Getting rid of the scratches?

[dcampen]

Well, I took my truck down a 4WD trail in the Mojave desert last week. I had bushes scraping against the right side of the truck (it was the lesser of several evils). Now I have scratches in my paint. It seems like it didn't go past the clearcoat. When I washed the truck and was drying it with chamois the scratches disappear when there is a thin layer of water but as soon as the water evaporates I can see them again. I can feel the scratches when I rub my fingernail across the paint.

How should I fix this? Should I use Griots #3 polishing compound, clearcoat touchup paint, Zaino's wax or some combination?

 

[V8Limited4wd]

1) wash with dishwasher soap
2) claybar
3) wash with car wash
4) dry completely with no water spots
5) apply zaino's scratch and swirl remover polish with their ZFX
do at least two coats


i just finished detailing my suv today and i was shocked how shiny she was afterwards... literally a mirror shine. and i only did one coat with zfx & z-2! I'm gonna do 2 more coats tomorrow on my day off.

 

[momo.75]

You should be able to polish them out, it just depends on how severe they are as to how much work will be involved. I would suspect that the branches would not cut through the paint so you should be in good shape.

If you want some good tips, go to this link and download the pdf. I am not saying that you need to buy Griot's stuff but it will help you determine how bad the scratches might be and what direction to go.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/support.jsp

I agree with V8Limited4wd on the steps, but without seeing the scratches first hand it is hard to say how much work it would take.

 

[dcampen]

I got a small bottle of fine polishing compound in a Plasti-kote touchup paint accessory kit that I got from Brandsport. I will try that first, this should take out the lessor of the scratches. Some of the scratches are a bit deeper, probably more that I want to try to polish out but still don't appear to have penetrated through the basecoat. On these deeper scratches I think I may use a touch of Plasti-kote clearcoat, I may even thin the clearcoat a bit before use.

I did paint touchup on my wife's Camry yesterday and I have Zaino products on order. In 2 weeks I will wash, claybar and Zaino "polish" the Camry. After that maybe I can do the same for my 4Runner.

As an aside, Zaino needs to come up with a better term than "polish" for their products. They aren't polishing compounds, it seems that they aren't a wax; more like "high gloss polymer sealant".

I decided to use Zaino products over Griot's because it seemed like the Zaino products could be applied with a lot less effort than the Griot carnuba wax products. I did order some cloth towels for polish removal and also a window cleaning package from Griot, I probably should have also ordered some hand polishing compound and pads from Griot.

 

[SteveM]

I would venture an opinion that if you could catch it with a fingernail that it won't polish out.

 

[dcampen]

The Zaino's helped with the very light scratches, the ones that you can see but not feel. As SteveM said anything that you can actually feel when you run your fingernail over it can still be seen. I will have to get some Griot's hand polish, if that doesn't work then clearcoat but I will wait 'till I get some more scratches before trying polish and clearcoat.

 

[405HP_Z06]

I would start with Poorboys SSR2 and see if that takes them out. If not, use SSR3 lightly and follow up with SSR1 and then Professional Polish and finishing off with EX-P. All available here:

http://www.poorboysworld.com/

Menzerna is also a great product. I use both PW and MZ on my Vette with great results. Try the Intensive Polish followed by the Final Polish. Even if you don't have any scratches, Final polish will give the paint an awesome shine that will enchance whatever wax or sealant you use. Menzerna here:

http://www.properautocare.com/mengerbespol.html

Good luck!

 

[linhsy]

405HP_Z06,

do u think Klasse AIO considers as good final polish?

 

[405HP_Z06]

405HP_Z06,

do u think Klasse AIO considers as good final polish?

AIO is great! Haven't tried it on the Runner yet, but have used it in the past with great success! It's more than a final polish, it's 'All In One' just like the name implies. If you happen not to like it on your car, it works great on bathroom tile. Nothing sticks to it, including soap scum.

 

[linhsy]

Thanks! I'm waiting for the order. It will come this week I will try it on this weekend. I also get the UPP which is the sealant. I will put it on after the AIO to see if they are a good combination or what! I heard a little bit about the SSR version, they just release the SSR2.5 which more aggressive than SSR2. However, haven't got the chance to try it out...

 

[405HP_Z06]

Thanks! I'm waiting for the order. It will come this week I will try it on this weekend. I also get the UPP which is the sealant. I will put it on after the AIO to see if they are a good combination or what! I heard a little bit about the SSR version, they just release the SSR2.5 which more aggressive than SSR2. However, haven't got the chance to try it out...

I've heard a bunch of good things about UPP, but haven't used it. I can only try a few products at a time.