Advice on treating paint scratches

Blue said:
Where abouts in the UK are you mate? If anywhere near the North East I'd happily give you a hand, I am NO expert but I've machined my own Z4 with reasonable results.
Click to expand...

Im in northern ireland mate lol but many thanks for the offer. such a nice bunch on this forum. glad to hear you got good results with it. :thumbsup:
 
MyNamesNotBob said:
Also make sure you look at a DA polisher (a random orbital), like willow linked to. I saw a rotary mentioned earlier, be careful with these until you're more familiar with the techniques
Click to expand...

DA - check
 
MyNamesNotBob said:
doofus4000 said:
but the question I ask is will the polisher take out the scratches? I wouldnt say the paint is anywhere near tired looking (I keep it in pretty good condition apart from these scratches) but I would definitely invest in a polisher if it would solve the above!
Click to expand...

Yes and no, a machine polish with good technique will get it out, just getting a machine without understanding how to use it will have little effect...

First things first, can you feel the scratches with your fingernail? If you can as it's black paintwork, it will likely require more work than just a DA or a first attempt with a rotary. You would be looking at a minimum to wet send the scratches, then machine polishing out the sanding marks progressively.

Fairly easy to do, look to detailing world for guides, but be patient and it will work. Willow gives a pretty good description o what to do, follow that and you can't go wrong

Oh and throw your Tcut in the bin, it does more harm than good
Click to expand...

You can very faintly feel a few of them - they are by far not deep - im just fussy!
 
Ive just went at my Z4C with a DA polisher today so I`m fresh from the battle field on this one. I had light/moderate swirling and some random scratches but did not look as deep as what those look (Perhaps they look deeper than they actually are?)

I worked my way up in degree of cut through seven different polish and pad combinations before I found one that worked satisfactory and even then it only took out about 80% of the defects. I will also have to go back over it again with a finishing pad/polish combo to get rid of the micro marring caused by the harsh pad I used.

Depending on how deep they are they may require a even harsher cut than what I used and I would be nervous about undertaking such work yourself without knowing the paint thickness on that panel as you may have to remove several microns.

If they turn out to be light scratches then youll be safe doing it yourself but be prepared for alot of hard work and experimentation.

Regards


Andy
 
Keep the SRP but you really need some meguiars cutting polish. It has diminshing abrasives in it which work down as you increase the speed. Then just wipe off. Then use SRP as it has some fillers in it to give a nice finish. But i would just use SRP on its own it might take a while to remove the scratches. Use a megs polish cleaner with a medium to heavy cut.
 
R26Andy said:
Ive just went at my Z4C with a DA polisher today so I`m fresh from the battle field on this one. I had light/moderate swirling and some random scratches but did not look as deep as what those look (Perhaps they look deeper than they actually are?)

I worked my way up in degree of cut through seven different polish and pad combinations before I found one that worked satisfactory and even then it only took out about 80% of the defects. I will also have to go back over it again with a finishing pad/polish combo to get rid of the micro marring caused by the harsh pad I used.

Depending on how deep they are they may require a even harsher cut than what I used and I would be nervous about undertaking such work yourself without knowing the paint thickness on that panel as you may have to remove several microns.

If they turn out to be light scratches then youll be safe doing it yourself but be prepared for alot of hard work and experimentation.

Regards


Andy
Click to expand...

hey andy, what did you find in the end which worked for you - pad and polish combo? What sort of scratches where you talking about with your motor? Are you happy with the results?
 
willowZ4C said:
Keep the SRP but you really need some meguiars cutting polish. It has diminshing abrasives in it which work down as you increase the speed. Then just wipe off. Then use SRP as it has some fillers in it to give a nice finish. But i would just use SRP on its own it might take a while to remove the scratches. Use a megs polish cleaner with a medium to heavy cut.
Click to expand...

So I could use that SRP after using the cutting type polish and it should do the job? I meant to say too that I use AG High def wax after polish, how would that work? I mean, how would you use the polisher to wax as its a solid and not a liquid if you know what I mean?
 
doofus4000 said:
So I could use that SRP after using the cutting type polish and it should do the job? I meant to say too that I use AG High def wax after polish, how would that work? I mean, how would you use the polisher to wax as its a solid and not a liquid if you know what I mean?
Click to expand...

You've got three different types of product there:-

*The cutting polish should remove most of the swirls, depending on how harsh you go you may need to refine with a lighter cut polish

*The SRP is a brilliant filler and will help to mask any swirls or scratches that don't come out, but don't be fooled, it hasn't removed them, just masked them and it will wash out.

*The High Def Wax will add shine and protect the surface but won't serve to improve the paint surface.

If you get a DA then you will probably struggle to remove all of the defects so the SRP would be an excellent product to use after cutting polish but before waxing to help improve the result a little bit. Finish off with the High Def Wax to protect your hard work.

Andy - I've had a DA previously and struggled immensely to get the finish perfect, in the end it broke and I got a rotary, much easier to use and it removes far more of the scratches and swirls. I know for a fact that you're significantly closer to me than doofus as I've seen your car near my house several times so if you want to try out a rotary then feel free to give me a shout!

