Small scratches help me get rid??

[ne1l]

Can anyone recommend anything that will help get rid of small scratches??

There the little annoying scuffs on places like the door handles and around the boot area where rings etc do the damage.

All the scratches aren't deep nor very noticable unless close up but I tried simply waxing the areas well but that didn't really help. I also tried T-Cut but to no success.

They're annoying as when it's clean it looks good except for these little annoying 'user scratches' in the usual common places.:bang:

I had planned to take it to one of these places that do stone chip repairs etc and getting them to do there stuff but is there a more economical way of doing so myself? A special wax or paste etc that works 100%

It's a blue (metallic) car.

Thanks in advance

 

[dave]

fine rubbing compound

 

[ne1l]

Is this gonna get rid without spraying???

Normal waxing hides them but there still there!!

They aren't bad just breaking the paint surface and no more??

Is there not a special formulated wax or paste etc that does the trick??

 

[col7104]

G3 rubbing compound worked a treat for me. I got a pretty large tub of it, paste, for around 12 quid i think. Your local motor store should stock it. It got rid of my fine scuffs and scratches a treat. Just like wet and dry paper really, just its a paste, you need to go finer in compounds, ie. use the G3, then T cut, then normal car polish. It literally took a scuff of the bodywork in 2 swipes of the cloth.

 

[little becky]

t cut? works 4 me lol

 

[faster4_tec]

I got a smaller pot of G3 stuff, and it works a treat, to begin with I was really hesitant as you can feel the abrasiveness in it. But it really doesn't take much effort with the stuff, just up twice and accross twice (horiz and vert) and takes away most sort of paint scratchs that don't break the top coat, I immediatly followed it up with some quality coloured polish and result was very impressive, just got the rest of the car to do now!!

 

[river]

cif (JIF) I use it all the time

 

[paulcozz]

rubbing compound is a gift lol it will bring any scratch right out (unless it is gone past the paint into the primer )

 

[bridges]

As posted above, G3 is basically a liquid sand paper, It is far more aggressive than Tcut.

The scratches are in the lacquer. G3 will not touch Deep lacquer scratches.

Paint is basically put on in layers. Imagine looking at a cross section of a painted surface.

----------------------------
Lacquer (CLEAR COAT)
-----------------------------
Base coat ( COLOUR COAT)
-------------------------------
Primer
--------------------------------


the lacquer is a thick coat which protects the base coat and gives it shine.
It is used on ALL car colours and has been for the last 20 odd years.

When you get minor scratches in the lacquer they will look like this.


-----------------v--v--v------------
Lacquer
-------------------------------------

The idea is to sand them out, by removing the top layer of lacquer from the surrounding area, so that there are no sudden dips (scratches) in the lacquer.

You would be suprised how much stick lacquer can take.
You would need around a 1000 grit paper to actually go through it. So safe with a liquid compound.

Try G3 first. Buff it out and then apply some polish. Otherwise you will need to progress to a fine wet n dry paper.

 

[richie.guy]

the lacquer is a thick coat which protects the base coat and gives it shine.
It is used on ALL car colours and has been for the last 20 odd years.

You would be suprised how much stick lacquer can take.
You would need around a 1000 grit paper to actually go through it. So safe with a liquid compound.

That's not true at all. There are loads of cars still painted in single stage, and over the last 20 years there are even more. Heck, Mk1 punto's and cinq's were single stage and they're younger than 20 by a long way.

Regarding the clearcoat issue - it depends how much clear is on there and there's only one way to check; get a paint thickness gauge which will read the inidividual layers. You don't need anything near 1000 grit to strike through, 3000grit in the wrong hands will EASILY produce a strike through and permanantly damage the clearcoat.

Regardless, even if you don't strike through if you remove too much clear it will fail over time. Maybe not within a month but 6 months down the line it will become clear (a light patch where it hasn't been providing the correc UV protection for underlying colour).

Try G3 first. Buff it out and then apply some polish. Otherwise you will need to progress to a fine wet n dry paper.

G3 is a polish!

 

[bridges]

calm down

I assume you are a paint sprayer?

 

[hobx]

Hi mate,

Do yourself a favour and bin the Tcut. The stuff is old hat. Don't use wet and dry either. In the wrong hands it could be disastrous.
Buy youself some Farecla G3 Liquid Compound (not the paste) Farecla G10 Liquid Finishing Compound and a good quality glaze. I use Farecla Gold Top. Fine mist some water over the scratches you want to remove and gently G3 compound the area. Let the compound do the work. Take the scratch down to your satisfaction then buff off. The G3 will leave some fine abrasion marks. Now use the G10, again with a fine mist of water. This will remove the marks left by the G3. Buff off. Then hand glaze the area and buff off to a shine. Hey presto. Be very very careful at the G3 stage. If you break the top coat, you'll make it look worse.

Stone Chips. Of course we use airbrushes and non abrasive removers for this repair however I've seen some good results using the following method.

Tools required are. Lint free cloth, Acetone (from a chemist), paint touch up, fine artist brush or a cocktail stick, 1000 grit wet and dry, hole punch, pencil with a rubber on the end, sticky hole punch protectors (looks like a a polo mint).

Method:

Using the lint free cloth wipe the acetone into the chip. This removes any contaminates, polishes, dirt etc.

Using the artists brush or cocktail stick load your chip up with paint, not too much though. Little by little.

Once that is dry, peel off a hole punch protector and place it over the chip.

