Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

[NZ ECO1]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

yeah its the vertical part of the trunk. there has been no damage or repainting done to the trunk. i was just reading and apparently subaru paint is very thin and easy to damage

Subaru paint can be soft. I used to have a dark green Subaru Legacy about the same age as yours and the paint swirled like crazy but that said I see plenty of Subaru's in our day to day business and I wouldn't say there was any sort of issue with them having paint any thinner than any other mass manufacturer. It's a real head scratcher. I'm out of ideas Im afraid without being able to actually see the damage in person. It looks like the clear coat has gone but that would be really unusual in a car that age and you wouldn't/couldn't cut right through an otherwise healthy clear cost with consumer Megs products and hand application. I would suggest taking it to a pro detailer who can see the damage first hand and perhaps diagnose the problem and offer a solution?

Update with how you get on

[bsilver]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

How long did u work the initial wipe, and how hard did you apply the pressure?

id say like 30 seconds or so with a medium amount of pressure

[kiwiatlarge]

How long did u work the initial wipe, and how hard did you apply the pressure?

[bsilver]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

So quite a few people on here suggested that you use a polish such as UP, M205, or swirlX, and you chose to use more scratchX followed by Ultimate Compound? Are you trying to fix the issue or make it worse?

there was a suggestion to try to use more scratch x on a foam applicator pad with less pressure to see if the haziness would go away. that did not work, so i tried a polish and that did nothing. went with ultimate compound because that was another suggestion, but that seemed to make it worse.

[bsilver]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

From what I can see this is the vertical section of the boot lid above the tail light and below the rear spoiler? This area on any car is prone to damage from being hit by another car etc. Going back to what a previous poster asked regarding the history of the car, have you owned it from new? Are you aware of any damage to that panel that may have been subjected to a less than stellar repair job? The products you have used are completely safe to use and while the application media wasn't ideal to begin with I can't see how the damage you have shown could be caused by hand unless the paint is poor or the clear next to non existent. Also, given the very symetrical nature of the damaged area I can't help but think there was something not right about the paint in that area to begin with?

yeah its the vertical part of the trunk. there has been no damage or repainting done to the trunk. i was just reading and apparently subaru paint is very thin and easy to damage

[FX4619]

after using scratch x with light pressure and making no more progress i switched to meguiars ult compound and now it looks like this....not really sure what to do anymore

So quite a few people on here suggested that you use a polish such as UP, M205, or swirlX, and you chose to use more scratchX followed by Ultimate Compound? Are you trying to fix the issue or make it worse?

[NZ ECO1]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

From what I can see this is the vertical section of the boot lid above the tail light and below the rear spoiler? This area on any car is prone to damage from being hit by another car etc. Going back to what a previous poster asked regarding the history of the car, have you owned it from new? Are you aware of any damage to that panel that may have been subjected to a less than stellar repair job? The products you have used are completely safe to use and while the application media wasn't ideal to begin with I can't see how the damage you have shown could be caused by hand unless the paint is poor or the clear next to non existent. Also, given the very symetrical nature of the damaged area I can't help but think there was something not right about the paint in that area to begin with?

[kiwiatlarge]

If you've had a grey colour come onto the terry, and there is a clearcoat, then it sounds like you have gone through the clear sorry.

Hopefully the others are right and its not the paint come through, but

Your first pic looks sadly very similar to what I did to my roof.. Except mine is about an inch and a half across.. And being blue on my pad, it def wasnt dirt.

[bsilver]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

after using scratch x with light pressure and making no more progress i switched to meguiars ult compound and now it looks like this....not really sure what to do anymore

[bsilver]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

ok so i tried using more scratch x using a mircofiber applicator pad and now i have a donut looking shape on my trunk. i cant seem to get the edges to come back to color, but as you can see the center is closer to how the color should be. do you guys think i should try using swirl x now?

[bsilver]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

thanks for the replies everyone! my terry cloth had a dark gray color on in and i was thinking it was my paint because the colors are very similar. i am going to try using a foam applicator with the scratch x and see what it yields, otherwise i will go with swirl x or the ultimate polish.

[Murr1525]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

First, ScratchX is safe for any paint, clear cot or not, not going to damage it. The terry cloth could cause hazing.

Dirt is going to come up a gray color also.

I would want to look at a milder product, maybe like SwirlX, or Ult. Polish/#205, and work them is some with a smooth foam applicator. Or even the ScrathX applied more gently with a smooth foam applicator as a next pass. That would remove hazing, and as you increased the area, see if it is still removing more dirt as your area gets bigger.

[Meticulous-Detail]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

Yeah I used a terry cloth

I actually did have a bit of color on the terry

I did wipe off with a microfiber. And also waxed afterwards

2006 subaru wrx sti

im not really sure what it is to be honest. i hope its not the clearcoat, but i dont see why it would be. i dont see why i would even damage the paint seeing as this is a paint-safe product.

2006 WRX STI is def. clear coat/2 stage paint unless repainted. I do not use terry cloth towels on paint as they are too aggressive. Are you sure the color was paint and no dirt, SwirlX with terry cloth is an aggressive combo, could be dirt and contamination instead of paint.

Like others have stated, I would use some Megs UP followed by wax to remove the haze or even an AIO like D151 or cleaner wax if you have some. I would also use MF instead of terry cloth when you do this.

I recently had a customer who took rubbing compound to some scratches and did the same thing, he didn't wash or clay when he did this.....ouch!. I used some D151 and a Megs MF cutting disc to fix the problem in one step.

[ca2kjet]

Re: Used Scratch X, but left a lighter colored area on car

I had this exact situation happen many years ago on my previous vehicle. I worked ScratchX (first generation, not as powerful as the newer 2.0) on a scratch and ended up making a lighter, hazed spot and it was obvious no matter the lighting. I worked the product in too much and too long but didn't destroy the paint, just hazed it, and was easy to fix.

Hitting the area with another product (both found in most stores) such as SwirlX (my recommendation) or Ultimate Compound and working it lightly over that area to restore its shine would probably be your best bet. I would definitely recommend getting a foam pad (something like this) to work the product. And be sure to not let any of those products completely dry. Then follow up with a layer of wax.

Hope this helps

[FX4619]

What is the make/model/year of the car? Could this be simply removing heavy oxidation off a single stage?

2006 subaru wrx sti

im not really sure what it is to be honest. i hope its not the clearcoat, but i dont see why it would be. i dont see why i would even damage the paint seeing as this is a paint-safe product.

It's a clear coat safe product. If there's no clear coat then it could probably do some damage to the paint. I'm not saying that's what you did, but it's good to know the history of the vehicles paint. I would try using some UP or M205 to try and fix what you're seeing. Post some pics if you can.