Scratches in truck
#1
03-15-2004, 11:16 PM
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Scratches in truck
Hello all.
This problem has been neverending and i cannot seem to find out where it is coming from and how to rid it.
I have a Black truck. in the sun you can see a boatload of scratches that go in a circular type motion. a large circular type motion. i don't know how to better to describe it. Please help me in getting these out
Will
This problem has been neverending and i cannot seem to find out where it is coming from and how to rid it.
I have a Black truck. in the sun you can see a boatload of scratches that go in a circular type motion. a large circular type motion. i don't know how to better to describe it. Please help me in getting these out
Will
#2
03-16-2004, 12:59 AM
Terrycloth
Get some microfiber cloths to work with black. I know, I have had 2 black trucks myself. If you don't already have one, get an orbital polisher. Next buy a "sponge" pad to fit it, I didn't say terry cloth pad, a sponge pad. Also, buy yourself a regular detailing sponge for when you wash your vehicle. Use non-scrubing carwashes elsewise.
Next go buy some Kit scratch remover at autoworks or Kragan (whatever store sells this). This is a microfine polish that will remove haze scratches such as yours slowly,...slowly being the key to this.
If you have a rough feel to your paint or you see overspray in it, your truck should be clayed down first. Claymagic or any other suitable product will work. Make sure you check this first and do it before you apply the polish. If you clay too hard, it can leave small scratches, so the polish removes these sorts of things.
Now for the nitty gritty. Get your buffer ready by dampening your sponge pad, then apply it onto the orbital buffer. Shake up the Kit scratch remover and apply a liberal amount to the pad. Try a fender first or your bedside. Take your time, the polish is a real slow worker, it won't immediately start eating down to metal here, it is one of the best for this. Just work your polisher slowly in this area and take your time, you wanna be thorough.
Now woof down a big mac, have a sip of coffee, and wipe off the dry polish area with one of those microfiber cloths you were suppose to buy. Buy several for jobs like this, they come in handy for this and wiping your truck down after washing. Get rid of anything that remotely looks like terrycloth unless you have an old car with old paint, they work great on that stuff. You can use the real virgin cotton specialty cloths if you wanna spend some dough on that but microfibers are just as easy to find, your choice.
Now, you wiped it down a couple of times. Take one of the dry microfibers and gently wipe the area off some. Inspect your area well. If your working it right, all the haze marks should be gone. This will work on "light" scratches, but they gotta be light, most Fords nowadays are razor thin in the paint department.
Rinse repeat wash hands, etc untill you have your truck finished to "your' satisfaction.
Look, black is hell to take care of, and these marks will slowly come back over time, even with microfiber cloths, so this equipment you buy will not go to waste.
Things not to do for black paint: don't use those brushes in the car washes, just forget about it unless you want more scratches than you have already. The car wash personnel do not take care of those brushes, period. I won't mention those auto carwashes with the guys/gals that dry your vehicle for you,....you should be getting the picture already.
Any product you buy, make sure it says "for clearcoat vehicles." If it don't, then don't assume it will work.
Others can fill in the areas I may have forgot.
Don't mean to sound like an *** with this, I'm just a serious person on such topics and don't talk about things like this unless I know for a fact it works.
I hope I have helped you, take care.
Dave
Get some microfiber cloths to work with black. I know, I have had 2 black trucks myself. If you don't already have one, get an orbital polisher. Next buy a "sponge" pad to fit it, I didn't say terry cloth pad, a sponge pad. Also, buy yourself a regular detailing sponge for when you wash your vehicle. Use non-scrubing carwashes elsewise.
Next go buy some Kit scratch remover at autoworks or Kragan (whatever store sells this). This is a microfine polish that will remove haze scratches such as yours slowly,...slowly being the key to this.
If you have a rough feel to your paint or you see overspray in it, your truck should be clayed down first. Claymagic or any other suitable product will work. Make sure you check this first and do it before you apply the polish. If you clay too hard, it can leave small scratches, so the polish removes these sorts of things.
Now for the nitty gritty. Get your buffer ready by dampening your sponge pad, then apply it onto the orbital buffer. Shake up the Kit scratch remover and apply a liberal amount to the pad. Try a fender first or your bedside. Take your time, the polish is a real slow worker, it won't immediately start eating down to metal here, it is one of the best for this. Just work your polisher slowly in this area and take your time, you wanna be thorough.
