Hi,

My wife managed to scratch our new 57 Bravo with her ring. Therefore my first reaction was to go for the good old T-Cut which in the past has never let me down.

However, a day after applying the T-Cut the 2 inches of paint around the scratch faded and in certain light you can see that the paint is slightly duller.

Any ideas on how to fix this? Is there a polish or gloss application that can bring back the finish?

Thanks,

GazzaS

was it normal t-cut? if so id try some metalic t-cut then some wax.

t-cut is a big :nono: on modern paints, wax might save you if your lucky

use a conventional wax... simonize yellow tin and work it for a few mins.. leave to dry and buff... keep doing it... it will buff up..... ive used autosol on paintwork before and thats a harsh abrasive 4-5 coats of wax brought it back no problem... but as dave mentioned steer away from t-cut as its only really meant to recover oxidised paintwork..

Tcut is an aggressive polish. All that has happened is that the clearcoat on your paint has become hazed.

This is easily fixed by using a much softer polish. Waxes just sit on top of the paint. A polish will smooth out the surface of the clearcoat making it clear again. Then if you want to wax it, you will help protect the paint aswell.

I did similer with t-cut and an electric buffer, went all blotchy and faded

never use t-cut ever again

T-cut is fine on older 1 stage paints but on modern clear coats its a serious No No

(although the metallic t-cut is ideal for prepping panels for stick on rubbing strips and decals if my experience is anything to go by)

as for a correction of the damage you did (well we can blame your wife in the first instance :devil: ) is as said above to use a finer polish. I would try Meguires scratch X

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=35



apply with one of these..

http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=382

its what is referred to as a Diminishable abrasive compound the more you work it in the more the "grit" brakes down finer and finer you keep rubbing it until you are left with just an oily film

how to use it...


then finish with a polish say autoglym super resin polish then top it off with a coat of wax

hope that helps

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the great advice It was normal T-Cut I used on the Metallic Black Bravo Paint (egg shell effect).

So to sum up, I should:

1) Purchase a finer polish and work into the area

2) Apply a good wax and buff the area

Thanks,

GazzaS

i'm glad i read this post, was considering T Cut for some light scratches. hope it works out with your Bravo.

ive bought the yellow carplan t-cut colour fast solution and was wondering if it will brighten up my paintwork..i was confident but now im abit worried...its for my yellow punto but i dont want to use it if its going to spoil the paintwork...i mainly got it because when i first bought it the deler scraped the rear wheel arch so fixed it and it looks so much brighter..i want the whole car to look the same colour

Sam i wouldn't waste your effort on the Colour magic type polishes/cleaner/wax's as soon as it rains it begins to wash off and look patchy

if you bought it from halfords take it back ask for a refund/exchange (as your mum picked the wrong stuff up ) or e-bay it

then buy a bottle of Autoglym Super resin polish

work this in well to the paint using a foam pad and it should remove the layer of oxidization thats causing it to look faded....

thanks for the advise andy its realy helpfull...ive just gota wait for some good weather and then i can get it looking like new again

TBH T-Cut is a hit and miss product.
I have found that on older cars with a duller, less metallic paint solution, it works fine (unless you have used tin touch-ups in areas, it then tends to go dry and patchy looking)

It sounds obvious but more expensive products tend to work better as more advance formulas are created from better quality chemicals resulting in a more professional compound.

TO SUM UP:

> Older Car, Older Paintwork, Just want to get rid of small imperfections >> Go Ahead With T-Cut

> Modern car, metallic paintwork, newer finish, just to improve the look of the paintwork >> Shell out on more expensive/less abrasive products like AutoGlym polishes and waxes.

Hope this helped!

Lewis

t-cut is suitable for any and all painted surfaces if you know how to use it, even clearcoats.

the hazing you have noticed is natural and to be expected, t-cut turns one large scratch into hundreds of tiny scratches. now you need to use gradually less and less abrasive compounds until the surface is perfect. colour t-cut is a good second stage, or you can mix polish with orignla t-cut. final stage must be a good hard wax, such as pure carnauba.

Sounds like t-cut might be for advanced users, going from jug, as I also used it to less than satisfactory results.

Overall, I would opt for the wax and pray that it helps.