The trails I use aren't very forgiving to the paint due to overgrowth, branches, roots and other things so after a good wheeling trip Ive got some pretty good scratches along the sides of the truck that we call "Mother Natures Pinstriping".
Constant buffing and polishing removes material/paint and while trying to keep the truck nice, it will still see a lot of off-road use.

I came across this stuff.......Amazon.com: Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0: Automotive

Meguiars Scratch X 2.0

Using little dabs of this stuff on a microfiber towel and some elbow grease, these are the results:
Before

After

Before

After


I didn't get finished today but I plan on washing the truck and updating this thread after a little time in the weather. I am amazed so far!

impressive.

I wonder how this stuff works on black.... here's what all my AZ pinstriping looks like after dust collects off-road, it's even worse on my flares and doors.

Attached Images

 

Scratch X is amazing! One of my friends introduced me to it a couple of years ago when I bought my Rav4 the previous owner had apparently driven under trees a lot, the entire roof and a lot of the hood looked awful! Scratch X made it look new again! It worked awesome on my 4Runner too!!

It has a fine grit to it that breaks down as you rub so if you have been working on an area and move to another one and it seems to not be working as well (even though your towel is still wet) try putting a little more product on the towel.. It may have broken down too much to work.
We have found that using a couple drops at a time works the best so that you're constantly refreshing it without using a ton of it.

Just make sure you wax it after cause the scratch x will take off any type of protective coating you have on it.

Right on, thanks! I'll have to try it now for sure

Is it actually polishing out the scratches or just filling them in temporarily?

Almost a year later and several washes and the scratches have not returned! I have some new ones though....This is some good stuff.

For the most part filling. It does have some abrasives that round off the edges of a scratch to make them less apparent.

Does anyone know of a way to prevent or reduce these scratches? Will wax help?

Sweet. I've destroyed the paint on my wife's truck, I'll give this stuff a shot.

I think your best bet is 3M paint defender.

Has anyone tried 3M spray on Paint defender?

I think the bad reviews outweigh any positives of that product for me.

I tried some Collinite 845 today because people say it offers good protection, but it doesn't seem any different than my 3M paint sealant. There is almost nothing left behind except a smooth water repellent finish. It might help brush slide across the paint, but I don't think there's really any wax over the clearcoat. Maybe there's some that fills in microscopic scratches and swirl marks, but I couldn't tell in the evening light. It's possible that I'm applying it wrong; I will look into it and see if I can get different results on the other panels. I'm also considering doing half the car with it and the other half with the 3M sealant stuff to see how they compare. This is the 3M product I have:
http://www.amazon.com/3M-39030-Perfo...dp/B000PGEMQM/

I think scratch-x is more abrasive than filling, but it's possible that it also has some solvents/fillers that soften/fill/blend/smooth the clearcoat. It smells more solvent-y than simple abrasive paste. I've been using it on some deep scratches on the back where it looks like the previous owner opened the tailgate under the garage door. It works slowly but I've made good progress there.

Has anyone tried Optimum opti-coat 2.0 to prevent scratches? It sounds almost like a second clearcoat, and it's supposed to last between 2 years-forever depending on what you read. It adds 2-3 microns of thickness according to the manufacturer.

Does Scratch X remove paint if you use it a lot?