ScratchX to the rescue ...

[Orca]

My wife's car has a rubber spoiler than runs around the car just under the windows:

http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/debo/DSCF6910.jpg

... a few weeks ago it was looking a little shabby and had some green growing on it, so I decided to give it a damn good clean. I used a variety of brushes, some Dettol and some neat shampoo. I did a good job, but my careless brushing has left me with a little problem.

http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/debo/DSCF7863.jpg

http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/debo/DSCF7867.jpg

Erm ... Whoops!

... well, today was the weekend of decent weather, so I set about correcting that little mistake ...

Before ...

http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/debo/DSCF7982.jpg

Several hits and endurance rubbing (there should be an Olympic Challenge for hand correction!!!):

http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/debo/DSCF7985.jpg

http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/debo/DSCF7986.jpg

... and a beauty shot of the sub-spoiler area now back to a mirror finish

http://www.pjgh.co.uk/gallery_albums/debo/DSCF7991.jpg

Thanks Meguiars ... for localised correction, ScratchX can do great things. Why ASD tuned my plastics grey inside a month is another matter

[RacerX88]

Re: ScratchX to the rescue ...

Nice work! Did that correction have to be made all the way round?

[Orca]

Re: ScratchX to the rescue ...

Thankfully not the whole car ... I would have reached for the telephone and contacted one of a number of professional Detailers I know if that were the case. No ... that car has a near perfect mirror finish (albeit with a few scratches here and there being a daily car) that I meticulously maintain. This little problem was my own fault and quite localised to the area 1-3" below the window spoiler, but yes ... all the way around the car, but much worse just under the mirrors and on the boot under the main spoiler.

I was really pleased to correct it by hand - very satisfying! Thanks!

[TimG]

Re: ScratchX to the rescue ...

Really great turnout.

I like the pictures - very clear and vibrant. Mind asking what camera did you use?

Thanks and cheers,

Tim

[Orca]

Re: ScratchX to the rescue ...

Thanks Tim - I use a humble Fuji E500. It's a point and shoot camera, but if you pick the right focus mode and focus carefully it does a great job. The trick is to know how to photograph what the eye actually sees and sometimes I need to trick the automatic nature of the camera into taking the picture I want it to take and not the auto-focussed/auto-corrected picture it wants to take. I have some control, but not a lot.

The biggest problem in photographing swirls and scratches is that in macro mode it often focusses on the reflection, leaving the swirls blurred - I just have to ensure that the cross hairs are firmly on a scratch/swirl and let the camera do the rest. I have pretty much come to the end of what that camera can do for me and I'd like to buy a digital SLR some day.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: ScratchX to the rescue ...

That is a great save. Your finish looks great. Nice pics also.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: ScratchX to the rescue ...

Thanks Meguiars ... for localized correction, ScratchX can do great things.

Thanks for sharing and documenting your success with ScratchX

Why ASD tuned my plastics grey inside a month is another matter

Please start a new thread for this topic and we'll see if we can help.

[Orca]

Re: ScratchX to the rescue ...

Thanks again, guys ... it was actually good fun ... hard, but good fun and very satisfying. The technique for ScratchX was learned from great tips on these forum pages. I have just read a great review and technique guide for M105 which sounds like exactly the product for volume correction; even by hand. For localised scratches and marring, I know I can do the job with ScratchX and that little tube of product is nice to bring out at such a time.

Mike - Regarding ASD, I'll try to get a couple of photographs sorted and recall my procedure. To be fair, I'm not sure it is strictly destined for exterior plastics, but I'll try to capture all that in a new thread.

Cheers, all