Edit to add - Doofus, my approach would be:-

1) Clay
2) Cut with Menzerna Intensive Polish (worked great on mine) on a Sonus SFX1 pad if using DA, SFX2 pad if using rotary.
3) If you can't get the finish as perfect as you want, then add a layer of SRP by machine on an SFX2 pad
4) Finish with High Def Wax
5) Stand back and gawp at your shiny car. :thumbsup:
 
Also - if you get a polisher read these:-

Rotary machine - http://www.detailingworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66024

DA machine - http://www.detailingworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63859

They really explain the science behind how the polishes work and will save you a lot of trial and error!
 
the hi def wax will work well afterwoods it gives a wet look finish to paint work. It will protect your car for about 6 months. What i do is after the srp use chemical guys jet seal. its amazing stuff. 2 coats of it then wax. the car will be protected for about 8 months with jet seal then wax. your washing and finish will take half the time afterwards with a deepshine.

Can you already see how once you enter the world of machine polishing it becomes addictive and you cant stop. i hope your ready for a lot of sunday morning obsessiveness ?? :thumbsup:
 
doofus4000 said:
hey andy, what did you find in the end which worked for you - pad and polish combo? What sort of scratches where you talking about with your motor? Are you happy with the results?
Click to expand...

I had the typical swirl marks and random light scratches but they were only noticalble under strong sunlight and they could not be felt with my finger nail.

In the end I had to give up with the hex-logic pads and go with a menzerna polishing pad (a quite hard and aggressive pad) and mezerna 203s power finish. I have a menzerna compounding pad left in my armoury which would probably take out the remaining deeper swirls and scratches but it feels rock hard and I`m a little nervous about using it on my pride and joy.

Blue said:
Andy - I've had a DA previously and struggled immensely to get the finish perfect, in the end it broke and I got a rotary, much easier to use and it removes far more of the scratches and swirls. I know for a fact that you're significantly closer to me than doofus as I've seen your car near my house several times so if you want to try out a rotary then feel free to give me a shout!
Click to expand...

Thanks blue, Im going to reasses the work I carried out on the bonnet yesterday and decide wether to go at it with the menz compounding pad as a next step. I`ll keep your offer in mind if that doesnt do the business either. Does the rotary require less effort? The combination of viration, noise and pressure required makes the DA a PIA to use.

Regards

Andy
 
Andy - yeah I would say the rotary requires much less effort than the DA, it's smoother and removes the marks much more easily, I'm afraid to say that I'm still unable to get my car perfect but am off to a Detailing Tuition day in June via detailingworld so am hopeful to be better at it later in the year!
 
Some BMW approved bodyshops have some kind of paintwork repairs similar to chipaway, and probably about £60 per panel.
 
I just washed, clayed, corrected with my megs DA polisher using menenza intensive polish, then megs gloss sealer then top coat of poorboys natys paste wax blue. This took me all day from 9 - 5

Next day I took all the wheels off and painted the disc hubs silver and the calipers black. Then have the alloys a good clean in and out. They ate flaking the laquer badly on the insides so they will need a refurb.
 
ok so Ive went out to inspect some of the scratches before i fork out for this polisher and materials - of the areas that have made me ask about the polisher to start with there are some which you can ever so faintly feel with your fingernail and there are a couple which feel a little deeper and look a little 'whiter' in colour than those faint ones. does people still think the polisher will do the job? willow?
 
I don't think they will come out totally. They will only look a bit better. If they are too deep they will need to be wet and dry sanded down or paint applied. This is quite a scary thing to do. I havn't used mine that far yet only to remove swirl marks.
Where about are you? Maybe someone near you could give it a go with their polisher. Maybe try on detailing world.
 
I used my DA for the first time today. I have some menz final finish together with black, White and yellow LC pads. In the end I bottled it and just had a go with the black finishing pad and some black hole, topped off with some Z8. Pretty pleased by the results, but in direct sunlight the swirls are still pretty bad.

The advice I've been given by guys on DW is to start slowly and build up your confidence and skill.

IMO black hole gives a better finish than SRP. EZ creme comes highly recommended too.

Some of the on-line shops have small units where you can pop in and they'll have a quick look at the car. I popped into shinearama in altrincham, very helpful!
 
They sound too deep for a straight forward buff out although the appearance will be improved.

Or you can try putting some touch up paint in the scratch and then buff over it to smooth it back down.

Andy
 
ok thanks for the replies guys. sounds like the polisher aint going to do the job and I should just try masking (filling) them. If I got a good cutting compound and tried it by hand first could I get any results do you's think? Like the megs 105 ultra cut or something?
 
If the scratches are too deep to polish out then a filler polish (like Super Resin) won't be able to fill them either, the best you can hope is that by using a cutting compound you can round off the edges of the scratch so that it's less noticeable. Cutting compound by hand will give you a clue as to what you can hope to acheive.

A more advanced way of repairing it (which requires some guts) is to carefully fill the scratch with paint, wet and dry sandpaper the surface back down so that it's level and then polish it to remove the sandpaper marring.

I'll try and find a link to something on Detailing World.

I'd still recommend a polisher, think of it as an investment ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom