Hopeless newbie w/ #3 Machine Glaze

[Jethro]

I recently debadged my doors and after clean up noticed I made some very fine scratches.

These scratches are nearly impossible to see, you have to be about 2 inches from the surface and have the right light behind you.
In these conditions you can make out a "ghosted" image of where the badges used to be.

I know, you think its because the paint is faded... It's not.
It's a brand new truck, these are in fact scratches in the clear coat.

They are too small to photograph so you'll just have to take my word for it.

So, being a hopeless newbie I refered to the scale on the bottles of product.

I think I can repair the damage with the weakest level of abrasion, so I bought the #3 Machine Glaze (level 1 on the scale) and then some ScratchX2.0 in case the #3 didn't do the trick.

Well I got the bottle of #3 in the mail today and discovered it is for "ROTARY BUFFER ONLY"!!!

I had planned to apply this with my Dual Action PC.
Can i? Will it really make that much of a difference?

After doing a little homework on the abrasion of ScratchX 2.0 I fear that it made be too strong for my needs.

Looks as though I might have 2 bottles of product that are currently useless to me.

Thanks for helping.

[Murr1525]

Re: Hopeless newbie w/ #3 Machine Glaze

Can you use #3.. yes. Will it make a difference.. no.

You will want to use a cleaning product first to remove the scratches/swirls, so that would be the ScrathX 2.0. #3 is just polishing oils, so no cleaning ability.

As you say, SwirlX or Ult. polish may be all you needed. If you still had a store receipt, you could take the ScratchX back perhaps.

But either way, you would be fine. ScrathcX first, then #3 if wanted.

[Jethro]

Re: Hopeless newbie w/ #3 Machine Glaze

Thanks for the quick reply.

My biggest fear is that the ScratchX 2.0 will leave a "hazy" spot.

I could almost leave it alone since it is nearly impossible to see, so I certainly don't want to try something and make it worse.

Should I apply the ScratchX by hand?

Are my fears of creating a hazy spot unecessary?

Perhaps I will try the product on the side of the tailgate to figure out what I'm doing.

[Murr1525]

Re: Hopeless newbie w/ #3 Machine Glaze

You can certainly try by hand first... just use a smooth foam pad, not terry cloth.

I would not expect any haze from using it.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Hopeless newbie w/ #3 Machine Glaze

The majority of cut you achieve with M03 Machine Glaze comes more from the applicator than the product itself. And don't misinterpret the cut scale on the Mirror Glaze products - for example, M105 Ultra Cut Compound rates a 12 but that's relative to the other products and their intended application method. So while M105 will provide tremendous cutting ability when used on a rotary buffer spinning a wool pad at 1800 rpm, it won't give you anywhere near that cut level when gently applying by hand.

Now, that doesn't mean you can dramatically increase the cut of M03 by using it a different way since it's really not an abrasive product, for all intents and purposes anyway. Think of it this way - you can take a 16lb sledge hammer and quickly drive a rail road spike into the ground, or you could use it gently to put a finishing nail in drywall (perhaps not the best use of the tool, however). But the little 8oz. finishing hammer you'd normally use for that little finishing nail in drywall can't really be swung with enough force to drive the rail road spike in. Make sense?

[Jethro]

Re: Hopeless newbie w/ #3 Machine Glaze

Thanks, I think I will just take my time and methodically work my way UP the abrasiveness scale until I get the result I want.

This is on my brand new 2011 Dodge Ram Crew Cab Sport, which I happen to love like family (probably more than in some cases).

I just ordered a bottle of #09 swirl remover as a "middle ground" between the #03 and the ScratchX.

I'll go by hand first and the try the DA.