Cotton Applicators

[Shawn T.]

I was using a terry cloth applicator to apply some Scratchx to the roof of my car this afternoon and I had some interesting results.

The terry cloth applicator does a great job at removing the swirls I was looking to get rid of but it also hazed the area quite well with what looks like hundred of fine scratches all throughout the area I was working .

Figured I would try it again with UC and the same thing happened. I guess these Megs cleaners are best applied using foam applicators? I just ordered some off of Amazon so hopefully they will be here within the next few days.

Just wanted to report that terry cloth applicators seem to have too much bite and instill more scratches then they remove , at least with my car, a 2008 Red Mini CooperS. I made sure the section was soptless before starting so that was not an issue. I decided to test out the hiding capabilities of some cleaner wax lying around and I was very impressed. I could not even see the fine swirls and hazing in artificial light.

[Murr1525]

Re: Cotton Applicators

Yeah, terry is the most agressive applicator by hand.

The smooth foam applicators should sort it out, though you may want to move to a milder product like SwirlX at this point for just mild cleaning.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Cotton Applicators

Yeah, I was thinking about using the Swirlx but I was just giving the applicator a run for its money. I wanted to see if it would haze more or what would happen so i stepped up. Thanks.

[Mongoose]

Re: Cotton Applicators

I was using a terry cloth applicator to apply some Scratchx to the roof of my car this afternoon and I had some interesting results.

The terry cloth applicator does a great job at removing the swirls I was looking to get rid of but it also hazed the area quite well with what looks like hundred of fine scratches all throughout the area I was working .

Figured I would try it again with UC and the same thing happened. I guess these Megs cleaners are best applied using foam applicators? I just ordered some off of Amazon so hopefully they will be here within the next few days.

Just wanted to report that terry cloth applicators seem to have too much bite and instill more scratches then they remove , at least with my car, a 2008 Red Mini CooperS. I made sure the section was soptless before starting so that was not an issue. I decided to test out the hiding capabilities of some cleaner wax lying around and I was very impressed. I could not even see the fine swirls and hazing in artificial light.

This sounds very much what I ran into except I was using microfiber applicators.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Cotton Applicators

What you are describing with your terry cloth applicators is spot on, and quite common. In fact, our Call Center routinely receives calls from people who used a product like ScratchX 2.0 to remove a defect from their paint but they're calling to complain that the ScratchX hazed their paint. Got rid of the scratch, but now the paint looks dull or hazy. Our guys immediately know that the wrong applicator was used and that there is a very good chance the car in question has delicate paint. How can they be so sure? Because there is nothing in ScratchX, SwirlX or UC that will haze the paint on its own.

They'll tell the customer to use the exact same product and go over the effected area with a foam wax applicator pad and see what happens. Typically the customer calls back with a fresh complaint, something along the lines of "now my car has a real shiny spot on it..... do I have to do the whole thing now???"

Truth is, terry cloth can be so aggressive that even applying baby oil with it can haze paint. Of course, how delicate or scratch sensitive your paint is plays a huge roll in this.

That said, there are times when terry cloth can be a huge help when working by hand. If you're dealing with heavy oxidation on a single stage paint job then the bite afforded by terry cloth can help speed through the worst of it. Sure, you'll need to refine the finish after, but you'll get go healthy, color rich paint a whole lot faster.

[Steveo47]

Re: Cotton Applicators

would it be safe to use a MF cloth when applying scratchx 2.0? I cant seem for the life of me to find any foam applicator pads.

[yalerd]

Re: Cotton Applicators

Yes you can.