*Official* Ask A Detailer Thread

No, but if it's the only way to fix it I'll look into getting one

 

Any part of the scratches that you can catch with a fingernail? Even if buffing doesn't remove them, it will certainly make them harder to spot, maybe even well enough that only you will be able to spot it in the right lighting.

 

There is a small part that catches on my nail, the rest feels ok. Just wondering if there's a recommended compound to buff them out?

 

I’ve tried several waxes and ceramic sprays, and everything on the truck beads up real nice other than the bottom 1/3 of my doors where the road spray and slush gets on it this time of year. Anyone got anything that will hold up to that and keep me protected during winter months?

 

I don't know if there is an absolute answer on what the abrasive/pad combination should be. Here is one of the better Youtube channels for detailing and he just covered something similar just the other day showing one method of fixing something like this. You should have similar paint as it seems the Japanese paints are all thin and soft clear coats.



Someone else could chime in on how they removed similar scratches but then with the exact same method you could get different results on your paint. Mowing it down with compound will cause you to level A LOT of paint all around the scratches that are perfectly fine. So in a few years when you get a scratch near that you wont be able to fix it as you've already removed too much clear. Or in a few more years the because the clear coat has been thinned out there you'd start UV failure because you compounded away too much clear.

 

I'm using Cquartz lite on mine and I noticed the same when I go up to the mountain areas north of here (or even wet road driving). I've found that washing with Carpro Reset usually brings the beading back. Even if you had a high end pro grade coating you'd still need to wash with something strong like Reset to bring the beading back after you've driven through a lot of brine slurry roads.

 

Ok thanks, so you would guess the coating is still there, so washing with the reset and I shouldn’t need to reapply? Like I said, the rest of the truck beads up really nice, just the area that gets the most road trash seems to lose it. I’ll give that a try and see if it comes back.

 

Reset has a reputation that it will strip waxes and sealants, but it just doesn't. It's an aggressive soap and generally one of the few highly recommended for coating maintenance as it also doesn't leave gloss enhancers or waxes etc behind. I'm not even in an area that the roads are brined regularly but I have run through a few areas that have these last few weeks and have had the exact thing happening on my truck you describe. Everthing a few inches below the door handles isn't beading, everything else above is beading as i'm doing the initial power wash. After the wash with reset and I'm power rinsing it down, the beading is restored.

Now obviously whatever product you use in the consumer realm is likely going to fail first on those bottom panels in the winter time in the northern areas. If you're using some kind of ceramic/sio2/silica type spray feel free to apply more after you do your wash with Reset to build it back up. Unless you're using a product activated by water I would have it fully dry and then apply to the lower panels, you generally get the best effect out of it. If possible try to do this with as much of a 24 hour cure as you can get. If everywhere else is beading fine, no need to reapply there.

You can also get this kind of effect when washing with something like Dawn or when using too much of a car soap and it's not rinsing all off but leaving a film behind which changes the water behavior. Since this isn't happening on the entire truck, don't think that's what's happening here.

 

Very helpful. Thanks, I’ll give it a try.

 

Awesome, thanks for your help

 

That's an excellent how to video from one of the best You Tube detailing channels.

 

BASTARDS!!

 

Best swirl remover please and thank you.

 

By hand or machine? How bad are the swirls? What color truck? Some details would be helpful. Swirls mean different things to different people

 

White. Machine. Mine aren't quite this bad.

 

I would try carpro essence or griots BOSS perfecting creme with a lake country black pad first. If that doesnt do it then an orange pad using those same products.
If you need more correcting power then try carpro clear cut or griots BOSS correcting creme on a orange pad and if more correcting is needed go with a more aggressive pad like a microfiber cutting pad or a yellow foam pad from lake country.
The idea is to use the least aggressive pad and polish as possible that will get the job done.
Be aware that if you already have pads and they are a different brand then the colors vs correcting power may be different feel lake country so check your pad manufacturer.
Also you will need 5 to 10+ pads to do the whole truck.
You need to wash and decontaminate before you polish. After a good wash, make sure you use some kind of iron remover spray and then do a full clay treatment. The clay can be real or synthetic clay mitt or towel.

What kind of polisher, pads, and compound or polish do you have?

 

i've got a 2016 in white, which is different than most other paint as it's supposed to be single stage. I picked up a basic $100 paint depth gauge several months ago and took some readings. At several places on the truck the paint is barely thicker than what can be found in the door jams. I've read that newer Japanese paints typically read around 5 mils at best. But that is talking a paint job with a clear coat over base, not single stage white. I was seeing plenty of spots with high 3s or low 4s. The paint was by far the thinest near the top of the bed.

I polished mine with a few quick passes with Sonax perfect finish and the yellow Griots BOSS pad (similar to Lake Country thin white pad). Didn't really need correction and you can't see swirls on the white much anyway, especially in the sun. Did mostly for enhancement and to clean up the sio2 spray sealant I was using to lay down Cquartz Lite.

 

Interesting about the paint gauge. I need to get one myself. I wonder if place of manufacture matters....our 4Runner was made in Japan. Different countries/ different regulations.

 

Tried looking back but with 200+ pages I probably missed it. Best product to use on a Pro grille to keep it clean in between washes?

 

Think it all matters, it could even come out of the same plant and have different readings. That's why the pro detailers always give the advise to test it, don't assume what worked the last time. Also you never know some idiot at the dealership could be hacking on it with a rotary.

Or in the case of my buddy's Nissan where the entire passenger side of his car reads twice as thick as the driver. So clearly a repaint and is going to likely behave differently than the other side when it comes to polishing.