Scratches on black after claying

[mpmiller37]

After claying my black car I have light scratches all over in the direction I was claying. The finish still looks ok, but slightly dulled.
I bought some #9 Prof Swirl Remover 2.0. I do everything by hand and my car is 3 years old. Is this the best product for me ?

[Mike Phillips]

Hi mpmiller37,



Welcome to Meguiar's Online, I'm sorry your first post here is one of a problem like this.

Did you wash and rinse your car first (Thoroughly)
Did you drop your clay bar?
Did you use plenty of spray lubricant while claying?

Regardless of how it happened, the problem now it to remove the scratches. First read this,

What it Means to Remove a Scratch

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratches on black after claying

Originally posted by mpmiller37

I bought some #9 Prof Swirl Remover 2.0. I do everything by hand and my car is 3 years old. Is this the best product for me ?

No, this is,

ScratchX



Here's a couple of threads that discuss removing swirls and scratches and restoring a show car shine...

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX

How To Remove Swirls By Hand


Typically speaking, clear coat finishes are harder than traditional non-clear coat finishes but at the same time they are scratch-sensitive.

In a nutshell, this mean defects such as swirls and scratches can be difficult to remove, and you have to use the right product with the right technique to not only get good results, but to prevent instilling any scratches in the process.

The easiest and most efficient way to fix this would be to learn how to use the dual action polisher and do your cleaning and polishing and even waxing work by machine.

[Aurora40]

Just FYI, but clay can DEFINITELY scratch. You want to make sure you are folding it in often to a clean surface, make sure you use LOTS of lube, and don't use any pressure on it.

You might try it in a smaller area, then check for marring just to make sure you've got the technique down.

Claying is really easy and the results can be really amazing, but it does require a little bit of knowledge and attention. Hopefully you'll get your swirls wiped out and have a better claying experience next time.

[mpmiller37]

I did wash the car well and used lubricant when claying. I tend to push a little to hard when claying and didn't fold enough so that is why I think I got the scratches, not to mention you see every imperfection on black.

I used scratchX before on a spot to try and remove scratches and it seemed to take forever. I was told the #9 swirl remover was a little more aggressive than scratchX, but thought maybe I needed it because I'm not using a machine.

Thanks for the tips, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Ranger72]

Scratch X, like mike said, is going to be the product of choice. Now of course if you were usign a machine, something like #9 *might* suffice, but since your using your two God given machines the Scratch X, is better.

[zey]

Hi mpmiller37, if you're doing everything correctly, I might guess that your paint is very soft. I face the same problem too, but I get rid of these fine scratches with M82 using a DA machine easily. You may want to try it if you wish to invest in a G100a.

[Tuningfreak]

I clayed also today my car and I had to use a lot of pressure for old hard spots of dirt / tar etc - without pressure these "points" could not be removed by clay. I always use enough quik detailer and I always turn to a clean side of clay, so I did not realize any "new" swirls or scratches which havent been there before.

So, is it COMPLETELY WRONG to use ALSO some pressure onto the clay to get lost of all surface contermination?

[mpmiller37]

results

I've been told (and read on many sites) that you should not apply anything but light to medium pressure when claying.

Well, I ended up using the #9 swirl remover followed by an application of scratchX and things were starting to look very much improved. Then I put Zaino Z-5 on as a top coat. When I went to remove it about an hour later, the Z-5 would not come off the car and I was pressing extremely hard. I was flipping out. To get it off, I applied a coat of Zymol (which I have used in the past) and
it got the Zaino off. The Zymol hides a lot of imperfections so it is hard to see how good of a job the Meguiars polishes did. Now in the sun I can see some distored areas i.e.. looks like a smear or something. If I buff it with a rag for a bit it seems to help. So I'm wondering if mixing these products has caused these problems. I know Zaino says to use only their stuff. I don't like to top with waxes because they don't last as long as the polymers / sealants. I tried the NXT product once and it streaked up the surface with similar distortions. Could this also be because I applied NXT over a 4 month old coat of Zymol ? Does Meguiars suggect you do not mix products ?