Now woof down a big mac, have a sip of coffee, and wipe off the dry polish area with one of those microfiber cloths you were suppose to buy. Buy several for jobs like this, they come in handy for this and wiping your truck down after washing. Get rid of anything that remotely looks like terrycloth unless you have an old car with old paint, they work great on that stuff. You can use the real virgin cotton specialty cloths if you wanna spend some dough on that but microfibers are just as easy to find, your choice.
Now, you wiped it down a couple of times. Take one of the dry microfibers and gently wipe the area off some. Inspect your area well. If your working it right, all the haze marks should be gone. This will work on "light" scratches, but they gotta be light, most Fords nowadays are razor thin in the paint department.
Rinse repeat wash hands, etc untill you have your truck finished to "your' satisfaction.
Look, black is hell to take care of, and these marks will slowly come back over time, even with microfiber cloths, so this equipment you buy will not go to waste.
Things not to do for black paint: don't use those brushes in the car washes, just forget about it unless you want more scratches than you have already. The car wash personnel do not take care of those brushes, period. I won't mention those auto carwashes with the guys/gals that dry your vehicle for you,....you should be getting the picture already.
Any product you buy, make sure it says "for clearcoat vehicles." If it don't, then don't assume it will work.
Others can fill in the areas I may have forgot.
Don't mean to sound like an *** with this, I'm just a serious person on such topics and don't talk about things like this unless I know for a fact it works.
I hope I have helped you, take care.
Dave
Last edited by Daves01L; 03-16-2004 at 01:04 AM.
#3
03-16-2004, 08:51 AM
My personal opinion is that just about anything you do that involves touching your painted surfaces with anything will eventually cause some spiders/swirls.
To remedy the problem, like Daves mentioned, you need to have a good polish in your bag of tricks. For me, and many others, Meguiar's #9 Swirl Mark Remover (SMR) is the product of choice. I apply by machine (PC) but, it can be utilized by hand if you prefer to go that route. What the polish will do is actually remove a very very thin layer of clearcoat thus making the swirls/spider scratches disappear. This is a VERY common technique utilized by every detail shop in the industry and is TOTALLY safe.
The good thing about Meguiar's #9 is that it contains what is known as diminishing abrasives. By that I mean that the abrasives 'break down' the more you 'work' them on your paint. By this happening, you substantially reduce your potential for damaging your paint. Besides that characteristic, the product is safe for all clearcoats and can be utilized in multiple coats. In short, if you apply it once and don't manage to get all the swirls out, you can go back over it and work on them again.
It is important to note that #9 SMR contains NO level of protection thus, if you should follow with a quality carnauba, sealant, or other after you've completed your #9 treatment. Also, I should mention that #9 is not a miracle drug. It'll deal with alot of what you have but probably won't make them all go away with one pass. You may have to apply multiple coats (strictly by Meguiar's directions) and have a rough day at it by hand (hence, I recommend a Porter Cable - PC) and a polishing pad.
As far as the reasons that the swirls/spiders are happening; it's like I said early in this post, just about anything that you do across your painted surfaces could cause them. To minimize the effects, I would follow Daves recommendation and utilize microfiber for drying, polish removal, and wax removal. Microfiber tends to be much more 'plush' in that if you encounter a very small grain of sand, grit, grime, the MF towel will, most likely, hold it within the fiber of the towel and help to prevent it from rubbing on your surface. The MF towels that you choose should be of top notch quality and thus, I don't recommend the towels that you can buy at Wal-Mart or other places like that (including most auto parts stores). This is one market that I've learned you really get what you pay for. They're not cheap... but, they're worth it.
I would recommend a good towel like this one from Premium Auto Care. Yes, they're $13 each but they're very large and can be used to remove wax and polish... and also to detail your vehicle with the many fine detailing sprays that are available on the market.
To dry your vehicle, I'd recommend a good waffle-weave microfiber towel like this one from Premium Auto Care. Again, not cheap but, AMAZING when it comes to soaking up water, wringing them out, and going like a champ again. I prefer these towels over chamois because they, again, offer a certain degree of protection if you encounter a grain of sand or grit in that it can trap it in the fiber of the towel. Unlike chamois that has very little to no fiberous quality. When drying, let the towel do the work. Don't press down much at all... just enough to hold the towel in the area that you're drying.
Another way to keep your vehicle in top notch shape is to avoid automatic car washes like they are the #1 sin on the Earth (if you're a religious guy... if not, avoid them anyway).
