Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

[mizzoucat]

Ok, so I've been using ScratchX 2.0 a lot lately to remove rail dust and other road debris that is embedded into my white paint. Some of it comes off easily while some of it is really stubborn and I have to use a lot of force for a long time to get it removed. It seems to do a pretty good job, however, after I'm done if I look at the paint from an angle it appears to be "dented" where I rubbed (kind of like a very light groove in the paint). I'm pretty sure I didn't actually dent the sheet metal by rubbing too hard. While the road debris is no longer visible, it also appears as if the ScratchX kind of covers up the debris instead of removing it completely as I can still see a tiny white bump in the paint where the debris was. So, is the ScratchX simply removing enough clear coat to where the light is reflecting differently or is there actually a tiny groove in my paint?

[Murr1525]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

Removing tiny imperfections will certainly make the paint look different.

Might want to look into different products though to work better/easier. Clay can work good for removing debris and rail dust, and a product called Iron X looks good also.

[WilliamPerkins]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

Touching the illnesses of your car could worsen the case,. If you are not that knowledgeable on what you are doing then it is strongly suggest to leave it on the expert,.

[mizzoucat]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

Touching the illnesses of your car could worsen the case,. If you are not that knowledgeable on what you are doing then it is strongly suggest to leave it on the expert,.

But isn't ScratchX pretty much dummy proof? It would take a lot of work to mess up your car using ScratchX.

Anyways, I guess I just want to know if rubbing your clear coat for too long in one area would cause the paint to look like a "dent" in the spot that you rubbed or if I actually pushed hard enough to indent the sheet metal (this seems unlikely). There is absolutely no loss in the gloss so I know I didn't eat through the clear coat. I'm thinking I just rubbed enough clear coat off to make it uneven with the surrounding clear coat. Thoughts?

[mizzoucat]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

Ok, so I took another good look at the spot using the appropriate lighting and it is actually a small dent where I was rubbing. I can't believe I dented my car using ScratchX and a microfiber towel but I guess pressing too hard with one finger in the same spot can cause a dent. Unbelievable!

[slows10]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

What kind of car is it?

[Shawn T.]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

Only if you chuck the bottle at the car LOL

[mizzoucat]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

What kind of car is it?

It's an 07 Toyota Rav4 Limited with Pearl White paint.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

Well, truth be told, if you were working the product that aggressively in such a small space, there's no telling what kind of damage you could do. It's not the ScratchX and it's not the microfiber towel. We've seen people rub through their clear coat with all kinds of products (ours and others) using all kinds of applicators, because they don't realize just how aggressive it can be to rub a small space with a lot of elbow grease for a prolonged period of time.

We don't mean for this to sound harsh, but sometimes you need to back off a bit and look at the progress you're making, or sometimes more importantly, NOT making, and rethink the process. You mentioned rail dust, and a clay bar treatment is generally a faster and easier way to remove that than a paint cleaner like ScratchX is.

[mizzoucat]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

Well, truth be told, if you were working the product that aggressively in such a small space, there's no telling what kind of damage you could do. It's not the ScratchX and it's not the microfiber towel. We've seen people rub through their clear coat with all kinds of products (ours and others) using all kinds of applicators, because they don't realize just how aggressive it can be to rub a small space with a lot of elbow grease for a prolonged period of time.

We don't mean for this to sound harsh, but sometimes you need to back off a bit and look at the progress you're making, or sometimes more importantly, NOT making, and rethink the process. You mentioned rail dust, and a clay bar treatment is generally a faster and easier way to remove that than a paint cleaner like ScratchX is.

Thanks for the help, Mike. I have been using ScratchX here lately when in a pinch instead of a clay bar. It's usually not too difficult to remove the containment with ScratchX but this time it was really stubborn so I had to press a little harder when rubbing. I honestly think I applied enough pressure with my fingers to actually dent the body. It's very minimal and you can only see it at the right angle so I'm just going to live with it. The finish is perfectly fine as the gloss is fully intact.

I did have another quick question regarding rail dust and other debris. On my white car, I get small pieces of metal stuck in the paint that eventually start to show up as tiny rust spots. Is this rail dust or is it some other form of containment? And a clay bar is going to be able to remove these contaminants even if they're deeply embedded in the paint? Thanks for all the help!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

I did have another quick question regarding rail dust and other debris. On my white car, I get small pieces of metal stuck in the paint that eventually start to show up as tiny rust spots. Is this rail dust or is it some other form of containment? And a clay bar is going to be able to remove these contaminants even if they're deeply embedded in the paint? Thanks for all the help!

What you're describing is exactly the way rail dust shows itself. Usually this happens when a vehicle is transported via rail as it leaves the factory, but we've heard of people who work at a rail yard or close to tracks who have recurring rail dust deposits. And, yes, clay is usually the best way to get rid of this as it's usually still slightly above surface.

[gtrspeed]

Re: Can ScratchX "Dent" your finish?

I did have another quick question regarding rail dust and other debris. On my white car, I get small pieces of metal stuck in the paint that eventually start to show up as tiny rust spots. Is this rail dust or is it some other form of containment? And a clay bar is going to be able to remove these contaminants even if they're deeply embedded in the paint? Thanks for all the help!

As Murr said, IronX is becoming fairly popular for removing this particular type of contamination. I've got some on the way to try out on my roommate's white Charger that has the same problem.