Scratch removal?

Long story short my taco has some serious scratches down the side from a tree after wheeling trip. The scratches i believe are in the clear coat and when i run something over it i feel no edges so im assuming its deffinatly fixable . How would i go about correcting this the easy way without making things worse?

 

Do you have a dual action polisher? If not, you'll need one. The Griots Garage 6" DA is a nice entry level machine. Works best with a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads.

Others opt for the Porter Cable polisher, but the Griots is more powerful and comes with a lifetime warranty.

 

Im not sure. I have a porter cable polisher i believe but it has a 8 or 9 in pad. Iv tried to use it before but for such thin scratches that span the whole vehicle it doesnt seem so practical. Its been used more for polishing wheels on semi trucks. Could i get away with using the drill attachment types of polishers like the Maguires one?

 

You'll risk burning through the clear with a drill (unless you're a rotary polisher Pro). Pick up a six pack of 5.5" pads on autogeek, along with a 5" backing plate for your Porter Cable. You ever know, maybe even an all-in-one polish/sealer would clean up the scratches. Depends on how bad they are. That would be the first thing I'd try. If it doesn't get the scratches, then move to something like Meguiars Ultimate Compound.

There are tons of viable products. Everyone has their favorites. In the end, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, but they all get the job done.

 

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Its a 7in 6 speed neiko buffer.

 

Ok so jusy get smaller backing plate and pads for it then?

 

Yep. I like the Griots Boss and Lake Country Thin-pro pads. They have a thinner profile than older pads and really amp up the corrective ability of DA machines.

If you have scratches in hard to reach places, Griots also has a 3" backing plate and pads. But that's too small for doing entire panels. You'll want to do the entire panels.

 

Ok il have to look into those then. Also probubly going to watch some videos on taking scratches out with a buffer. Also thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

Happy to help. Tons of how-to videos on the autogeek forum. You can learn from some of the best over there.

 

Il go check it out. Thanks!

 

I had some really bad ones I got out by hand with Meguiars ScratchX 2.0.

It worked WAY better than I expected it to, mine were deep enough to catch a fingernail and you can't even see where they might have been at on my driver's side door.

 

You were able to take yours out by hand?

 

Yeah.

I wish I had before/after pics, but it worked surprisingly well! It was my first scratch removal effort, too.

I got some great hints from the "Detailing" forum on this site, surfing that a bit should really help!

This thread specifically:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-remove-scratches-diy.502129/

 

Agreed. ScratchX is great for small, isolated defects. I guess was envisioning pinstripes down the whole side of the truck, in which case I'd opt for a machine.

 

I had a bad set of scratches on part of my driver's side door, the rest were fairly minor.

 

FYI autogeek is running a 24hr sale right now on Griots products. 15% off + free shipping over $50.

 

Il guess il give both a try now lol.