Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

[KY Gan]

Hi there, I got some detailing questions which I will try to describe with as much information as possible. I can't capture the pictures because it just can't be seen on them when I tried or either I got to go for some photography lessons soon.

My issue: I got hairlines scratches on the car around the entire side trim of door from front to back. So it's a painted part above the front driver window and then moves all the way to the back and sloped down before you reach the back bonnet.

Part 1 ) I have tried to use Scratch 2.0 and run them 2 or 3 times. I do touch spot I am working on right after making the corrections to make sure i don't burn the paintworks or hang on too long in one spot. The heat when i touch is slightly warm but not hot. I run 4-5 passes on them until the product is gone as how the how to video's. Results are great on most but there are some which was white hairlines and have now become black ( My car is black). So it' still good but at certain angles you could see the hairlines ( Just me being fussy ) otherwise it's nice. My question is after how many times using Scratch 2.0 we give up and use a stronger product ?

Part 2) On the above, then I run the ultimate compound. Some is removed and some remains. My question here is how many times do we run the ultimate compound on the same spot before we give up ?

This hairline scratches , when I run my finger over them it's smooth. So this are not the bad scratches which went under the paint.

Overall I have done about 10 car detailing sessions of which usually each session takes me about 5-6 hours covering all the wash, correction, polish, wax steps. I am very happy with the results I got just out of curiosity wanted to learn and understand some of this issues further.

Sorry for the long description.

[Chrome Rust]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

Believe it or not ScratchX is not very abrasive at all. It was designed that way to prevent guys like you and me from rubbing the paint off our cars. SwirlX is better but I don't think it's better than UC. You may need to step it up even more with a different combo of pad and compound. M105 is Meg's #1 workhorse for the hardcore stuff. What kind of vehicle do you have? Are you sure those are not cracks in the paint?

[Nick Winn]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

Hi there, I got some detailing questions which I will try to describe with as much information as possible. I can't capture the pictures because it just can't be seen on them when I tried or either I got to go for some photography lessons soon.

My issue: I got hairlines scratches on the car around the entire side trim of door from front to back. So it's a painted part above the front driver window and then moves all the way to the back and sloped down before you reach the back bonnet.

Part 1 ) I have tried to use Scratch 2.0 and run them 2 or 3 times. I do touch spot I am working on right after making the corrections to make sure i don't burn the paintworks or hang on too long in one spot. The heat when i touch is slightly warm but not hot. I run 4-5 passes on them until the product is gone as how the how to video's. Results are great on most but there are some which was white hairlines and have now become black ( My car is black). So it' still good but at certain angles you could see the hairlines ( Just me being fussy ) otherwise it's nice. My question is after how many times using Scratch 2.0 we give up and use a stronger product ?

Part 2) On the above, then I run the ultimate compound. Some is removed and some remains. My question here is how many times do we run the ultimate compound on the same spot before we give up ?

This hairline scratches , when I run my finger over them it's smooth. So this are not the bad scratches which went under the paint.

Overall I have done about 10 car detailing sessions of which usually each session takes me about 5-6 hours covering all the wash, correction, polish, wax steps. I am very happy with the results I got just out of curiosity wanted to learn and understand some of this issues further.

Sorry for the long description.

Thank you for taking the time to try and provide a detailed description so we can guide you in the correct direction. However we would like to request even more information.

What machine, what pads, and what size pads are you using when trying to address these scratches?

[KY Gan]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

Thank you for taking the time to try and provide a detailed description so we can guide you in the correct direction. However we would like to request even more information.

What machine, what pads, and what size pads are you using when trying to address these scratches?

Thank for your responses appreciate it.
1) how do I verify if it's a crack ? anyway to identify it ?Car : BMW 3 series black colour. About 4 years old.
2) I am using Meguair Dual Action Polisher.
3) Yellow Pad for Scratch 2.0 , Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound. Size is 7 inch i believe the standard ones that come with the package.
4) Black Pad for ultimate wax. Intermittently I will wash the Yellow and Black Pads with the pad washer.
5)Meguair Microfiber Cloth to wipe off Scratch 2.0 , Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound. Meguair special Black wax cloth which came with Ultimate Wax to wipe of Ultimate Wax.