Yet another way is to utilize the two bucket wash method when you're hand washing your truck. By this I mean filling one bucket with your shampoo of choice and the other bucket with plain water. Before you go back into your 'soap' bucket, thouroughly rinse out your chenelle or wool wash mitt in the regular water bucket and replace that water two or three times when you're washing your truck. Then, and only then, go back to your soap bucket and back to the painted surfaces.
By using a lot of common sense, great products, and good techniques, you will minimze the swirls and spiders on your vehicle. I will tell you however, you won't eliminate them.
Hope that helps a little!
--RP
To remedy the problem, like Daves mentioned, you need to have a good polish in your bag of tricks. For me, and many others, Meguiar's #9 Swirl Mark Remover (SMR) is the product of choice. I apply by machine (PC) but, it can be utilized by hand if you prefer to go that route. What the polish will do is actually remove a very very thin layer of clearcoat thus making the swirls/spider scratches disappear. This is a VERY common technique utilized by every detail shop in the industry and is TOTALLY safe.
The good thing about Meguiar's #9 is that it contains what is known as diminishing abrasives. By that I mean that the abrasives 'break down' the more you 'work' them on your paint. By this happening, you substantially reduce your potential for damaging your paint. Besides that characteristic, the product is safe for all clearcoats and can be utilized in multiple coats. In short, if you apply it once and don't manage to get all the swirls out, you can go back over it and work on them again.
It is important to note that #9 SMR contains NO level of protection thus, if you should follow with a quality carnauba, sealant, or other after you've completed your #9 treatment. Also, I should mention that #9 is not a miracle drug. It'll deal with alot of what you have but probably won't make them all go away with one pass. You may have to apply multiple coats (strictly by Meguiar's directions) and have a rough day at it by hand (hence, I recommend a Porter Cable - PC) and a polishing pad.
As far as the reasons that the swirls/spiders are happening; it's like I said early in this post, just about anything that you do across your painted surfaces could cause them. To minimize the effects, I would follow Daves recommendation and utilize microfiber for drying, polish removal, and wax removal. Microfiber tends to be much more 'plush' in that if you encounter a very small grain of sand, grit, grime, the MF towel will, most likely, hold it within the fiber of the towel and help to prevent it from rubbing on your surface. The MF towels that you choose should be of top notch quality and thus, I don't recommend the towels that you can buy at Wal-Mart or other places like that (including most auto parts stores). This is one market that I've learned you really get what you pay for. They're not cheap... but, they're worth it.
I would recommend a good towel like this one from Premium Auto Care. Yes, they're $13 each but they're very large and can be used to remove wax and polish... and also to detail your vehicle with the many fine detailing sprays that are available on the market.
To dry your vehicle, I'd recommend a good waffle-weave microfiber towel like this one from Premium Auto Care. Again, not cheap but, AMAZING when it comes to soaking up water, wringing them out, and going like a champ again. I prefer these towels over chamois because they, again, offer a certain degree of protection if you encounter a grain of sand or grit in that it can trap it in the fiber of the towel. Unlike chamois that has very little to no fiberous quality. When drying, let the towel do the work. Don't press down much at all... just enough to hold the towel in the area that you're drying.
Another way to keep your vehicle in top notch shape is to avoid automatic car washes like they are the #1 sin on the Earth (if you're a religious guy... if not, avoid them anyway).
Yet another way is to utilize the two bucket wash method when you're hand washing your truck. By this I mean filling one bucket with your shampoo of choice and the other bucket with plain water. Before you go back into your 'soap' bucket, thouroughly rinse out your chenelle or wool wash mitt in the regular water bucket and replace that water two or three times when you're washing your truck. Then, and only then, go back to your soap bucket and back to the painted surfaces.
By using a lot of common sense, great products, and good techniques, you will minimze the swirls and spiders on your vehicle. I will tell you however, you won't eliminate them.
Hope that helps a little!
--RP
#4
03-16-2004, 09:07 AM
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I can’t say enough about the microfiber towels RockPick mentioned above. I bought some on his and Boss advice and use them on my sonic blue L. I haven’t noticed any kind of scratching when using them.
The towel RockPick refers to for drying is absolutely awesome. When I first received it and seen it I thought no way could this towel dry the entire truck when it use to take 2 regular cotton towels (prior truck silver).
I can tell you it does indeed dry the entire truck with no problems and just feels much better going across the paint surface.
