I don't think Langka is abrasive so much as the cloth you use to smooth the blob down is. But yeah, a little Prima Swirl works great to polish it.

 

I have some super fine scratches behind the door handles..I'm the second owner of the mini and I think it must have been a woman with super long fingernails that drove it before..it seriously looks like tiny tiny LOOONNGG scratches behind the handles and it isn't visible unless someone points it out but it pisses me off..
so would I use one of those pens from autovisuals? it seems like everyone likes that stuff..

 

nooooooooo

you don't need paint

what you describe is simply surface scratch in the clear coat and you should be able to polish that out. Visit your local part store and ask them for a recomendation on some decent rubbing compound. That's an abrasive that will rub the surrounding surface down to the scratch level. Once everything is level, buff it up to a shine, often with a finer polish and then coat it up with a good wax.

DO NOT APPLY PAINT OR CLEAR if you don't really need to

 

Haha, have you EVER tried polishing the cup behind the door handle? You can't reach it by machine, and to remove the gouges by hand is finger breaking difficult. Do NOT EVER use a rubbing compound on a MINI. That is VERY BAD ADVICE. A rubbing compound is the old fashion solution for single stage paint using aggressive sharp grit, but it tears up modern clearcoats.

If he wants to polish out, try a hand applied paint cleaner like Meguiar's ScratchX or Prima Swirl which will SAFELY remove scratches by hand.

This is what a rubbing compound did to an M3's hood.


I showed the owner how the damage could be fixed by taping off a line and polishing the damage out, but the damage to the paint can still be seen after polishing, something that only wetsanding could correct.


Richard

 

yes I have. I've polished some pretty difficult to access places on my 79 and acquired a wall full of tools and magic potions to achieve what we call shine


I think the issue is one of semantics up to a point as I consider all polish to be rubbing compound something I picked up when teaching auto finishing. Tooth Paste is a rubbing compound (and a product that might even work in this case ... I'd try it.) Paint Cleaners are chemicals and an abrasive to remove crud - clay is an abrasive to remove crud. What is clay? Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals. In my definition a rubbing compound aka polish

There are two steps to achieve 'shine'

step one - smooth things - remove the highs and get things smooth - this is polishing or buffing on bare metal

step two - fill in the remaining - this is waxing

resulting in a SMOOTH finish that produces a perfect reflection - aka shine

My ready access polishes for scratch removal and post painting rub outs includes

Turtle Polishing Compound / Scratch Remover
Mother's Power Polish #1
Meguires Diamond Cut
and 3M Professional Rubbing Compound

which are polish and which are rubbing compound?

OR - different grits for different tasks and sometimes, just like when using sand paper one works up thru stages of fineness to get the desired output.

Yes getting in there by hand is not easy, but doing it by hand also lets a beginner have much more control. there are places you can get loose buff attachments for a flex shaft tool to get in there tho . . . EASTWOOD for example. DREMEL even has a 1 1/2 inch diameter loose buff disk attachment

Having painted and finished both I find modern clears to be harder than single stage paints .. yes they can be damaged by too much abrasive but too little has no effect either.... The hardness issue is why clears I've worked with recommend buffing be done very soon after spray - usually within a day - because after that time you're going to have to get crazy abrasive to have any effect on the finish.

The products you recommend fall under what I think of as 'rubbing compound' but will agree that my terminology is possibly too loose. I on the other hand am also not a detailer and therefore the issue of how long it takes and how much effort is required is just not germain - I look at achieving the desired shine as some view their BBQ: slow and low. The best BBQ cooks slow and low. Want quick BBQ? Go to the frozen food section . . .

OP - you still around here???? You might want to try what I have on the 79? Chrome (well actually mine are stainless) inserts for the handle cups! I think MOSS had them for GEN1 ... and I polish them ... actually buff them, on the wheel

 

Yep and something that really needs to be updated because the problem is a newbie can walk into the local auto parts store and pick up a Rubbing Compound and do serious harm to their finish. It happens all the time.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

WOW! I'm so glad I found this thread! Could Rick or someone else knowledgeable point me to a thread that explains all the items I need to do some good detailing ie... or answer these questions to start. I want my paint to look like..


I have a drill but no PC or buffer things of any sort. Can I use the drill or could I find an affordable buffer type of thing somewhere? Is that something I could get at a pawn shop or used? How much are those usually?

If you could point me in the right direction, I'll buy all the products from your site. TY!!

What is the filler I put into a major scratch called?

Then I use the Langka kit.?.

Then Prima Swirl to get the swirls out.?.

Then let it set for a couple days and then wax with what?

Also, is there something I can put on my normal electric drill to do the buffing and polishing? or def use the pc type of thing I know nothing about lol? Thank you for any response.