Interior Exterior
Q:
I'm sure there's a thread on this already but I couldn't find it from a quick search.
I've noticed that my car has very minor scratches in places where there is no Starshield (eg. from putting things into and taking things out of the boot). Can anyone recommend a product or something to get rid of these. I was thinking polishing compound. Any thoughts?
Thanks
Carl
A:
A mild polish should do fine. Typically compounds are much too strong, but it's a matter of symantics and what the product manufacturer is calling their product.
By hand, I'd recommend going with a mild product like 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (has some mild abrasives, but also some filler) or a mild Meguiars product. By machine, I haven't found anything that finishes to a higher gloss than Menzerna products.
You can also consult Nick @ Detailer's Paradise. He has a range of products to suit the severity of the defect.
A:
I've noticed that my car has very minor scratches in places where there is no Starshield (eg. from putting things into and taking things out of the boot). Can anyone recommend a product or something to get rid of these.
If you mean marks such as from thumbnails rubbing the paint around the edge of the boot lid, I tried hand-applying Meguiar's Scratch-X and it cleaned those up pretty easily. You can probably find it at places like Target or auto parts stores.
For more than you ever wanted to know about auto detailing, see the autopia forums.
A:
I've tried Scratch-X.
My experience with it is that initially it looks to work quite well. But a couple of weeks later I found the swirls to have returned. Why? Because Scratch-X has fillers in it to mask swirl marks. I may be wrong about this so take it for what it's worth, but I'm just citing my personal experience with the product. ymmv
A:
My experience with it is that initially it looks to work quite well. But a couple of weeks later I found the swirls to have returned.
I should clarify: my success [so far] with Scratch-X was on large marks that I know were made by my fingernails. I had them clustered in the spots where I normally put my hand to grab the boot lid. I have similar marks on the front access panels from hand-turning the screws.
Swirl marks are an entirely different matter. My car certainly has no shortage of them. I tried several hits of Scratch-X in one area and it didn't seem to do much for those. I used Autoglym last weekend and I think that made a noticable improvement, though I'll have to apply it a few more times before I'm sure.
A:
If you have swirl marks that are from a buffer/polish job then I would get the car professionally detailed by a place that is reputable (handles nice cars).
A rubbing compound polish will take away surface scratches. One note with the rubbing compound - use very little and start with very slight hand pressure or you may take off too much of the protective clear coat.