One more towel that I would recommend is this - For buffing off wax
It works excellent for buffing off the wax/polish. It is from the same site. I have one the one towel for drying as recommend by RockPick, and 3 of the blue towels and 2 of the above towels for buffing off the polish I use.
You really can not go wrong with these brand of microfiber…
The towel RockPick refers to for drying is absolutely awesome. When I first received it and seen it I thought no way could this towel dry the entire truck when it use to take 2 regular cotton towels (prior truck silver).
I can tell you it does indeed dry the entire truck with no problems and just feels much better going across the paint surface.
One more towel that I would recommend is this - For buffing off wax
It works excellent for buffing off the wax/polish. It is from the same site. I have one the one towel for drying as recommend by RockPick, and 3 of the blue towels and 2 of the above towels for buffing off the polish I use.
You really can not go wrong with these brand of microfiber…
Last edited by 01 XLT Sport; 03-16-2004 at 09:09 AM.
#5
03-16-2004, 10:07 AM
#7
03-16-2004, 05:06 PM
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#8
03-16-2004, 07:20 PM
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Spanky99L,
Have the same issue with my brand new black Screw. Clayed, polished and waxed the first weekend. Used terry cloth towels to remove wax and now have swirls. I use Meguiar's products exclusively so didn't expect the scratches. Now I have microfiber towels (eBay) and bought Meguiar's ScratchX and the same sheepskin wool mitt (mentioned above) from Advance Auto Parts (wool mitt 6.96 and ScratchX 7.97). Will be using them this coming weekend and will let you know the results.
Have the same issue with my brand new black Screw. Clayed, polished and waxed the first weekend. Used terry cloth towels to remove wax and now have swirls. I use Meguiar's products exclusively so didn't expect the scratches. Now I have microfiber towels (eBay) and bought Meguiar's ScratchX and the same sheepskin wool mitt (mentioned above) from Advance Auto Parts (wool mitt 6.96 and ScratchX 7.97). Will be using them this coming weekend and will let you know the results.
#9
03-16-2004, 07:25 PM
Guys...
A popular misconception is that terry towels cause swirls. The fact is, that they *CAN* cause them and, again, just about anything that you run across the surface of your paint in the right environment (with a tiny bit of grit or a slightly dirty spot) will scratch. Further, if your terry towels are of poor quality, they'll have more of a tendency to scratch/swirl...
Just because it's terry doesn't mean it's GOING to scratch. I still utilize terry on occasion with little to no problems... further, I've noted a slight scratch here or there after using MF... nothing's fool proof.
RP
A popular misconception is that terry towels cause swirls. The fact is, that they *CAN* cause them and, again, just about anything that you run across the surface of your paint in the right environment (with a tiny bit of grit or a slightly dirty spot) will scratch. Further, if your terry towels are of poor quality, they'll have more of a tendency to scratch/swirl...
Just because it's terry doesn't mean it's GOING to scratch. I still utilize terry on occasion with little to no problems... further, I've noted a slight scratch here or there after using MF... nothing's fool proof.
RP
#10
03-16-2004, 07:37 PM
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kr4336,
The towels, polishes, and waxes may have nothing to do with your swirls. How is you washing process/tools? I find that the majority of swirls are induced through the washing/drying process. Although, as RP said............... anything that touches the paint can cause scratches/swirls/spider web marks.
The towels, polishes, and waxes may have nothing to do with your swirls. How is you washing process/tools? I find that the majority of swirls are induced through the washing/drying process. Although, as RP said............... anything that touches the paint can cause scratches/swirls/spider web marks.
#11
03-16-2004, 07:58 PM
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Boss,
I was using an older wash mitt, probably a synthetic fiber. I keep my mitts clean and use separate ones for wheels and paint surface, and rinse well before reemerging into wash bucket. I am not at all saying this isn't the cause of the swirls, that is why I bought a new mitt. I assumed the cause was the terry cloth towels but maybe not, thanks RockPit. Also, I use the Absorber synthetic chamois to dry.
I was using an older wash mitt, probably a synthetic fiber. I keep my mitts clean and use separate ones for wheels and paint surface, and rinse well before reemerging into wash bucket. I am not at all saying this isn't the cause of the swirls, that is why I bought a new mitt. I assumed the cause was the terry cloth towels but maybe not, thanks RockPit. Also, I use the Absorber synthetic chamois to dry.
Opps....
#13
03-16-2004, 08:06 PM
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