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Small Scratch Removal

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Old Apr 23, 2007 | 02:51 PM
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Small Scratch Removal

I'm bored out of my mind today so I figured I would try to repair some "small" scratches on my mum's car. I say "small" because although they were small, they were big eyesores. Alright so process and photos as follows:

Heres the scratches before:


Taped off and ready to go:


The other scratches on the left bumper (sorry a bit out of focus):


The tools used (pads in the back):


The results:




All in all, Cut did the best job, Swirl cleaned up the tiny bit of marring Cut made, and Epic sealed the deal! Looks good to me! Total time: 20 mins and time for Epic to cure.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2007 | 03:22 PM
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Now you're just showing off Brendan!
 
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Old Apr 23, 2007 | 03:23 PM
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Haha. I'm bored and showing off, and showing that you can actually take care of scratches with a PC. But yes I am showing off
 
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Old Apr 23, 2007 | 04:58 PM
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looks good. which panel did you take the first pict?
 
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Old Apr 23, 2007 | 07:40 PM
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All of those are off of the rear bumper. The top 2 pictures are of the same scratch, just differant angles.
 
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Old Apr 23, 2007 | 07:50 PM
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^^ hummm.. cause the first pict has rubber stripping...the last pict
doesnt
 
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Old Apr 23, 2007 | 07:51 PM
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Oh the last pic is to the left of the first pic, not the same place. Differant scratch altogether. Sorry.
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 10:52 AM
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Great job!

I just had similar results yesterday on my mini with scratches like that that I made ..on purpose!

Last week was the first step in my spring detailing...wash and touch-up paint. Tired of the blobs that are left behind from touch-up spots, this year I thought I would try a Meguiars K1000 unigrit sanding block as any attempt on using the PC with polishes in the past failed to reduce those blobs.

I soaked it in water overnight as instructed, added a high concentration of car wash soap to lubricate. It made very quick work of any raised areas. But it did leave scuff marks, small scratches, on the surrounding area, similar to what is pictured above.

I do plan to do a full PC polish in the next week but I didn't want to leave it that way. So I took my SFX Pro Applicator along with a small amount of SFX-1 polish and with 30 seconds of hand scrubbing the scratches were gone. I was very impressed with myself. It's the first time I used that pad and you can tell just how strong that yellow foam is. I finished with some ScratchX and it looks like I never sanded a thing.
I only wish I took photos.
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 11:55 AM
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I agree that the SFX Pro Applicator is a great pad. The yellow is stout enough for adding mussel to ScratchX or Swirl and the gray side is great for applying wax. Pretty versatile tool for detailing.
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 01:40 PM
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That's cheating!!!! But good work nonetheless
This is NOT a BEFORE and AFTER since it's on a different panel!!


 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 03:03 PM
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Haha. I didn't cheat I promise.

OG, I know you get asked this constantly, but when is the Trim ReNew coming out???
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 03:52 PM
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I know I was just teasing. Reminded me of this series of pictures that a participant took of a car sitting in the parking lot of my shop


And it was fixed with just a bit of buffing



re: gel
Keep your eyes peeled on the Vendor Announcements this week.

Originally Posted by mcdbrendan
Haha. I didn't cheat I promise.

OG, I know you get asked this constantly, but when is the Trim ReNew coming out???
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted by OctaneGuy
I know I was just teasing. Reminded me of this series of pictures that a participant took of a car sitting in the parking lot of my shop


And it was fixed with just a bit of buffing



re: gel
Keep your eyes peeled on the Vendor Announcements this week.
Holy crap where do I get one of those buffers!!!

I will for sure keep my eyes peeled.
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 06:19 PM
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^^ i think he just flipped his before and after picts around.
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 07:16 PM
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Originally Posted by kenchan
^^ i think he just flipped his before and after picts around.
Low blow!
 
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Old Apr 24, 2007 | 07:25 PM
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here is before... check out the nice finish.


here is after... ooops, i think octaneguy grabbed the wrong sander...




jk jk.
 
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Old Apr 25, 2007 | 04:05 PM
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Excellent work, Brendan!

I'm glad to see that someone is posting about using the aggressive polishes, like Prima Cut, and the aggressive LC pads, with the PC.
It's an important illustration that the PC and the right tools/products can really do *almost* anything!

