Advice on removing heavy scratch marks?

[gtb007]

I have a 2001 Mazda 323 with dark blue paintwork and I've kept it in pretty good nick but I'm new to the forum here. My paintwork has got some heavy scratch marks on it and I've just bought a DA polisher to get the imperfections out of my paintwork. First I tried the least aggressive way to get the swirls and scratches out, but there were a few scratches left behind. The I tried a heavier compound (Meguires Ultimate Compound) and the heavy scratchmarks remain. Are there any suggestions on what product I should try next? As I'm pretty new to this I need all the help I can. Thanks....Feed back please

 

[maximus20895]

What type and size pad were you using with the Ultimate Compound?

 

[polishdoc]

What type of pads are you using ?
Can you post some photos so we can see the extend of the scratches!

Ideally when using Ultimate Compound you should refine to a finer Polish like M205 or Menzerna 85RD with a White Polishing Pad or Black Finishing Pad .
Perhaps the scratches that you mention is just the haziness left by the Ultimate Compound , if that is the case follow the steps above to refine the paint to a high gloss finish .

Let us know how you go !


Mario

 

[gtb007]

I am using a Lake Country 6.5" Orange pad. I will try andpost some photos also.

 

[polishdoc]

I am using a Lake Country 6.5" Orange pad. I will try andpost some photos also.

Lake Country 6.5" Orange Pad shouldn't create too many scratches even when used with Ultimate Compound ! Are you breaking down the polish enough ?

Although these polishes don't need too much working as they use SMAT ( Super Micro Abrasive Technology ) . The abrasives don't break down like diminishing abrasives they stay the same therefore they work very quick .

What speed are you working the Ultimate Compound ?

Mario

 

[gtb007]

I first tried speed 5 and saw that the scratches were still there so I bumped it up to 6 and yes I'm breaking the polish down using 6 passes north/south and east/west. After using UC on the Lake Country orange pad I then used Meguires deep crystal polish with Lake Country white pad.

 

[polishdoc]

I first tried speed 5 and saw that the scratches were still there so I bumped it up to 6 and yes I'm breaking the polish down using 6 passes north/south and east/west. After using UC on the Lake Country orange pad I then used Meguires deep crystal polish with Lake Country white pad.

I can see why you are not achieving the results that you want !
You are using UC first and you are breaking up the compound which is good .

The problem you are having is that you are not following it up with a proper polish , like the M205 or Menzerna 85RD which contain abrasives and they were designed to remove compounding swirl marks and haziness which is left by this process .

The Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish is used as a third step , I don't see the necessity to use this product because what you are doing in the final stages is that you are filling not removing !

Use M205 or the Menzerna 85RD with Lake Country White Polishing Pad and it will fix this problem once and for all !
If you follow up with Isopropyl alcohol after you have polished with Deep Crystal Polish you will see that it's only filled not removed the paint defects ( swirl marks , haziness )

As a final LSP ( Last Step Product )
If you really want deep gloss use Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint sealant it's a great product and it will leave your paint looking really wet almost 3D !
You can apply by hand or DA with a LC finishing Pad ( Black or Red) which I prefer ! Use speed 3 with your DA and overlapping motions do one panel at a time ! Let dry until it hazes over then wipe off and stand back and admire your hard work !

I hope that has helped

Good luck !


Mario

 

[tuscarora dave]

Can you feel the scratches with your fingernail? Lightly pull the edge of your fingernail across the scratch, if you feel a click or you nail catches in the scratch it is too deep to polish out safely or without removing too much clear coat to do so.

Also, 6.5" pads are hard to keep rotating with DA polishers..Is the pad rotating as you are working the compound? If not I suggest moving to a smaller pad like a 5.5" or even a 4" pad to deal with the deeper scratches. Meg's UC is really not that aggressive of a compound either so it may take more passes than you expected and a smaller pad because if the pad isn't rotating well then you aren't getting that good of correction with it.
icture:
Good luck and don't get too frustrated.

 

[Garry Dean]

We need pics of the scratches. If a few passes with UC and Orange don't take them out I would suggest finding someone who can wetsand them out for you.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

The problem you are having is that you are not following it up with a proper polish , like the M205 or Menzerna 85RD which contain abrasives and they were designed to remove compounding swirl marks and haziness which is left by this process .

Mario's correct. The Deep Crystal Polish is a non-abrasive polish like the #7, it's not intended to remove defects, just amp up gloss and a few other thing depending upon what you're working on.


Also keep in mind when you're buffing out a car that the first things you'll remove are the shallow scratches, what remains are the deeper scratches and now that you've removed the thousands of shallow scratches surrounding the deeper scratches the deeper scratches will stand out like a sore thumb.

These are called RIDS and if the car in question has a thin, factory finish and is a daily driver you're better off learning to live with them then try to remove the 100%

See these two threads...

RIDS - The Definition of RIDS and the story behind the term...


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/35590-my-first-clearcoat-burn.html

 

[gtb007]

Thanks or all the tips guys, I will put it to the test all the suggestions this week end and follow up on this thread, thanks again....