[MissGXP]

I have some light scratches on my car and was wondering the best way to get rid of them. I didnt want to buy the lil clear coat thing because i was afraid i would mess it up , I did buy a Clay bar and wax to see whether i could buff them out. Any suggestions please?

 

[maykevin5]

clay bar really won't take out any scratches, It will however clean out the scratches to make them look gone, but they are still there. The clay bar is used to remove oxidation and rough surface dirt. Your looking at some heavy buffing to get scratches out. Just don't go past the clear coat.

 

[cmf9040]

if its light enuf you can rub it by hand with some compound. or next time its in for service just ask your service writer if the detailer can look at it. i buff out single scratches free all the time at my store

 

[MissGXP]

clay bar really won't take out any scratches, It will however clean out the scratches to make them look gone, but they are still there. The clay bar is used to remove oxidation and rough surface dirt. Your looking at some heavy buffing to get scratches out. Just don't go past the clear coat.

They are so fine, you really have to get up real close to see them so i didnt want to bother taking it to a body shop around here. They try to rape you on prices around here so I wanted to try and do it myself. Ill try the clay bar and upload some pics, so you can see thank you for advice!

 

[Natedawg9640]

i doubt a clay bar will do much... like stated already, do get a bit of rubbing compond, follow up with finishing glaze and then a few coats of wax.

 

[w3ap0n-x]

Don't use rubbing compound on your car...unless you like scratches and want to make sure the scratches you have already will have plenty of friends.

If you're not going to remove your micromarring/swirls with a machine you will then need to conceal them by using a product that has some type of filler in it (sometimes called a glaze).

Dark Vehicles
http://www.autogeek.net/poorboys-black-hole-show-glaze.html

Light Vehicles
http://www.autogeek.net/poorboys-white-diamond-show-glaze.html

My glaze of choice (slightly more expensive than others)
http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-finishing-glaze.html

Edit: Keep in mind that after using a glaze you will need a last step product that has NO detergents in it. If you use a cleaner wax it will remove all of your other products and undo all of your hard work.

 

[Daniel]

Hey what brand or type of buffer would you recommend?

I was looking into getting one but i don't really now what im looking at.
Is the pad more important or have more options on speed?
Also i don't have a huge budget. Im sure thats like everyone LOL

 

[MissGXP]

W3apon, Thank you for the advice! I am just not comfortable doing something like the filler in case I **** up my car, Im a college student and my money is stretched so thin that I couldnt afford to fix it if I did something wrong. Im going to see how it looks after what i can do, and if the scratches are still really prominent then I will save up my pennies lol

 

[w3ap0n-x]

MissGXP, "filler" is in the glaze product. Think of it as a special kind of wax. There's no danger at all whatsoever (which is why I recommended it to you).

Edit: Like a wax, however, the glaze will eventually wash away and will need reapplied.

Daniel,

I have the Makita 9227 and I love it. It's light and has a curved handle that rolls over the top of the polisher, which I find allows me to polish on odd and vertical surfaces much easier and with more accuracy than with side handles.

For quite awhile I used a DeWalt polisher but it weighs something like 10 pounds. Ten pounds doesn't sound like much...until you're trying to hold it up on a vertical panel while it spins a head at 5,000 RPM across a 6-hour exterior detail on an SUV.

The most important aspect is quality. Buy a known brand after researching the options on each one (DeWalt, Makita, Hitachi, Porter Cable, and a few other misc. brands). You'll need a kit for it with backing plate and pads. I LOVE Lake Country pads...they truly are the best I've ever used. Also, nowadays they've perfected wool pads to the point that you can actually finish with wool without fear of holograms/haze. The benefit is that it is pretty much impossible to burn through a panel with a wool pad.

Anyway...I'm getting off-track. Here are some links to get you started:

http://www.coastaltool.com/a/makita/9227c.html?id=RT54avj7

http://www.coastaltool.com/a/lakecountry/buffing_pads_8.html?id=RT54avj7

http://www.autogeek.net/lake-country-ccs-pack2.html