[Mike Phillips]

It's hard to say what kind of results you're going to get when you start mixing products across different companies offerings.

The correct order to follow would be, ScratchX, then #9, not #9 and then ScratchX.

ScratchX is a dedicated paint cleaner and more aggressive when applied by hand than #9.

As far as waxes go, Zaino recommends you only apply the Z5 to a squeaky clean surface. I've applied it over Meguiar's products and never had any problems like you describe.

Perhaps starting over by hand applying the #9 Swirl Remover, working it in gently, this will remove anything else on the surface.

Then follow the directions for whatever LSP you want to use. If it's NXT Tech Wax, try applying to thin coats and then check your results.

[mpmiller37]

I'm a little upset at Meguiars tech support. The reason I used #9 and then ScratchX is because when I called the tech support line, they specifically told me that #9 was more aggressive than scratchX. That is why I used the #9 first and then scratch X. Boy, that means I wasted my time and my shoulders are killing me.
Clarify please, you said scratchX is more abrasive than #9?
Also, I have a Black car (as you know) and need final products that have some "hiding" abilities and will give lasting protection. I was told paint sealant type products offer better protection than wax products. What products does Meguiars offer that would satisfy what I want ?

Thanks

[Aurora40]

Originally posted by Tuningfreak
I clayed also today my car and I had to use a lot of pressure for old hard spots of dirt / tar etc - without pressure these "points" could not be removed by clay. I always use enough quik detailer and I always turn to a clean side of clay, so I did not realize any "new" swirls or scratches which havent been there before.

So, is it COMPLETELY WRONG to use ALSO some pressure onto the clay to get lost of all surface contermination?

In my opinion, it's a judgement call. I personally would rather make several passes with clay to get the result, than to make one or two passes and have to polish out the resulting marring.

But if you can't get it off, you can't get it off. Being there to appreciate the problem first-hand, you'll have to make a call.

[Tuningfreak]

@Aurora: I think on my new car in spring 2006 everything will be better. I started to use meguiars products since ~ 1 1/2 years, the clay only since 1 week (dont ask me why, maybe there was no trust in this perfect product! *g*) and my actual car is 2 1/2 years old. So first my detailing work was not well before use of meguiars products (I KNOW IT... ), then after 1 or 2 years I realized this bad surface contermination and tried to remove it with much work, much aggresive cleaners and solvents - and no really good results. At the end I resigned with the bad situation until I gave the meguiars clay a try! ;-) Bad right now after nearly 3 years of contermination I had to use some pressure to remove the most of it - with a new car and permanent claying I wont have any problems and wont need any pressure...

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by mpmiller37
I'm a little upset at Meguiar's tech support. The reason I used #9 and then ScratchX is because when I called the tech support line, they specifically told me that #9 was more aggressive than ScratchX. That is why I used the #9 first and then scratch X. Boy, that means I wasted my time and my shoulders are killing me.

I'll bring this up with our Director of Training.

Clarify please, you said ScratchX is more abrasive than #9?

Technically, I said ScratchX is more aggressive by hand than #9 Swirl Remover 2.0

Also, I have a Black car (as you know) and need final products that have some "hiding" abilities and will give lasting protection. I was told paint sealant type products offer better protection than wax products. What products does Meguiar's offer that would satisfy what I want ?Thanks

Any quality wax will offer some filling ability because the nature of a quality wax is to leave itself behind, thus if it's leaving itself behind its filling to some degree.

I too have a black car and just so you know up front, the only way to maintain a black finish at 100% of it's beauty potential is to polish it or wax it after each wash because washing a car will tend to remove a little wax through micro-abrading. Thus a car in perfect condition will tend to look worse and worse with each wash instead of better and better with each wash.

A lot of people are finding they really like the M21 Synthetic Sealant for their LSP, this is a synthetic wax in our Professional Line.