I woke up to these scratches :(

slickooz

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Hi guys I need a little help. When I woke up today I noticed there were a few scratches on my front passenger car.

I might be able to compound and polish the lighter ones but there one that is deeper that I might need to sand down a bit.


Deeper scratch that nail get caught in.
IMG_1116.jpg



IMG_1115.jpg



IMG_1114.jpg



Deeper scratch that nail get caught in.
IMG_1113.jpg


IMG_1112.jpg


What do you guys think? Right now there is no way I can get it repainted but want to make it look better. I think the lighter ones I can get rid of but there 1 or 2 that my finger nail gets stuck when passing by. I also have touch up paint with a really fine brush. Can I out down some touch up paint on the deeper scratch and sand it down with 2000 grit and then compound and polish it out?


Any help is much appreciated. Thanks for looking.
 
Re: I woke up to this :(

Those should wet sand out no problem man. Soak some 2000 grit in some warm water, wet the area, and sand it down. A rotary, wool pad and some 105, then a finish foam pad with some 205. You'll be good to go. IMO of course.:dblthumb2:
 
Re: I woke up to this :(

Those should wet sand out no problem man. Soak some 2000 grit in some warm water, wet the area, and sand it down. A rotary, wool pad and some 105, then a finish foam pad with some 205. You'll be good to go. IMO of course.:dblthumb2:

Thanks! I have seen some of the scratches you fixed and you do an amazing job. I only have a DA and orange and white pads. Should I try it with DA or wait until a couple months until I get an rotary?
 
Re: I woke up to this :(

Thanks! I have seen some of the scratches you fixed and you do an amazing job. I only have a DA and orange and white pads. Should I try it with DA or wait until a couple months until I get an rotary?
Sand it with 2000 then 3000. Pick up some surbuf pads and M105 to use with your DA. That combo should be able to remove 3000 grit sanding marks. Can anyone confirm this?
 
Would it be safe to get wetsand 2000 and 3000 grit from any auto store? I also don't have M105 but I have a gallon of M95. Think Meguiar's ult compound would replace the M105 working with the DA? I can prob burrow my friend Dewalt with this wool pads to try to remove these. Thanks a lot guys!!!

Also when working with wet sand do I need to buy a block so that I can wrap the sand paper around it?
 
Would it be safe to get wetsand 2000 and 3000 grit from any auto store? I also don't have M105 but I have a gallon of M95. Think Meguiar's ult compound would replace the M105 working with the DA? I can prob burrow my friend Dewalt with this wool pads to try to remove these. Thanks a lot guys!!!

Also when working with wet sand do I need to buy a block so that I can wrap the sand paper around it?
M95 with a rotary and wool will work fine, but M95 is not meant for use with a DA. I'd definitely use M105 instead of UC for removing sanding marks.

I've never bought wet sanding paper from an Auto Parts store, so I can comment on that. You don't NEED a block to sand with, but it won't hurt either.
 
M95 with a rotary and wool will work fine, but M95 is not meant for use with a DA. I'd definitely use M105 instead of UC for removing sanding marks.

I've never bought wet sanding paper from an Auto Parts store, so I can comment on that. You don't NEED a block to sand with, but it won't hurt either.

I bought 1500 grit from Pepboys and I used them for headlights and they did a good job. Never tried it on paint yet. Going try it on my dad beater to see how it works.
 
I wouldnt hit them with 1500 if you dont have to. 2000 should get it and 3000 will smooth it out even better. Surbuf will definitly get 3000 sanding marks out, I've had great success with removing 2000 grit sanding marks with surbuf so 3000 should be a breeze.
 
I wouldnt hit them with 1500 if you dont have to. 2000 should get it and 3000 will smooth it out even better. Surbuf will definitly get 3000 sanding marks out, I've had great success with removing 2000 grit sanding marks with surbuf so 3000 should be a breeze.

Can orange pad with ult compound get rid of 3000 grit? I kind of want to get it fixed fast but If I need to buy some other stuff to have a great finish I rather do that.

I might be able to burrow my friend rotary and wool pad so I can use M95 on it then finish it off with my DA.

Does Surbuf on DA have same amount of cut as a wool pad on rotary?

Edit:
The first pic, is it down to the primer?
 
Im sure an orange pad can remove 3000 grit sanding scratches. I havent tried that combo but it sounds like it would work. I prefer to use M105 instead of UC when removing sanding marks (esp if using a DA) because of the extra bite M105 has over UC
 
While the minor scratches should polish out with little effort I'm a bit more concerned with the deeper one.

