Scratch Remover Recommendations

Ok guys, I goofed yesterday. I took my truck to the wash after a long trip and I saw some sap on my hood. In my infinite wisdom, I used my thumbnail to try and scrape it off. I ended up scratching the hood doing so. (I know, I know, what a stupid thing to do. And no, I don't have wildly untamed fingernails.) I have already tried a pretty un-abrasive scratch remover from Nu Finish that worked well on other scratches but not so much on these. These scratches are a little deeper in the clear coat but not into the paint. I do have a Barcelona Red Taco, so I'm wondering what the best scratch remover/filler would be? I remember when I worked as a detailer in high school we had a big bottle of "clear coat" compound that worked miracles, but I can't really find anything like that when I searched. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. I wish I had a picture of it, but I couldn't snap one this morning since I leave for work when it's dark out still.

 

Not an uncommon goof, my friend. I did the same thing on my wife's car, as well as when I debadged my Taco.

FWIW, I used Meg's Scratch X and Ultimate compound, and neither removed the scratches. In my case, I'll probably end up wet sanding. If you end up doing the same, start with a higher grit first (like 800) and only use a coarser grit if necessary so that you don't remove more clear coat than needed.

 

I was afraid of having to wet sand it. I was hoping some miracle project would exist that I could pay some monies for instead of doing something that scared the crap out of me.

 

ScratchX and a foam applicator pad. Put some muscle behind the pad and keep even pressure across the face of the pad (no fingertips).

 

Fingernail, which is relatively soft, can scratch paint / clearcoat?

 

Take a chunk of Calcite or Gypsum to your paint and rub it on the paint and tell me what happens. Take pictures too.

 

Yes. Just look under your foor handles. Just taking your fingertip and writing "wash me" in dust scratches the paint. I don't even allow people to walk around my truck in the garage to get to the beer fridge because they'll brush the paint and scratch it.

Anything and everything scratches paint.

To the OP I would not recommend wet sanding on Barcelona red on the hood (a very noticable area). Although sanding down the clear coat may be the onlt permanent fix. You risk either marring the clear so bad you can't fix, or buffing right through it.

If you have a DA Polisher use a cutting pad and a decent cutting compound and buff the whole hood (I'm sure you know this). Will likely get most of it out and clean it up so you don't see it.

If the scratch is deep enough to catch a fingernail it's deep enough where Id ask a pro for help fixing it.

 

Exactly! It's crazy what scratches paint.

I didn't think of doing that. I'm also considering doing the clay bar since I've never done it on this truck so that something fills the area before I buff it out. If I can't get it out, I'm worried. Not many areas here with competent detailers, and the ones who are know it and charge accordingly....

 

Clay just decontaminates paint it does not fill. A glaze will fill (do this after buff) but as I understand its like a wax and just hides imperfections for a couple weeks.

 

I didn't know this. I was under the impression that it filled in the unevenness and made the surface as smooth as possible. I still think it is still worth it to do. I have never worked in glaze, always managed to work with my scratches with that clear coat stuff. Maybe it was a glaze and just marketed differently? I think I could glaze the truck frequently, I get 360 days of sun a year here.

 

No it makes the paint smooth by removing all surface contaminants in the paint. Clay is a MUST before any polish/wax/sealer/glaze step. Otherwise you'll rub the contaminants into the paint and cause marring.

I have a white truck but I don't use glazes. I just keep the truck clean and I do a polish once a year. As long as I keep those deeper scratches clean I never see them. This might not be true for a metallic red though.

 

With a DA you'd see improvement. And you're capable of doing it yourself. As said- don't wet sand the hood. Aim for improvement with compound/polish. I would think you'd see 100% correction on a scratch made with a fingernail. For deeper scratches (those you can feel/catch with a fingernail), we just aim for improvement, not total correction. Clear coat is about the thickness of a post-it-note FYI. Also, it's hard. Working by hand actually takes more skill than working with a DA for small defect correction, as you risk putting a "valley" in your paint by focusing pressure on a small area.

Wet sanding would be working backwards in your case-- in my opinion. You'll have an even bigger problem to deal with, and on the hood to boot. Some defects are better left improved rather than corrected.

 

Clay then use something like Menzerna Intensive polish with a DA. Choose your pad for cut and your good to go in any situation pretty much.

 

There is absolutely no reason to wet sand. There are plenty of polishes out there that will remove a scratch from a fingernail. Never ever start with wet sanding as that should be last resort before taking to a body shop.

 

I have tried the Meguiar's Scatch X 2.0 before and I was not really impressed. The auto shop I work at during the summer has a DA polisher they sometimes use before they'll sell a car and I have been impressed on the scratches they can can cover up.

 

I should have clarified my post. OP should always start with a polish/compound and go from there. I tried both with a DA, and MY results didn't change. Hence why I said "for what it's worth."

But, since were on the same topic, this is the damage I have.


I can BARELY catch a couple of them with my thumb nail, but the rest are completely smooth to the touch. Again, caused by a fingernail. Was I doing something wrong? What type of pad should OP and I be using? Should we clay bar the surrounding areas before trying Scratch X (again for me)?

 

What type/brand pad did you already try? And what polish/compound?

Megs Ultimate Compound on a Lake Country Orange pad might be a good place to start. Slow arm speed, moderate pressure, speed 5 on the DA?

 

Given the what I see in the pics that should come out with a DA. What was the setup you were using?

 

I've gone the "college student budget" route so far. Harbor Freight Variable DA polisher with the orange cutting pad. I first tried Ultimate compound, then after seeing that didn't work, I cleaned the area and tried the same setup with Scratch X. ~4000rpm, light to moderate pressure both times.

A neighbor of mine used to do car paint jobs (among the other many things he's done over his lifetime) and now does wood restoration projects, so he has a fair amount of experience in the art of "finishes." He suggested that I start with 1000 grit and LIGHTLY wetsand, then move to 2000. This was supposed to be my project last weekend, but after reading everyone's responses, I'm glad I waited.

 

I would not wet sand that, not without experience. Like Ace said should be something you can get out with a DA Polisher. You probably aren't using an aggressive enough compound. I personally do not care for Mequire's anything. Some of the detailers here use the higher quality stuff and stand behind it, their cheaper stuff I think sucks.
I would go with a more professional quality compound and buff slow. Don't do fast passes, take your time. I would say you might want to look into a two-stage polish. That scratching is decent. Might take a compound with a little more umpf to buff it out.