Anything else I missed ? Thanks and appreciate all you guys chipping in to let me learn more.

[DasBurninator]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

Can you post some pictures of the scratches you are talking about? Being able to see the issue will help figure out what is going on as well.

[Nick Winn]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

We are assuming you are referring to Meguiar's G110v2 Dual Action Polisher and our 7 Inch Soft Buff 2.0 Pads. This combination applying our Ultimate Compound is great to address moderate swirls, scratches, and oxidation. However, there are many times when a more aggressive combination is needed for heavier defects, and Meguiar's does have other product options for use on a Dual Action Polisher when this is needed. If you try to use your current combination of Ultimate Compound on the 7 Inch Soft Buff 2.0 Yellow polishing pad a few times, fairly aggressive, using moderate pressure and moderate arm speed at speed 5 (5800 OPM), with little improvement, it is safe to say a more aggressive combination will be needed to try to fully remove the defects.

Our next recommendation would be to step up to our low profile 5 inch foam discs, specifically our DFC5 Foam Cutting Disc. We have expanded our performance with both cutting & finishing ability with these new pads. More information on these can be referenced at the following below link:

Meguiar's Article - NEW! DA Foam Discs & Backing Plates

Another option for even more cut on a Dual Action Polisher would be Meguiar's D/A Microfiber Correction System. More information on this system can be referenced at the following below links:

Meguiar's Article - Introducing our new DA Microfiber Correction System

Meguiar's Article - Using Meguiar's new D/A Microfiber Correction System

As others have stated pictures of these scratches would help us as well.

[KY Gan]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

Can you post some pictures of the scratches you are talking about? Being able to see the issue will help figure out what is going on as well.

Wow lucky me. Got some pictures finally after many attempts.

[The Guz]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

We are assuming you are referring to Meguiar's G110v2 Dual Action Polisher and our 7 Inch Soft Buff 2.0 Pads. This combination applying our Ultimate Compound is great to address moderate swirls, scratches, and oxidation. However, there are many times when a more aggressive combination is needed for heavier defects, and Meguiar's does have other product options for use on a Dual Action Polisher when this is needed. If you try to use your current combination of Ultimate Compound on the 7 Inch Soft Buff 2.0 Yellow polishing pad a few times, fairly aggressive, using moderate pressure and moderate arm speed at speed 5 (5800 OPM), with little improvement, it is safe to say a more aggressive combination will be needed to try to fully remove the defects.

Our next recommendation would be to step up to our low profile 5 inch foam discs, specifically our DFC5 Foam Cutting Disc. We have expanded our performance with both cutting & finishing ability with these new pads. More information on these can be referenced at the following below link:

Meguiar's Article - NEW! DA Foam Discs & Backing Plates

Another option for even more cut on a Dual Action Polisher would be Meguiar's D/A Microfiber Correction System. More information on this system can be referenced at the following below links:

Meguiar's Article - Introducing our new DA Microfiber Correction System

Meguiar's Article - Using Meguiar's new D/A Microfiber Correction System

As others have stated pictures of these scratches would help us as well.

I would agree with this. Tools like the G110V2 will work more efficiently and will distribute the tools power with smaller pads. These new thin pads are great.

It is possible that you have hard paint and may need to step it up. So microfiber cutting pads with a more aggressive compound is another good option.

[DasBurninator]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

Ouch, some of those scratches look pretty deep. If you can catch your finger nail on them then they probably won't come out with just polishing.

[KY Gan]

Re: Hairline Scratches on Car after POlish and Wax

Thanks Nicholas on your info and suggestion. Can I check the following questions :

1) Do I need to buy a whole new set of backing plates to be used with this new pads ?
2) Should I buy the cutting pads for the 3" or 5" ? I reckon for correction usually we go by smaller spot so 3" would be more logical ? Can I get your opinion ?
3) How many time do we attempt before we give up on a correction or move to a stronger product / different combination pad ?

Thanks.