Scotch Brite scratch removal

Glad to now be a member of the forum, after been lurking for awhile. Unfortunately though, I'm in a bit of a debacle. My gf was nice enough wash my 2 month old '14 reg cab but by the time I intervened, she had already scrubbed the front bumper, grille, a little bit of the hood, and headlights, and front few inches of the front fenders with a scotch brite pad... My stomach sunk when i washed away the suds...

I've managed to get out most of the scuffs and lights scratches out of the hood with scratch-x, but was looking for suggestions on how to go about doing the same for the bumper, fenders and headlights. Its a base reg cab, so this is all the black plastic.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

You need to break up with her man!

 

Change girlfriends?

That sucks man. Some of those scratches will be hard to get out. Very light rubbing compound followed by a cleaner wax then a sealer should help some. But, I'm afraid if they are pretty deep it will still be noticeable.

 

Take it to a decent detail shop and let them buff it out. Any decent shop should be able to get the scratches out no problem.

 

Well, scratched in your clear cost can probably be removed through a "clay bar" treatment. But scratches in the plastic are there to stay. You can discuss them though so they are less noticeable. There are lots of these products on the market. I have personally not had good luck with them.

You could always paint the trim. If you did that you could put a filler, like Bondo, on it and then paint it.

For the front lights they do sell products to remove the scratches but in my experience you'll be better off saving your money and replacing the covers.

 

This. x2

 

Hehe, she probably feels crappier than I do.

I'm also fearing it'll be all to noticeable. Aside from replacing all affected areas, would it be logical to have a shop paint to match the rest of the body? I wouldn't mind if it were a few years old, but it isn't.

Edit: thanks for the suggstions

 

oy..... WHAT THE HELL was she thinking using a god damn scotch brite pad!!!! Microfiber / terry cloth towels ONLY!!!

Clay bar the shit out of that poor truck and ill say a prayer as well.... seriously consider trading in the girlfriend .... damn girl better make it up to you, steak dinners n blowjobs for weeks.

 

Shit happens , take it to a detailer

 

Scratch her grill with that pad, see how she likes it.

 

My aunt painted my uncle's truck for him once...with barn paint and a brush!

 

awww, that sucks, but that was also very nice of her for thinking of you

 

You can't polish the black plastic. You can try to hide it with something like plastic restorer but you won't ever remove the scratches unless you get it re finished.

As for the paint if the scratches didnt come out with what you used you should take it to get it professionally fixed.

 

Bum mer.
Poor girl, she was trying to help. Body shop will buff it out.

 

LOL. This is why girls and their scotch brite pads need to stay in the kitchen! Joking! joking! JOKING! Well ... maybe not joking. No no, I'm joking. I think. No, I'm really joking. Maybe. Uhhhh.

Seriously she sounds awesome. My wife would never wash my truck in a million years!

Good luck getting it fixed!

 

I feel for ya bro... That would be super tough to go through. Hopefully a good detailer can fix it

 

I feel for ya bro... That would be super tough to go through. Hopefully a good detailer can fix it

 

It would just make her teeth whiter


It does suck man. At least she was trying to help out and do something nice. My wife is almost as OCD when it comes to cleaning her car as I am with my truck so I wouldn't worry about my wife washing my truck. Live and learn. She'll never do that again.

 

Well I got two estimates and I'll be going with the cheapest at $990. Both said they couldn't do anything for the grille and bumper cover since its plastic and there were to many deep scratches, so those will be replaced.

I'll be covering the cost, but the gf will be getting me some general at2's for a very early christmas gift.

 

color matched? imo that looks better, i think you could get a good body shop to spray over plastic, i know some say it doesn't hold up well, but i've had good experience