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

[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.

[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

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

[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.

[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?

[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?

[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

[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.

[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

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

[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

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

yeah everyone i talk to always says how soft subaru paint is. i will take it to a detailer and see what they suggest.

[Selectchoice]

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

you wouldn't/couldn't cut right through an otherwise healthy clear cost with consumer Megs products and hand application.

Keep in mind you can actually cut/rub through a clear coat with any product, consumer or pro, with "just" hand application. Concentrating your efforts on too small an area, getting too aggressive with your downward pressure, or using too harsh an applicator (or any combination of these) and you will be rubbing through the clear coat in no time.

[kiwiatlarge]

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

Keep in mind you can actually cut/rub through a clear coat with any product, consumer or pro, with "just" hand application. Concentrating your efforts on too small an area, getting too aggressive with your downward pressure, or using too harsh an applicator (or any combination of these) and you will be rubbing through the clear coat in no time.

Which is exactly what I did... one small area, lots of rubbing, and Ultimate Compound. The bird bomb itself probably didn't help the condition of the clear. Nonetheless it made me think twice about how I approach future severe scratches and bird etches with Scratch X or UC...

[ffboy]

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

Oh man... Not looking good, unfortunately a respray looks like the best if not only fix for that.