It appears that some of the white in the photo was probably some kind of paint transfer, which likely came off fairly easily. (I mention that in case someone sees it and thinks it's a series of scratches through to the primer, which couldn't be fixed like this!)

Granted, if you had to fix that kind of mess all over an entire car, then you'd be doing it for several hours (like 10-20!)... but it would be possible. Still, it's a great example of just how much the PC is capable of.

Thanks for the post! I think the NAM community will benefit from your boredom and lack of fear in trying anything.

-Heather
 
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Old Apr 25, 2007 | 05:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Detailers Paradise
I think the NAM community will benefit from your boredom and lack of fear in trying anything.

-Heather
But remember, it wasn't his car....he didn't have to live with the screw ups if he'd made any

But excellent work!
 
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Old Apr 25, 2007 | 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Benja0901
But remember, it wasn't his car....he didn't have to live with the screw ups if he'd made any

But excellent work!
Yes, very good point!!

-Heather
 
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Old Apr 25, 2007 | 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Benja0901
But remember, it wasn't his car....he didn't have to live with the screw ups if he'd made any

But excellent work!
Haha yes I do! It's my mum's car! The consequences would be far worse!
 
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Old Apr 25, 2007 | 07:47 PM
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Where do you get the Prima products?
 
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Old Apr 25, 2007 | 08:01 PM
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www.detailersparadise.com
 
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Old Jul 19, 2007 | 06:17 AM
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How Did My Scratch Return

A few weeks ago, I removed a moderately deep belt buckle scratch from my right side mirror housing (I suspect a belt because it's about the right level and I park at a lot with fairly narrow spaces). Anyway, I initially tried Scratch-X without success. I then tried the Quixx kit, which involved first sanding the scratched area with wet 3000 grit supplied sandpaper. I then applied the abrasive polish #1 and rubbed it in, then wiped it off. I examined the area and only a very slight remnant of the scratch remained, which could only be seen upon very close inspection. I didn't want to abrade any more, so I then applied the polish #2, which made a very nice shine. The scratch was virtually invisble. Well, yesterday, the scratch reappeared! WTF??? I doubt it is a new scratch since it is exactly the same as it was in terms of appearance and location. Plus I now park where people are not likely to squeeze between my car and another. I re-did the removal as above, and it is gone again. Can I expect to re-emerge yet again??
 
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Old Jul 19, 2007 | 07:19 AM
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I remember reading this. Sounds more like you just hid the scratch and minimizd it and never fully removed it. Deep scratches can't always be repaired 100%. Usually you can just make it look better.

Also if the scratch is deep enough to pick up or hold residue, or dirt, it might make the scratch even more visible.

Although 3000 grit is pretty fine, you probably won't want to sand the same spot again.

Richard



Originally Posted by LynnEl
A few weeks ago, I removed a moderately deep belt buckle scratch from my right side mirror housing (I suspect a belt because it's about the right level and I park at a lot with fairly narrow spaces). Anyway, I initially tried Scratch-X without success. I then tried the Quixx kit, which involved first sanding the scratched area with wet 3000 grit supplied sandpaper. I then applied the abrasive polish #1 and rubbed it in, then wiped it off. I examined the area and only a very slight remnant of the scratch remained, which could only be seen upon very close inspection. I didn't want to abrade any more, so I then applied the polish #2, which made a very nice shine. The scratch was virtually invisble. Well, yesterday, the scratch reappeared! WTF??? I doubt it is a new scratch since it is exactly the same as it was in terms of appearance and location. Plus I now park where people are not likely to squeeze between my car and another. I re-did the removal as above, and it is gone again. Can I expect to re-emerge yet again??
 
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Old Jul 19, 2007 | 07:23 AM
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Originally Posted by OctaneGuy
I remember reading this. Sounds more like you just hid the scratch and minimizd it and never fully removed it. Deep scratches can't always be repaired 100%. Usually you can just make it look better.

Also if the scratch is deep enough to pick up or hold residue, or dirt, it might make the scratch even more visible.

Although 3000 grit is pretty fine, you probably won't want to sand the same spot again.

Richard
Yeah. No intention of sanding again. The thing that gets me, though, is that it appeared virtually gone for about 3 weeks and then suddenly reappeared in full bloom. If it comes back, I will probably just buy a replacement mirror cover, an expensive proposition for what you get, I think.
 
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