Faint Scratches on new Vehicle

h8dirtycars

h8dirtycars

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Ok, this is my third question, and not happy about it.... I thought my new MKX was in pretty much pristine condition, paint and or clear coat wise. Well today I noticed some faint scratches on top of the rear bumper and on the hood. Want to take care of this before I possibly put Xpel on the car.
Pretty upset. Can't really take photos to post as the car is a weird kind of silver (but pretty cool). Lincoln calls it Luxe Metallic. Now, full disclosure. I did run it through a car wash 3 times, before I started learning from this forum. And yes, I'll never do that again. The car was caked with road salt, and dirt, and it was driving me nuts. The first was drive through soft touch, where the attendant dried the car(GASP). The second was a touch-less, in which I dried myself, and the third was soft touch as the first which I dried myself.

Anyway, now I just noticed the micro scratches. I inspected pretty close at different angles and didn't notice any others. Doesn't mean they're not there, hoping they're not. And since the car is kind of light, you have to look at an angle to see the scratches.

Now to the obvious question, how does a beginner take care of this, and what do I use.

Oh, I have been using a spray on wipe off wax quite often that I purchased before registering on AGO. Hence the not mentioning product. It seems pretty light and has a pleasant smell.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.
 
h8dirtycars said:
...today I noticed some faint scratches on
top of the rear bumper and on the hood.
...I just noticed the micro scratches.

how does a beginner take care of this,
and what do I use.
Click to expand...

The only way to remove scratch/swirl
marks, is to polish the paint.

Get some Meguiar's SwirlX/ScratchX...
and go-to-town on those blemishes.


Bob
 
if there are just some isolated scratches then suggestions above should work. if you haven't already, look into ironx/clay and some light polishing. also, if you don't own a DA i would look into purchasing one...
 
Just ordered Meguiar's Scratch Removal combo.
Thanks!
 
Thanks, also, Visitor. However, right now, I think a DA is above my paygrade.........
 
h8dirtycars said:
Thanks, also, Visitor. However, right now, I think a DA is above my paygrade.........
Click to expand...

Hey there, h8.

I was in your position in '12 when I got my new Ram. Although I never went through an automated car wash, I still was a novice instilling swirls in my paint. After a lot of reading on here, I realized what I was doing wrong.

But, it wasn't very bad. I did (and look at the posts above) work my arms to the max by hand, but I was able to get about 85-90% of the swirls I saw out. I then used KAIO polish, and it satisfied me for that time.

After getting a DA polisher, (X-mas sale here at AG on the PC + some pads for just over $100) I realized just how much that money was well spent.

After babying my truck's paint as much as humanly possible after learning from my mistakes from AG, the PC works great for me on my light/medium grey paint.
 
I'm assuming I should start with Meg's Swirl X remover before moving up to the Scratch X. The product description states the SX is non abrasive, and I only see the scratches at angles and when my garage lights them. Would they then be considered swirls and not scratches?
 
Yes, those are swirls. But, you can't remove swirls with a non-abrasive. Only fill/mask them.
 
Thanks, Paul. I think I'll probably move up to a machine when the time is right. Hopefully, what I try with the products I ordered will work. If not, then I'll move nervously to a DA polisher.
 
So the product description is inaccurate in stating the SX will remove swirls?
 
The problem with trying to polish with your hand is no matter how fast or hard you press with your hand you can never get the oscillations of a da and thus you can't achieve the gloss levels that you can with a da and polishing.

You may remove some of the scratches but you may also induce some marring which is quite common when using polishes by hand.

It's kind of like trying to polish a vinyl tile floor by hand versus using a hi speed floor buffer.

To get gloss like this you'll need a da machine.





 
h8dirtycars said:
So the product description is inaccurate in stating the SX will remove swirls?
Click to expand...

Sadly, yes. As to far as the level you would want to see from a complete job on the whole car.

And custmsprty's post is the exact reason why.
 
Wow. Ok then. Thanks for the schooling, I guess the polisher it is then, eventually. I can always practice on the other car which is black, and I'm sure that'll let me know if I'm doing it right.
 
Where do you live? If by chance near Colorado Springs, I will be glad to help you and even let you get experience with both my FLEX3401 and PC. Send a PM if interested. By the way, if you never get a PC or similar polisher, you will always be inexperienced. Orbital polishers are very safe to use. You have to work at it to damage the paint.

So far what hasn't been mentioned is the issue with the touchless car wash. That system is great to get the heavy curd off your car. The "Achilles Heal" in your case is drying the car afterwards. Touchless systems leave a film on the paint surface is most probably a bit abrasive. What I do when I have to use a touchless system is get on the highway right away and air dry the car. When I get home, I then do a rinseless wash (ONR). Having said that, I do not obsess about my car's finish (Subaru Outback) since it is silver. My husband's Outback is Carbide Gray so I do get somewhat upset with the minor imperfections in the paint. I just ignore it all and look forward to warmer weather when I can break out all my detailing supplies and spend what I call "quality time in the garage" for two or three days with each of the Outbacks. If your car is your daily driver, then don't obsess about minor swirls that only you see when the car is parked in your garage. Instead, take satisfaction knowing that your car looks better than probably 99% of all the other cars on the road.

Consider changing your carwash routine to: touchless to remove the heavy crud, then rinsless wash when you get home and have the car in the garage. There are lots of discussion threads on this forum and YouTube relating to rinseless washing.
 
h8dirtycars said:
Thanks, Paul. I think I'll probably move up to a machine when the time is right. Hopefully, what I try with the products I ordered will work. If not, then I'll move nervously to a DA polisher.
Click to expand...

No need to be nervous about a DA. Mike Phillips' videos/advice here on AG will show you tons of info.

It is extremely easy to use a DA. Just watch a few videos, go to work with a DA, and 5 minutes in, you'll be saying to yourself "what in the hell was I nervous about?? This is great!!".
 
Thanks PaulMys. Am leaning towards doing that now, especially after seeing custmsprty's paint!
 
h8dirtycars said:
Thanks PaulMys. Am leaning towards doing that now, especially after seeing custmsprty's paint!
Click to expand...

You aren't kidding. You'd better put a pair of sunglasses on if you are even gonna look at a picture of his finished paint.

Incredible.
 
PaulMys said:
You aren't kidding. You'd better put a pair of sunglasses on if you are even gonna look at a picture of his finished paint.

Incredible.
Click to expand...

Thanks Paul, and yes, I do wear my Maui Jim's when doing my white cars :cool:
 
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