Scratch removal help

[mikevsop]

I have 2004 Acura TSX in Silver. I had a problem trying to remove some rust fallout. I had no luck removing it by washing, claying, or using a paint cleaner. The only think that got it out was Scratch X. It was a slow process rubbing out each section at a time. I took a break for a while and my younger brother tried to help out while I wasn't looking and he used an old dish scrubby pad with the Scratch X on it. The problem I have now is these tiny microscratches that are visable in certain light. I just purchased a PC , #83, #82, NXT, & some soft buff pads. I haven't touched the car yet. I wanted to get some of your opinions before I got at it.

Please take a look at some of these pictures I took and let me know what you think.

Thanks

FYI it looks a whole lot worse in the pictures than it does in person, thank God.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/1156DSC00177-med.JPG

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/1156DSC00172-med.JPG

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/1156DSC00171-med.JPG

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/1156DSC00169-med.JPG

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/1156DSC00168-med.JPG

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/1156DSC00167-med.JPG

[Chris Nemlich]

mikevsop,

I took the time to insert your pictures into this thread. I hope you don't mind.













Here are a few links to help you post your images next time:

Tutorials on how to crop, resize, upload and insert your pictures into your messages

How-to Crop your photos before uploading them to your gallery

How to resize your photos using Easy Thumbnails - Free software!

Step-by-Step Picture-Posting HOW TO

Hope this helps in the future!



Chris

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratch removal help

Originally posted by mikevsop
I took a break for a while and my younger brother tried to help out while I wasn't looking and he used an old dish scrubby pad with the Scratch X on it. The problem I have now is these tiny micro-scratches that are visible in certain light.

Lucky for him he's family!

"You never know what you can do until you try"

By the above, I mean that you won't know what the dual action polisher can do until you try, and the most important factor that will determine what you can and cannot do will be paint hardness.

The harder the paint, the more difficult it will be to remove small particles of paint around the deeper defects that will result in removing the defect and restore a defect-free surface,

Meguiar's always teaches,

Always use the least aggressive product to get the job done"

So for scratches like these, you could try the #80 Speed Glaze with a W-8006 first, if this doesn't remove the scratches, then substitute the #83 Dual Action polisher.

If the #83 doesn't' remove the defects, then it's quite possible you will have better luck using ScratchX by hand because when applying ScratchX by hand you can focus your pressure to a small work surface and slowly work those scratches out. Afterwards, you can use the dual action polisher to polish out the entire finish to create a uniform look.

Mike

[mikevsop]

Thanks for the advice. I think the problem I have is fear of making the problem worse. Has anyone done any kind of scratch removal like this on a new Silver Honda or Acura? I'm curious as to the hardness of the paint.

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Paint hardness can vary between the same models of cars due to production changes etc. Therefore, the only real way is to test your paint in an isolated area. With that said, I really do not see a problem using the PC and #83 on your paint. Be sure to thoroughly work the product in, until only a light dust remains. Also applied a fair amount of pressure on the head of the buffer, and move the buffer slowly.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

Tim

[mikevsop]

Thanks for the advice guys. As soon as I get use of my garage back i'm going to go at it. Im re-modeling my kitchen and my garage is full of cabinets.
I also found a link at autopia whis the same problem caused by the same scotchbrite pad and it turned out pretty good I think with the exception of the dents. I am pretty relieved now that I saw this.
This is the link just in case anyone else has a family member that has a good heart but a bad Idea.

http://www.autopia.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=26568&highlight=scratch+removal

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Sadly, many people do not realize that they are doing damage to your car. Where I go camping, a ranch hand likes to come over to our travel trailer to visit. We were talking when he suddenly places his Pepsi can on my truck's hood!! I could feel my face turn red!! He seriously had no idea what he had done. I just removed it without saying anything. When I got home, I fixed the minor marring in a few minutes anyway!

Tim

[mikevsop]

I would just like to thank all of you for your advice. I finally got around to working on these scratches. I got a least 95% of them out. It took 2 passes with #83 on a cuttin pad followed by #80 on a polishing pad and topped it off with 2 coats of NXT tech wax. I also would like to add that the new NXT car wash suds up better than any i've ever used.

Thanks again
Here is the results sorry, if these pics aren't that good but silver is a real pain to photograph angles on.

[The Eagle]

Wow, nice, thanks for sharing your result with us.

[Rockpick]

That looks excellent! Thanks for sharing with us!

RP