Scrathx or a professional line product?

[realitycheck]

Hey guys, I have a question. This weekend I detailed my car and just wasnt completely happy with the results. So I want to come back this weekend and redo some of the steps I want to try and remove the scratches, swirls, water spots, etc. I will be doing this by hand.
So I was wondering which would be better for me to use scratchx, or is their a product I could get from the professional line that will work better??? As I said I will be applying this by hand
Thanks for your help.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: ScratchX or a professional line product?

Originally posted by reality-check
Hey guys, I have a question. This weekend I detailed my car and just wasn't completely happy with the results. So I want to come back this weekend and redo some of the steps I want to try and remove the scratches, swirls, water spots, etc. I will be doing this by hand.
So I was wondering which would be better for me to use ScratchX, or is their a product I could get from the professional line that will work better??? As I said I will be applying this by hand
Thanks for your help.

If you're working by hand, then our best product for removing scratches this way is our ScratchX paint cleaner.


How easy or how difficult it will be to remove the scratches out of the paint depends upon,

• * How deep the swirls and scratches are.
  * How hard or soft the paint is, or a better way of saying it would be to say how workable or polishable the paint on this specific car is.
  * Your technique
  * Your skill level

The way you remove a below the surface defect like a swirl or scratch out of the paint is to remove all of the paint surrounding the swirl or scratch until you have leveled the upper surface with the lowest depth of the defects(s) you're trying to remove.

In essence, in order to remove swirls and scratches you need to remove paint. Now here's where the tricky part comes in, as technology has changed with it the pains, or coatings used on modern cars has undergone many changes and while many of these changes have been positive in that the paint looks better, (when it's new and/or in good shape), and it lasts a long time, often it will last as long as the service life of the car if it's well maintained, (compared to older paints which even with care did not last as long), and are more resistant to attack and deterioration.

The downside of modern paints is that some of these features and benefits come at the cost of coating that is more difficult for car owners to work on.

Now note the wording below as words are important....

-->Generally speaking <--

Modern clear coats tend to be harder than traditional single stage paint and the practical affect of this increase in hardness is a paint that is harder for you to abrade or clean with the intended goal of removing defects without leaving behind defects.

It's important to note that the way the above is worded is very specific because there are some modern clear coats that have paint that is very soft. So soft in fact that removing defects is a breeze, the problem is not instilling defects, (usually towel marks), from the simple act of wiping a polish or wax off the finish.

So here at Meguiar's Online we want to do our best to help you get the best results from your time, money and efforts using our products but we want you to understand the reality of working on your car's paint.

It's okay to desire to have a flawless, swirl-free, show car finish on your car; your expectations have to balanced however with the reality of what you can and what you cannot do with your hand working on modern automotive paints.

The next question many of you reading this will be,

How can I tell if the paint on my car is polishable, or workable?

or

How can I tell if the paint on my car is hard or soft?


The answer is you can't tell until you go out into your garage and bring your hand down onto the paint and try working on it, typically with a paint cleaner like ScratchX. Then after working some ScratchX to a small area for a period of time, wipe off the residue and inspect your results as compared to a section nearby that you have not worked on.

If after one application of a paint cleaner you can see a dramatic difference between where you worked the paint cleaner and the paint you have not worked on, then this would be an indicator that your paint is likely workable by hand.


If there is no difference at all, then you want to try 2-3 more applications to this same section. After a total of 3 well worked applications of ScratchX, inspect again comparing the worked section to the un-worked section.

If after 3 applications you now see a noticeable difference, then you've discovered that your paint is workable by hand and it's going to take 1-3 applications of a a paint cleaner over each square inch of the car or the affected areas to remove the swirls and scratches to your satisfaction.

If after 2-3 applications you see no difference, or very little difference, then this indicates that the paint on your car not very workable by hand or it's possible that you don't yet posses the skill level and/or know the correct technique for applying and working a hand applied paint cleaner to produce acceptable results.


The next questions are,

"What are you working on?"

and

"Do you have a tube of ScratchX?"
(and a clean foam applicator pad to apply the ScratchX when you go out into your garage to test this paint cleaner on your car's paint? )

[realitycheck]

Mike first thank you very much for your time and your help in this matter.
Now to your questions, 1. "What are you working on?" A 2002 Rallye Red Honda Civic.
2. "Do you have a tube of ScratchX?"
(and a clean foam applicator pad to apply the ScratchX when you go out into your garage to test this paint cleaner on your car's paint? ) Not yet, I have a foam applicator I got with the meguiars GC paste but not any ScratchX

[Mike Phillips]

If you want to remove below surface defects out of your car's finish, then pick up a tube of ScratchX from your local auto parts store and read the below and then go out into your garage and after either washing the car or wiping the car clean, give ScratchX a try!


How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX


How to use ScratchX by hand to remove defects like these,

1. Scratches
2. Swirls
3. Bird Dropping Etchings
4. Water spots
5. Scuff and Mars

++ = Success!

A couple of important notes to consider,

1) Clear coats are harder than traditional paints. This means they are more difficult to remove defects out of, especially by hand. This is part explains the increase in popularity of the Porter Cable Dual Action Polisher.

2) ScratchX is not a wipe-on, wipe-off product, (WOWO), it's more of a wipe on, work in product, (WOWI). You need to apply with a clean foam applicator pad and work the product in with a little passion.




Here is how to remove a bird dropping etching or an isolated scratch.[list=1][*] Only work a small area at a time - about 6 inch by 6 inch area or smaller[*] You can apply using a combination of circular motions and straight-line motions[*] Work the product against the finish until it looks as you have almost run out of product.[*] Re-apply the product and repeat the above steps 2-3 more times[/list=1]
When I apply ScratchX like I have listed above, I am able to get out about 95% of a bird dropping etching or isolated random scratches.

The trick is to work the product in until it just begins to disappear and to apply more than one application. You see, the ScratchX, like all Meguiar's Paint Cleaners, contain a diminishing abrasive, as you work ScratchX in, the microscopic diminishing abrasives gently abrade the surface removing small particles of paint. But as you work it in, these diminishing abrasives breakdown. Thus, they quit abrading the finish and actually polish the finish to a clear, high gloss. This diminishing action turned polishing action is a benefit to you because it enable you to work out defects without leaving scratches behind.

Because the diminishing abrasive breakdown, you need to re-apply and repeat the process until the defects are removed.

Note: You can rarely remove a bird dropping etching, or a scratch, from a clear-coated finish with one application.

"A little technique goes a long way"

ScratchX works, if you work it. It takes a little practice to get the hang of removing defects out of modern clear coats with hi-tech products like ScratchX. It' not like the old days with a traditional lacquer or enamel paint job where you could apply some old-fashioned rubbing compound and in a few passes, the scratch would be gone, (and so would a lot of your paint).

High gloss clear coats are thin delicate surface coatings that are easily dulled and easily scratched. Once they are dulled down and/or scratched, it takes the right product, the right technique together with the human element of care and passion to massage them back to a glistening gemstone.

Have patience, and if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

[realitycheck]

Well mike I ran out of patience after I tried, tried, and tried, again. I applied the scratch x by hand. I went to the hood and also the a pillar to see what would happen. The hood I taped off an area, I applied 3 times. When I got done and removed the tape I could barely see where there was some haze removed the scratches and waterspots are still there though. So I applied three more times and they're still there. Just can barely tell a difference in the haze, just barely. Is there anything else I can do?
Anybody want to sell their PC? LOL I really need one.