Scratch removal

The owner before me took great care of his rig, except for these bizarre scratches on all the outside handles. The ones on the back aren't as bad. Who was driving this thing, Nosferatu? What would work the best to try and remove these, if that's even possible?

 

Are the handles plastic or painted black? If plastic, how deep are the scratches? I know the scratches behind the handle can be polished out with a Porter Cable and 4 inch pads. You may be able to polish out the handle.....maybe.

 

I'm mostly worried about the metal door and not the handles. Don't know what a Porter Cable does. How about the elbow grease method?

 

Porter cable is a DA polisher. I doubt you can remove those by hand unless you can move your hand as fast as a polisher.

 

With years of practice, anything is possible.

 

I'd go at that with some Meguires ScratchX on a microfiber applicator. Followed by a polish and wax-- Meguires Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Liquid Wax (or Meguires Synthetic Sealant #21).

It's gonna take some work, but I bet you could make them look a lot better. Aim for "better" by hand, as opposed to a complete fix. I've got the same scratches under my handles and just a simple wax job can mask the scratches to a good degree.

 

Thanks a lot, I'll give it a try. Looking forward to an exterior detailing once the weather gets better. So, late May sometime.

 

Ah, cool that's a good call too. I'll check em out.

 

Any chance you could post a pic? I've never seen these. Or are you talking about that clear paint protection film that is cut for under the handles? That I have seen. If that's the case, I'd still attempt to clean them up a little before application of the film. If you don't have a pic, no worries.

 

Use a foam applicator pad or microfiber pad...
1 Meguires-Ultimate Compound
2 Meguires-Ultimate Polish or Meguires Scratch X
3 Meguires Ultimate Wax or Meguires Synthetic Sealant 21

Follow these steps and you may not have to even use the compound first just the polish may do then wax to protect/seal.

This happens to everyone's vehicle i believe.I blame women's fingernails for just an example.

 

^^ Totally agree. FYI ScratchX sits between UC and UP in abrasive cut (it sits slightly closer to UC, although we're not exactly comparing apples to apples). In any case, ScratchX finishes really well. It does what it's supposed to do and it's made to be fairly amatuer-proof (as over the counter stuff usually is). What that translates to is... You kinda have to work long and hard to do any damage (and most people won't do that). But if you're persistent, it will improve/remove scratches.

I went after a scratch on my hood (pyrite mica) with ScratchX by hand, and although I didn't get the scratch totally out, I did roll the edges enough so it's not nearly as apparent. Good enough for me. Complete correction isn't always the "best" way to approach a defect.

And the nice thing about the ScratchX was that it didn't "haze". Not one bit on the middle of my 2014 hood. No additional polishing was necessary, as is sometimes the case with a compound. Top it with an oily polish (UP) for filling effect, then some wax... Good to go.

 

https://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=422

Would a Dremel with that felt polishing cone be too abrasive to use? I've gotten some ScratchX finally and picked up the Dremel on a lark. The cone isn't as soft as I thought it would be, wondering if anyone else has used it to buff.

 

I would not use a dremel, those are going to be way too fast RPM wise and you will burn through the paint. Even on the lowest setting it will not end well.

 

I have removed those type of scratches many times and it does not take much effort at all. It's (in my case at least) caused by wife's finger nails, so it is not deep. I use a little scratch remover like Scratch Ex. and polish after that - all by hand; can't get a buffer in there. It should not have to take any more than that, other than clipping your nails to keep it from happening again.

 

Thanks for that advice, I wanted to ask before I went after it.

 

I had the scratches under the handles when I bought mine. Especially on the passenger side. I think the owner's wife had long fingernails and the clear coat on Tacomas seems pretty soft.

10 seconds with a rag and some polishing compound and they completely disappeared.

 

my pro has the same scratches, i have no finger nails, i dont think there is a clear coat, just black paint, mine are worse than yours, havnt tried anything yet to remove them,, just brush up against my paint and it scratches,,

 

I can't remember which colors but I know super white has white and clear mixed together when applied. Some others colors do as well.

 

I used Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0 and it worked great. I think you'll have good luck with that.

Thankfully I did not try to buff it out with a dremel like I was planning

 

Take a look at the carbon fiber door guards by a company called Cupeez, 4 guards for +/- $30. available at cupeez.com or Amazon. I have had them on 2 cars for 3+ years, work great-several neighbors bought them also. Functional, aesthetic-good, little American Co. check it out. Covers existing and prevents ring/fingernail scratches.