Surface scratches covering driver side

Hey all, I've discovered thousands of surface scratches on my 6 month old taco...I do not do any hardcore off-roading. I first discovered them when I took my truck in to get a wash and as wiping excess water off afterwards. I went to a trusted carwash that I've been going to for years and never had any problems.

Anyway, is there anyway to get some of these scratches out? I become morbidly depressed when I approach the driver side of my truck in the right light. Can a paint shop buff a lot of this back to normal or is there some magic compound OTC?

Thanks in advanced.

 

A body shop should be able to get that out, no problem. Maybe some minor wet sanding to smooth out the clearcoat then a good polishing.
Make sure the car wash place is soaking your car good enough before scrubbing it down. The scratches may be from dirt being rubbed into the paint.

 

I'm not a detailing expert, so I'll let others comment on that. But I can tell you that my truck never has (and never will as long as I own it) go through a "touch" car wash. I've seen even the best of them leave noticeable scratches. If you were washing your truck at a place like that, you should stop doing so if you don't want to continue seeing small scratches. Washing your truck by hand using a two bucket method is always much easier on the paint.

 

Lesson learned, thanks for the advice. I've never had this problem there before and I used to pull an audi A4 through it once a week! I was skeptical about this wash though, it seemed like the guy hooked me up too close to the car in front of me and the spinning brush on the driver side was rocking back and forth. I suspect it got too close for safe operation, however, I can't prove for certain that this was from the wash.

I think I'll get a couple quotes from a body shop to look it over and wash by hand from now on.

 

Here's a good place to go for advice...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/detailing.32/

 

Looks perfectly normal to me... that looks like wheeling around brush .... cant have cake and eat it to!

Bro says to get a clay bar and go easy then a good waxing.

Now that you noticed the scratches are you not more concerned with the 2 tone paint color? I have an MGM and everyone I've ever seen has 2 distinctly different colors... the plastic painted parts are a different color than the metal painted parts and its pretty obvious once you notice it.

Hey OP - thank me later for pointing that one out to you... now you won't notice the scratches so much and all you will see is the 2 tone paint job.

 

This. I've seen the results of one of these "car washes" after it rips the wire antenna off of the car in front of it in line, then proceeds to use that new attachment to beat the shit out of the next unfortunate car to enter the wash zone.

I prefer to wash my own vehicles.

 

Carwashes wreck cars all the time. Cant believe anyone still uses them. The touchless isnt much better as the chemicals are insanely strong and will eat clear coat and wax causing paint to fade much quicker. That being said its nothing a little polish seal and wax cant fix. I like mothers california gold for a 3 step nost parts places carry

 

Morbidly Depressed?!?

wow.

 

I'm so sorry.. I'm so sorry .... I'm so sorry... (3X fast) feel better now??... say 3 bro bro bro's and look in the mirror and all will be happy daze again.

 

Are you high?

The off road trd has black wheel fender flares...

 

I can literally make it look better than new if you're in north texas.

 

First off, stop going to automatic car washes. Then get a random orbital polisher and a good polish will clear that up pretty well--it just looks like your clear coat got a little scratched up from moving dirt around the surface (again, why automatic car washes are the devil). Then I would seal the paint with a good sealant (Klasse or Wolfgang) and top it with some wax.

 

Years ago, I saw one of those big spinning brushes that go over the vehicle attach itself to a claw hammer out of the back of a pickup truck and beat the living shit out that truck as it went through. Needless to say, the driver was not very happy. But, hey, who's fault was that? You have to be very careful what you have in the back of a pickup when you go through on of those.

 

Those are swirl marks from bad car washing. Either you washed it with a dirty mitt or took it to a car wash place.

There's 2 ways you can fix it.

1) get a "glaze" that will temporarily fill in the swirl marks and then wax on top of it. Glazes last several months depending on rain/weather conditions.

2) Polish your truck using a buffing compound + yellow or microfiber pad from a dual action polisher.

This is what we call a 50/50 shot in the detailing world. All done without sanding. If you have some time, I'd suggest the 2nd route and read up on the 2 bucket hand wash method.

 

^^^X2. You'd be amazed what a Meguiars cutting microfiber pad on a rupes big foot with some Meguiars #205 would do!

 

As others have said it will definitely come out and it doesn't even look bad.

If you are depressed over that though, good lord i dont know if you're going to make it out alive the first time you drive along a bush.

And I hate to make your future look grim, but I have sustained more "damage" than that from just driving down the highway.

 

I keep hearing this, but my MGM doesn't... I'm glad too... I'm so OCD, it would drive me insane.