Difference between paint cleaners?

[Ol' Red]

Ultimate compound, swirlx, deep crystal, or scratchx? Whats the difference? I have a Jeep that has been repainted but has clearcoat scratches from tree branches and bushes. No oxidation, minor swirls, and lots of small scratches. I have no idea what to use. Thanks for the help.

[akimel]

Re: Difference between paint cleaners?

The key difference is abrasiveness. From least to most abrasive:

Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner
ScratchX (old formulation)
SwirlX
ScratchX 2.0
Ultimate Compound

How long ago was your Jeep re-painted?

Meguiar's recommendation is to begin with the "least aggressive" product. For the removal of swirls and scratches, you should begin with SwirlX (assuming you are working by hand). If SwirlX does not effect the desired correction, then move up to Ultimate Compound.

There are several articles/threads you should read. I'm sure that others (hint, hint) will provide the hyperlinks for you.

Cheers,
Al

[Tuck91]

Re: Difference between paint cleaners?

also, be sure to do a test spot first with whatever product you plan on using.

[Ol' Red]

Re: Difference between paint cleaners?

Should I do a test spot to see if any paint comes off or what? See if it scratches?
Where would ColorX be on the scale of non-aggressive to aggressive?
Will I be able to tell immediately after removing the product if it is ok or should I wait a while?

[Murr1525]

Re: Difference between paint cleaners?

ColorX should be below the old ScratchX.

So yes, doing a test spot with SwirLX would be best. You would work in the SwirlX, wipe it off, then get some good lighting and see how it looks.

Here are some links about how to work in a product. The video is of the old ScratchX, but similar idea for SwirlX or Ultimate Compound.

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

How To Remove Swirls By Hand

How To Remove a Bird Dropping Etching by Hand using M105 Ultra Cut Compound

How to correctly apply ScratchX to remove swirls and scratches

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Difference between paint cleaners?

Should I do a test spot to see if any paint comes off or what? See if it scratches?

The reason you do a Test Spot is to make sure the product you're using is giving you the results you want. If you're trying to remove swirls and scratches and testing out ScratchX 2.0 then you want to apply the ScratchX 2.0 to a small section using your best skills and ability and then wipe off the residue and inspect that area to see how you and the product did.

You don't want to rub any kind of product all over your car's finish until you've proven to yourself that the product you're using and you're ability to apply and work the product is giving you the desired results.

Where would ColorX be on the scale of non-aggressive to aggressive?

In this scale here it would be around the M205/M80 area...

Aggressiveness Order for New Consumer Products - This will surprise you!

Since we introduced these 3 new swirl and scratch removers in our Consumer Line and our new M205 Ultra Finishing Polish in our Professional line, many people have asked how aggressive these new products are as compared to some of our existing products that our forum members are already familiar with to help them understand the cleaning and/or abrading ability of these new products I've listed them in order of most aggressive to least aggressive reading from left to right.

(Apologies ahead of time if you have to horizontal scroll)

Most aggressive to least aggressive -->




That would be from most to least aggressive,

• M105 Ultra Cut Compound
• Ultimate Compound
• ScratchX 2.0
• SwirlX
• M83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish
• M205 Ultra Finishing Polish - M80 Speed Glaze (Different types of abrasives but close in cut ability)
• ScratchX (Current Version being discontinued)

Will I be able to tell immediately after removing the product if it is ok or should I wait a while?

When doing your test spot you're trying to see if you can remove the defects effectively enough with the last aggressive product because the idea is to leave the most amount of paint on the car.

So you would apply some type of paint cleaner, work it in and over the paint and then wipe off the residue and inspect your results as compared to the un-touched paint surrounding your test spot.

You would also look at this spot in at least 2 kinds of light, artificial and the sun, this means backing the car out of the garage and closely inspecting the results.

The goal is to dial-in a system that produces the results you're looking for to one small area and then once you've proven to yourself your choice of products is working then you would go over the entire car and have the confidence that when you're done it's going to look good.


Read this,

Which products need to dry before removing?