 2-3 mins..
the only alternative solution is to wrap up the hood.

so what do u suggest i should do ? i am quite new to detailing actually... thanks in advance

Was the 'Professional Shop' a detailer or a panel repair/repaint shop? Can you list their advice to you in more detail? I'm surprised they said they can't do anything without pointing you in an alternate direction to resolve the issue.

Without meaning to be rude I do think it was your hand applied technique that was the issue here. ScratchX is a really, really mild product. It's likely the coating over the carbon fibre is on the softer side and if so then any kind of downward pressure is likely to have caused the marks and not the ScratchX itself.

The surface marks are more than likely able to be corrected, however the issue that often arises with these aftermarket purchases is the inherent quality (or lack thereof) of the surface coating and the thickness of the coating itself. Coating thickness will come into play as you now have to remove some quantity of the coating to remove the defects. Hopefully there is enough coating remaining to safely remove the marks without removing the coating completely and causing another issue altogether.

Have you had much experience detailing cars in the past or is this your first attempt?

[twisty roads]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

I had a Seibon CF hood for my 2011 STi which I took off after 3-4 months. In that time, I used M105 and a MF cutting pad to correct the hood. However, if you got scratches from using ScratchX, I would not suggest using M105 as it is more abrasive. My CF hood is gel coated and therefore took a stronger combo of product/pad to correct vs a hood that has clear coat. The other problem I kept running into, was because the CF hood did not have any heat insulation, it would oxidize from the heat of the engine bay every 4-weeks with normal and driving and quicker with track days which I would have to correct. In fear of going through the gel coat due to the amount of repetitious detailing, I decided to put my OEM hood back on.

From the pictures, it looks like the gel coat has been sanded through and the layers of resin/CF are now showing which is why it looks dull. As others have mentioned, application of the product could have been too aggressive or the gel coat of the CF hood had diminished enough that there is no longer any gel coat left in that area. I would suggest taking the hood to a paint shop and get the hood shot with clear coat.

[Old Bear]

Re: Help pls: Carbon hood damaged after using Scratch X

Could you share with those trying to help, what caused the original defects that you were trying to correct?
That might give more information on the surface of soft clear coat the top product (gel coat, or other).