Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

[szjalo]

I have few light scratches on my car, caused by my careless neighbor opens his door brutally LOL. not really deep. I am looking for a customer line product and don't know UC and scratch X 2.0, which would be better?

[daniel clark]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Hard to say,have you yet tried a cleaner wax if so how did it work?Maybe scratch x could be sufficient...though again hard to say,might as well dive in and test the waters!

[Murr1525]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Just get the UC....

[mis3]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Depend what products you have. The proper process is to try with the least aggressive products and progress to the next more aggressive product. This would means that you will have to buy a few products. In the consumer line, UC is the strongest while SwirlX is somewhat medium. If you are doing this by hand, UC is your best bet. If you are using a DA, you may start with SwirlX. By the way, even with UC, I found it hard to remove swirls by hand, never mind scratch.

I applied UC to my car a month ago (full 5-step process), I don't think it removed too many swirls (if any) but it did give my car an excellent shine. My car is silver so these swirls are not critical to me.

The rule of thumb is if you can feel the scratch with your finger nail, the scratch is too deep to be repaired by regular detailing products.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Depend what products you have. The proper process is to try with the least aggressive products and progress to the next more aggressive product. This would means that you will have to buy a few products. In the consumer line, UC is the strongest while SwirlX is somewhat medium. If you are doing this by hand, UC is your best bet. If you are using a DA, you may start with SwirlX. By the way, even with UC, I found it hard to remove swirls by hand, never mind scratch.

While it is true that we have long preached the concept of "use the least aggressive product to get the job done", we don't want folks taking that to an extreme. We do not mean that to be taken as "go out and buy these three products and work your way up until you find one that works". That would result in an awful lot of people being really upset that they've purchased two products they don't need. The "least aggressive" approach is really more for when you're getting into the aggressive processes like wet sanding, rotary compounding, etc. That's where grabbing something more aggressive than needed can get you into serious trouble very quickly.

To be really candid and open about the marketing, if you will, behind SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0 and Ultimate Compound it goes something like this: All three products are derived from M105 at least to some extent but they are most definitely NOT the same product in different bottles. When the buying public has an issue they need or want to address on their vehicle, they look for a product that specifically states it is intended for their given issue. Not all consumers are as savvy as people who hang out on detailing forums, so they don't understand that oxidation, bird dropping etchings, scratches, fine swirls and other below surface defects are all basically the same and the same products and techniques will address them all. They have a scratch. They don't want a product, nor will they buy a product, that says it's for removing heavy oxidation. They want a product that specifically tells them it's for removing scratches. That's what they have, that's what they want to fix, that's the product they're going to buy. It's simply a question of education, but a bottle label is not the place to educate folks on the finer points of defect removal, the differences between above surface contaminants and below surface defects, clear coat thickness, abrasiveness variables, etc. Nobody would read such a label, let alone understand it all on first read.

So Mat's short response of "Just get the UC...." is actually pretty spot on. That's what we would suggest as a starting point for almost any defect removal process, and it's what we always start with in our training classes. How you use it can have a huge impact on how aggressive it is - type of applicator, whether hand or machine applied, how aggressively its applied regardless of method, etc. Working by hand we will always recommend using a foam wax applicator pad so that the product is doing the work rather than a terry towel that very often creates some haze on the finish.

The rule of thumb is if you can feel the scratch with your finger nail, the scratch is too deep to be repaired by regular detailing products.

Yep, a pretty darn accurate statement. And this is because you only have about 2 mils (2/1000 of an inch) of clear coat to work with, and you should never remove more than 0.5 mils of that clear. So if you can catch a fingernail in the scratch, that scratch is pretty deep. To fully remove it would mean you'd be removing more clear than is deemed "safe" by the manufacturer. You should be able to minimize the appearance of that scratch, but you probably can't "safely" remove it.

[daniel clark]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Talking about bird droppings,I just applied a fresh coat of NXT paste 3 weeks ago on my freshly painted civic and a couple droppings only on car a couple days etched my clear coat....ticked me off!!

[mis3]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

I would think that the recent NXT would be fine to fight off the etching.

Were you able to remove it? Did you have to apply UC?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

I would think that the recent NXT would be fine to fight off the etching.

It depends on some variables. Some bird droppings are much more caustic (for lack of a better term) than others, and some will etch paint very quickly. In most cases a coat of wax or sealant can buy you some time with bird droppings and other types of attacks against the paint, but they can only do so much. Waxes and sealants aren't designed to be impermeable barriers, they are sacrificial barriers. And if you happen to get nailed by a particularly nasty bird dropping, things can go bad pretty quickly. Remember, these things can and do etch paint. To expect a microscopically thin coat of wax or sealant to truly stop this from happening would be to assume that thin coat of product is actually tougher than your paint. It isn't.

[ethereal45]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

It depends on some variables. Some bird droppings are much more caustic (for lack of a better term) than others, and some will etch paint very quickly. In most cases a coat of wax or sealant can buy you some time with bird droppings and other types of attacks against the paint, but they can only do so much. Waxes and sealants aren't designed to be impermeable barriers, they are sacrificial barriers. And if you happen to get nailed by a particularly nasty bird dropping, things can go bad pretty quickly. Remember, these things can and do etch paint. To expect a microscopically thin coat of wax or sealant to truly stop this from happening would be to assume that thin coat of product is actually tougher than your paint. It isn't.

I think this point needs to be iterated more proactively than it is, I know many people think they can throw on a coat of wax and that their paint is hiding underneath an impenetrable fortress. Unfortunately, this really isn't the case.

[mis3]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Maybe I never encountered these nasty bird droppings.
My car is usually well-waxed. I had bird droppings left on my car for a few days many times and they were washed off easily.

[daniel clark]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

I tend to think todays new finishes are just not as durable as the older finishes,I also know this happened to a friends truck too recently....new paint,and the clear used runs over $300.00 a gallon!

[sproulman]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Just get the UC....

UC is only one that removed light swirls from my motorcycle and i tried all the others

[ethereal45]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

I agree, UC is a very versatile product and depending on how you apply it you can do light cleaning all the way up to heavy defect removal.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Dummy question: UC and scratch X 2.0, which is better for removing scratches?

Maybe I never encountered these nasty bird droppings.
My car is usually well-waxed. I had bird droppings left on my car for a few days many times and they were washed off easily.

As with everything else, not all bird droppings are created equal.