I've been visited by the Scratch Fairy

[William_F]

Apparently, she likes to visit when no one's looking and she leaves a layer of magic dust on the car that makes these little (and not so little) scratches that were invisible when the car was clean.

I have been reading about scratch removal and test spots etc and it seems the more I read, the more questions I have, so I thought I'd post them here and hopefully some of you can can clear things up.

Let's start with picking a test spot. In the case of trying to eliminate a rather long, but shallow (won't snag a finger nail) scratch on my hood, should my test spot include a small part of the scratch and the surrounding area or should I test on a less conspicuous place?

I'm thinking that with incoporating a small section of the scratch, it would tell me for sure if the product I have selected is the correct one for the job.

Secondly, how do I choose the right product? I know to use the least aggressive product and work my way up until I get the job done, but can anyone give me some insight into how to avoid buying too many of the wrong products in the first place? I am primarilly concerned at this point with a 2 or 3 large, shallow scratches and some more moderate swirling on the painted rear bumper.

I will be working by hand as I have no machine nor access to exterior power (I live in an apt complex).

I am willing to take this job on and feel like I can do it with the right guidence, but I am hesitant to take on too much, too soon. I don't want to make the situation worse than it already is.

Worst case, I can send it out to a pro to have it fixed, but I'd really be interested in learning how to do this myself so that when it comes up in the future, I can handle it.

[james0509]

Re: I've been visited by the Scratch Fairy

Apparently, she likes to visit when no one's looking and she leaves a layer of magic dust on the car that makes these little (and not so little) scratches that were invisible when the car was clean.

I have been reading about scratch removal and test spots etc and it seems the more I read, the more questions I have, so I thought I'd post them here and hopefully some of you can can clear things up.

Let's start with picking a test spot. In the case of trying to eliminate a rather long, but shallow (won't snag a finger nail) scratch on my hood, should my test spot include a small part of the scratch and the surrounding area or should I test on a less conspicuous place?

I'm thinking that with incoporating a small section of the scratch, it would tell me for sure if the product I have selected is the correct one for the job.

Secondly, how do I choose the right product? I know to use the least aggressive product and work my way up until I get the job done, but can anyone give me some insight into how to avoid buying too many of the wrong products in the first place? I am primarilly concerned at this point with a 2 or 3 large, shallow scratches and some more moderate swirling on the painted rear bumper.

I will be working by hand as I have no machine nor access to exterior power (I live in an apt complex).

I am willing to take this job on and feel like I can do it with the right guidence, but I am hesitant to take on too much, too soon. I don't want to make the situation worse than it already is.

Worst case, I can send it out to a pro to have it fixed, but I'd really be interested in learning how to do this myself so that when it comes up in the future, I can handle it.

Regarding your question about test spots, do it on the scratch. ( If you are using non-Meguiars product I would test somewhere less conspicuous, one time I used a cheap scratch remover and it ended up giving me more scratches. )

Usually you are supposed to "move up the aggressive-ness scale " but in this case you are working by hand so I would just go with the ScratchX 2.0 right away. Since you are also removing swirls then I would recommend Ultimate Compound for swirls.

Ultimate compound can be used by hand and it cuts as fast as abrasives without scratching thanks to the "micro-abrasive technology".

[William_F]

Re: I've been visited by the Scratch Fairy

I was reading the Meguiars online catalog to get more info based on your input. It sounds like Ultimate Compound is a little less invasive than ScratchX. Is that right?

If so, shouldn't I start with the UC and see how it treats each issue, then move up to ScratchX if the UC doesn't fix the issue? I am terrified of using the wrong product the wrong way and going from minor surface flaws to major issues.

Also, am I understanding correctly that in addition to having the potential to correct the flaws I've got, UC also acts as a polish? If so, won't I need to use it all over the car once the flaws are corrected so that the car will have a uniform appearance?

[tcope1]

Re: I've been visited by the Scratch Fairy

UC is a step above Scratch X 2.0

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/sho...imate+compound

[james0509]

Re: I've been visited by the Scratch Fairy

I was reading the Meguiars online catalog to get more info based on your input. It sounds like Ultimate Compound is a little less invasive than ScratchX. Is that right?

If so, shouldn't I start with the UC and see how it treats each issue, then move up to ScratchX if the UC doesn't fix the issue? I am terrified of using the wrong product the wrong way and going from minor surface flaws to major issues.

Also, am I understanding correctly that in addition to having the potential to correct the flaws I've got, UC also acts as a polish? If so, won't I need to use it all over the car once the flaws are corrected so that the car will have a uniform appearance?

Hi, you will never have major issues with these 2 products. Both of them have "micro-abrasive technology" which cuts as aggressive as harsh compounds, but will NOT damage your paint. So as long as you don't rock your car while scrubbing the paint for half an hour then you will not have any problems at all.

Regarding uniform appearance, how is the condition of your entire car?

If there are swirl marks over the ENTIRE car and you only fix a small area then that area will appear shiny and flawless compared to the rest. ( is that what you mean? )

But if you ONLY have swirls on the bumper and you use UC ONLY for the bumper, it will still be uniform.

[William_F]

Re: I've been visited by the Scratch Fairy

Regarding uniform appearance, how is the condition of your entire car?

If there are swirl marks over the ENTIRE car and you only fix a small area then that area will appear shiny and flawless compared to the rest. ( is that what you mean? )

But if you ONLY have swirls on the bumper and you use UC ONLY for the bumper, it will still be uniform.

Overall, my car is in good shape. So far, I have only noticed a few isolated scratches on the roof & hood and moderate swirling on the rear bumper.

What I meant about uniform apperance was that in addition to removing the scratches, doesn't ScratchX also act as a polish? If it does, I'd have sections of paint that are super clean and polished next to sections that just look ok.

I just clayed the car about a week ago, then laid down a coat of cleaner wax and layer of NXT 2.0, so I'm in good shape overall.