The thickness of clear-coat layer on today's cars is "about" .001 thick. This means a little more and a little LESS.

When I look at the photo the scratch is deep enough to cast a shadow on the upper edge. The photo of the larger scratch looks like it may already be through both color and clear. Without inspecting it in person it's hard to tell.

Wet sanding certainly has its place but can result in removing more material that planned resulting in breaking through the clear. Once this happens the only recourse if repainting.. I'm not saying not to sand but I wouldn't start with less than 2000 grit. Take you time and go slow monitoring your progress as you go.
 
Re: I woke up to this :(

Sand it with 2000 then 3000. Pick up some surbuf pads and M105 to use with your DA. That combo should be able to remove 3000 grit sanding marks. Can anyone confirm this?

check out this thread (you'll have to type it in the search) over on Autopia...

" Surbuf Pad paired with M105 and PC is a defect killer! "
 
I would use caution in doing this as Acura paint tends to be in the 95-115 micron range. Some of those are through the clear IMO. Making them look better is safer than trying to fully remove them and risk sanding through the clear!!!

I was able to remove DA wet sanding marks from my car with an orange LC pad in one section pass. Sanding by hand will likely leave tracers behind if you haven't done it before which can be difficult to remove for some people.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...et-sanding-cutting-buffing-using-only-da.html

Rasky
 
Can orange pad with ult compound get rid of 3000 grit? I kind of want to get it fixed fast but If I need to buy some other stuff to have a great finish I rather do that.

I might be able to burrow my friend rotary and wool pad so I can use M95 on it then finish it off with my DA.

Does Surbuf on DA have same amount of cut as a wool pad on rotary?

Edit:
The first pic, is it down to the primer?

I made a couple attempts to remove wet sand scratches with the DA with poor results. BUT, I am used to using a rotary to begin with. DA is really not my strong suit. I know a rotary with a wool pad, and some 105 will take out 2000 grit scratches no problem.

Like 07 said though. If you use 2000, then step it up with 3000...you'll probably have much better luck using the DA.

If you ask me...I would borrow that rotary. IMO it will make the process much quicker, and do a better job. Some might say it's the aggressive approach...but that really depends on how you use that rotary.

If you saw that post I put up recently with the scratched fender and bumper...that is the exact process I would use on those scratches, just in a much smaller scale for this job.:dblthumb2:
 

Deeper scratch that nail get caught in.


I would not try to remove this scratch, as doing so will likely remove the clear coat near/around the vicinity of the scratch.

Do you have full coverage?





 
After looking at those photos more closely again. I would say you really only have one scratch that is gonna cause you a problem.

If you wet sand it...just don't get it in your head that it's gotta be completely visibly gone. All you want to do with that one, is smooth it out. Once you sand it down a bit, compound, then polish...it will barely be recognizable. Up real close, you'll probably still see it a little bit, but it will blend right in.

Also, I noticed you were talking about 1500 grit. Don't bother with 1500. I only use 1500 when trying to work on orange peel. Whenever you're working with scratches like this...2000-3000 is plenty. Good luck man! :dblthumb2:
 
looks like a shopping cart mark .....

Maybe I was at Kmart yesterday. Great timing I have a 20 off 150 and love the free shipping.

After sanding down that deep scratch, should I just put touch up paint on it? The other ones I'm sure it shouldn't be too much removing them.

I'm finally going order the foam cannon, I wanted to know if its worth it? It will def make you look more professional when washing a client car, but do you guys get tired of it and don't use it anymore?
 
Slick that sucks man....didnt you just get that car painted?
 
Be very careful on Japanese clear though. It is pretty thin and soft. At least on the Subaru I had. I tried blending some clear coat cracks on my 05 STi from where some subaru "mechanic' closed my hood with his hand and dented the hood and cracked the clear; STi hoods are aluminum. Just using the orange cutting side of a Wolfgang German Polish N’ Wax Applicator, and some XMT4 compound I cut through the clear and start getting the blue paint on the applicator. I probably rubbed too hard, and the spot was on the very nose of the hood so it was worn from daily driving and bugs and debris. But, I learned a valuable lesson not to under estimate the power of the combo I was using even by hand. Just start out least aggressive product and go up until you start removing the scratches. Keep checking you pad and the area you are polishing to make sure you aren't pulling up clear or base coat. If you wet sand and start with 2000 grit, start out letting the paper cut and if it needs more pressure apply a little at a time until you get results. And keep it wet and clean while sanding. Good luck and show the results.
 
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