Questions on removing scratches

[GOHEMI]

I own a 2006 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T in Go Mango color. The car needed front end body repair, but sadly came out of the shop with straight, very fine, lines in the clear coat finish, aparently from either washing or drying. They are difficult to see in bright sun light (see pic) but you can certainly see them in the garage, or if you know where and how to look, outside. They are mostly over the top of the doors, and along the rear quarter panels. and across higher areas (edges) (see arrows below).

These scratches are very fine. I cannot catch them with my fingernail. As a matter of fact, I would rather describe them as dull lines no thicker than a human hair of various lenghts. They probably are no deeper than 0.1 - 0.2 mil in the finish, but with this type of x-high gloss finish, you see every mark, and these scratches actually dull the finish and so they stand out under certain light conditions.

The body shop manager said he won't touch them. His explained: "they are so fine, and clear coat like this is so easy to scratch, yet so difficult to maintain, I rather not go at it with chemicals or pads as it may open another can of worms." And granted, from far the car looks great. So, I took the Charger back home and tried a couple of common other brands of scratch remover products I already had at home, but to my surprise, they did nothting to improve these lines.

Here now is my question: From what you can tell, will it be worth my time and effort, and safe to give Meguiar's Scratch X a try? And what pads, or any other products to try first, or follow up with?

Again, it is a high gloss clear coat finish over Dodge's Go ManGo color on a 2006 Dodge Charger. Your feedback is appreciated.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Sorry to hear of the mishap with your car, kind of lame on the part of the body shop to not want to fix their own mistakes but the shop manager is right, clear coats scratch easy and it's hard to remove the scratches and if you don't do everything right you can make the problem worse then when you started.

ScratchX is relatively inexpensive, (compared to buying a 2006 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T), so pick up a tube and some clean foam applicator pads and give ScratchX a try.

You need to work a small area at at time, about a foot squared or smaller for what you're trying to do. Work about a teaspoon to a tablespoon for about 45 seconds to a minute and then wipe it off and see if the paint looks better.

If it does, update us, if it doesn't then try 2-3 more times.

The way you remove a scratch is to remove the paint surrounding the scratch, this is called leveling.

If ScratchX isn't working for you then it's either,

The scratches are deep and you're not removing enough paint
The paint is hard and you need something more aggressive
You're lacking in the correct skills and technique to properly work the product by hand. (not meant to be mean, that's just the case with people new to removing scratches out of clear coat paints).

If ScratchX isn't working then you have two options,

Purchase a DA Polisher and let the machine do the work
Purchase a quart of M105 Ultra Cut Compound and use a more aggressive product.


Let us know what you want to do?

[GOHEMI]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Here is my first plan of attack:

I have emailed a fellow sports car enthusiast, plus proud Dodge Charger owner for help, and he said he'd be more than happy to take me under his wings an become my "Meguiar's ScratchX Mentor". He has used the Meguiar's line of products many times in the past and he is my equal, if not better, in striving for clear coat perfection.

He will introduce me to the ScratchX product and give me some tips.


My second plan of attack:
If that doesn't work, turn the heat up one notch and use the recommended stronger Maguiar's product, as suggested.

I already own the Porter Cable 7424 polisher. I never used it, but I have vowed that I will hook it up and learn how to put it to use. My first "practice victim" will be our black VW Jetta, rather than going straight for the Charger, or may be I will practice on the Dodge Ram truck. Better safe than sorry.

I might have to come back to you with that, to ask about products and pads. Let's hope the ScratchX will do the trick.

I will keep you posted (with photos).

[GOHEMI]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

So, today I received my tube of ScratchX from my friend, and spurred by his encouragement and the support of forum members here i I went after the first set of long scratches in the Dodge Charger's high-gloss finish. It was either this, or a professional detailing job!!!

I had to go at it one small section at a time, and repeat several times, probably 5-6 times, for several minutes with firm pressure on the target area...

The effort was worth it! The results are remarkable, although I must say, it took a lot of rubbing and several repeat applications to reduce these scratches to a level where I could rest easy again. Either the finish is very hard, or the scratches are deeper than I thought (or both).

ScratchX drastically reduced the appearance of these long scratches, and never harmed the finish despite of several repeat passes (by hand) and persistent rubbing with good pressure...


But see for yourself! No visible scratches, and no damage to the finish:

[CarbonBlack]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Well done,
Beautiful car/color

BTW< how hard is it to keep the black parts clean?

-Nick

[Infinitevisi0n]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

cant you use a DA polisher with the scratch X?

[yalerd]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Very nice job!!
Glad it worked out

I really like the color

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Thanks for updating this thread with your success!

We love to hear success stories...

[Andy M.]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

cant you use a DA polisher with the scratch X?

You can use THE NEW SCRATCHX FORMULA with the DA polisher. The older version you could not. Read the label and it will tell you whether or not you can use a DA to apply. The older version does not say it while the new version does.

Andy

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

That is great. I am glad it worked so well for you. Your car looks amazing. Great color. Great job, way to go.

[GOHEMI]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

I was wondering whether the tube I have (see pic) can be used with the DA polisher, only because it took a "heck of a lot" of rubbing by hand - but I was willing to do it. It meant the world to me to reduce those scratches to a point where I can love my car again.

I am happy, but still have a few to go.

[GOHEMI]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Well done,
Beautiful car/color

BTW< how hard is it to keep the black parts clean?

-Nick

Not very hard at all. You wash them just like you wash the paint, same automotive (car-wash) soap, sponges, and cloths.

It is important to not wipe these decals with anything rough (even a gain of sand or bug in the polishing cloth) can do damage, if not careful, they do get scratched! And it is also important not to polish the decals to a shine as that would change the characteristics of the Daytona Go ManGo (they are meant to be matte, not glossy).

There are excellent cleaning products specifically made for this, including Meguiar's, to be applied after the wash.

[GOHEMI]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Now that the front end has been restored, the paint has had time to cure (30 days), some scratched buffed out, the original Mopar Hemi hood decal has been professionally reapplied as well. I am piecing her back together.





This was the damage:

[CarbonBlack]

Re: Questions on removing scratches

Thanks for the information on the black paint.

That damage is depressing!
Best of luck regarding the repairs

-Nick