Removing Surface Scratches ?

T

tranceduden

Member
I got a couple of nasty surface scratches on my hood, no idea how who or why but I want to know if there is an easy way of removing them without damaging the paint ? Anyone has any experience with doing that on 2010 FX's ? (these do not have self healing paint)

TIA
 
1. Wash the area were the scratches are at.

2. Use a clay bar to remove micro contaminants in the clear coat.

3. If the scratches are that deep use heavy duty compound to polish the scratches.

4. Then finish it off with a fine finishing polish.



I recommend that you use a buffer to do this since using your hand will probably not bring the best results. If you must use your hand :laugh:, then use a foam applicator pad to apply the compound and polish.

If the scratches are reallly really deep, you'll need to take it to a professional and have them wetsand the scratch and compound and polish it. If you can feel the scratch with your finger nail, nothing you do will completely bring it out, only it will lighten up.
 
If your not too familiar with taking scratches out sometimes its best to just bring it somewhere and have them take care of it because you could make it worse. Best bet is to bring it into an auto detail shop or an auto body. But depending on the depth of the scratch if its bad I usually sand it down with 1500/2000 grit sand paper with water then go over it with 2500 grit to fine it out. Then buff over it with a semi abrasive compound, go over it with some glaze then wax it up and it'll be like new !

.. Aaron beat me to it. Very true ( if you can feel it with your finger nail its not coming out ) so you may want to get some touch up paint. And a buffer is the best way to go.
P.S I've been detailing cars at my parents shop since I was 10, I can explain a lot but I can go on forever. So many different compounds and materials you can use and it all depends on the scratch and paint.
 
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Fire0nic3 said:
1. Wash the area were the scratches are at.

2. Use a clay bar to remove micro contaminants in the clear coat.

3. If the scratches are that deep use heavy duty compound to polish the scratches.

4. Then finish it off with a fine finishing polish.



I recommend that you use a buffer to do this since using your hand will probably not bring the best results. If you must use your hand :laugh:, then use a foam applicator pad to apply the compound and polish.

If the scratches are reallly really deep, you'll need to take it to a professional and have them wetsand the scratch and compound and polish it. If you can feel the scratch with your finger nail, nothing you do will completely bring it out, only it will lighten up.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips, I can't feel the scratches with a finger nail so that's good news I guess. So should I just use a clay bar without the heavy duty polish ? Are these supplies available in automotive parts stores ?

My only experience doing this before was on my previous car and when I used touch up paint from the dealer it wasn't even matching the color of the car, I guess because it was a 3 coat paint or something. I'm paranoid doing this myself.:confused.:
 
A clay bar is not neccesary to remove scratches. It only cleans and preps the surface for polishing.

Don't use a heavy duty compound first. Start off with the least aggressive polish first. I heard Meguairs ScratchX is a good polish to use by hand. They sell it at Autozone. Apply it with a foam applicator and remove it with a nice microfiber towel.

If your wanting some better products, I can give you some links to products on a website I know where I buy all my supplies from.

Automotive touch up paints usually never come out perfect if it's a metallic based paint. The reason why is cause you'll never be able to get the flakes in the paint to lay out perfectly like it's done when the car is sprayed and makes the color look off compared to the surrounding surface.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fire0nic3 said:
A clay bar is not neccesary to remove scratches. It only cleans and preps the surface for polishing.

Don't use a heavy duty compound first. Start off with the least aggressive polish first. I heard Meguairs ScratchX is a good polish to use by hand. They sell it at Autozone. Apply it with a foam applicator and remove it with a nice microfiber towel.

If your wanting some better products, I can give you some links to products on a website I know where I buy all my supplies from.

Automotive touch up paints usually never come out perfect if it's a metallic based paint. The reason why is cause you'll never be able to get the flakes in the paint to lay out perfectly like it's done when the car is sprayed and makes the color look off compared to the surrounding surface.
Click to expand...

Thanks, can you PM me those links ?
 
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