Now hole punch the 1000 grit wet and dry so you have some small discs. Stick this on to the end of your pencil. Now between your fingers twist the pencil and carefully start to 'take down' the paint again using a fine mist of water.

When you are nearly flush. Remove the sticky tab then gently compound the area with G3, G10 then glaze.

Job done. Enjoy. It'll save you a few quid and it'll be fun.

 

[richie.guy]

calm down

I assume you are a paint sprayer?

I'm not a painter, but I know some things.

I wasn't having a pop at you but 1,000 grit in the hands of someone with no experience will be costly.

Now hole punch the 1000 grit wet and dry so you have some small discs. Stick this on to the end of your pencil. Now between your fingers twist the pencil and carefully start to 'take down' the paint again using a fine mist of water.

Good tip r.e. hole punching but why use 1000grit when the marks cannot be removed by hand? 2,500 then 3,000 will do the job (all be it slower) and the marks can be removed by hand with some work. While 1000 grit marks may appear to be removed give it some time for polish fall back and look under some proper lighting (e.g. 3m sun gun or bright halogens) and you'll see what I mean...

 

[hobx]

Yet I am a bodyshopper. 1000 grit will be fine and the scratches can be removed with G3. Hence why you dont go flush at the wet and dry stage and finish up with G3 followed by G10 then hand glaze.

 

[richie.guy]

Yet I am a bodyshopper. 1000 grit will be fine and the scratches can be removed with G3. Hence why you dont go flush at the wet and dry stage and finish up with G3 followed by G10 then hand glaze.

I'll disagree with you still on 1000 grit being removed fully by hand, and am sure plenty of other people in the trade would too (while I'm not a painter I have plenty of experience of bodyshops and plenty of contacts in the trade). You do it your way though if it works for you who am I to knock it

Ever tried doing an IPA wipedown after G3 to see what you're really left with?

 

[bridges]

That's not true at all. There are loads of cars still painted in single stage, and over the last 20 years there are even more. Heck, Mk1 punto's and cinq's were single stage and they're younger than 20 by a long way.

This is true of some base colours, reds etc. Is not that common.
some commercial vehicles are still sprayed in cellulose. most vehicles are sprayed in a 2 stage process. And now days all waterbased paint has a lacquer on top.

Regarding the clearcoat issue - it depends how much clear is on there and there's only one way to check; get a paint thickness gauge which will read the inidividual layers.

True but G3 will be fine on a bit of rag

3000grit in the wrong hands will EASILY produce a strike through and permanantly damage the clearcoat.

Yes, when applied by a safari park chimp with a stick, this can happen.
most lacquer at the factory is sanded I can get away with sanding mine after spraying with a 1500 dry orbital DA followed by a 2000-4000 wet, thats evolution for you.
You are quite right that yes 1000 if used wrong is risky. I did not mean to imply using it

Regardless, even if you don't strike through if you remove too much clear it will fail over time.

This is true. however lacquer is thick and takes a bit to remove too much.

G3 is a polish!

technically it's a cutting compound (an abrasive suspended in a paste) and is more aggresive than a standard polish. There are different grades of compounds used G3 is a standard. I follow with
G10 but if not then a good quality polish will remove any hazing.

 

[richie.guy]

Yes, when applied by a safari park chimp with a stick, this can happen.
most lacquer at the factory is sanded I can get away with sanding mine after spraying with a 1500 dry orbital DA followed by a 2000-4000 wet, thats evolution for you.
You are quite right that yes 1000 if used wrong is risky. I did not mean to imply using it


This is true. however lacquer is thick and takes a bit to remove too much.

Like I say, wasn't having a go at you just thought someone with no experience shouldn't be even contemplating taking 1000 grit to their paintwork. I've seen a strike through with 2500 in a matter of seconds because of incorrect pressure being used; the lad sanded the area like he was rubbing down a wooden door frame or similar :bang:

I think it's a generalisation to say lacquer is thick when in reality you can see paint anywhere between 60-1000 microns where only 50% of that total amount may be clear (it's a guessing game without a correct gauge). Mind, the thinner stuff is normally on jap cars. Fiats tend to not be too bad (120-160 ish).

Anyway, I do digress. Sorry to the original poster for going OT a little.

 

[hobx]

No problem.

We all know in the trade that G3 is intended to remove scratches of 1500 and less. However the point I'm getting across is that at the wet and dry stage you are NOT flatting back flush, only removing about 80% then finishing off with G3. If G3 can break through hardened top coats with enough concentration it will flatten off fresh paint no problem at all.

Edit; BTW I'm talking about a stone chip repair not scratch removal. I've already stated that for scratch repair, wet and dry in the wrong hands this would be disastrous.

 

[bridges]

Like I say, wasn't having a go at you just thought someone with no experience shouldn't be even contemplating taking 1000 grit to their paintwork. I've seen a strike through with 2500 in a matter of seconds because of incorrect pressure being used; the lad sanded the area like he was rubbing down a wooden door frame or similar :bang:

I think it's a generalisation to say lacquer is thick when in reality you can see paint anywhere between 60-1000 microns where only 50% of that total amount may be clear (it's a guessing game without a correct gauge). Mind, the thinner stuff is normally on jap cars. Fiats tend to not be too bad (120-160 ish).

Anyway, I do digress. Sorry to the original poster for going OT a little.

No offence taken. At the end of the day you were only helping the original poster to remedy his paint by pointing out a potential hazard that I had not made clear.