Can I make it look any better? (scratch and wetsanding)

[deathlok]

my father (with a smart) bumped on my miata front license plate. (miata is ok but smart.. )



here how it looks after just spot washing in order to see the damage.

after wetsanding with 2000.

after polishing (by hand) with:

1z exrta laquer (yellow can)

autoglym paint renovator

1z paint polish (green)

1z metallic polish (red)

I have a polisher (circular) but I did not use it. Is there anything I can do in order to make the scratch less noticeable? With the above precedure i did not see any result did I make something wrong or simple the scratch is beyond repair without repaint.



(sorry for the big images I just saw that they are huge )

 

[a.k.a. Patrick]

A little touch up prior to your sanding would have been appropriate.

 

[JasonD]

Just like Patrick said, a little touch up paint prior to your work would have worked perfectly. The scratch you see is just missing paint. You can polish all you want, and guess what, the paint will still be missing. The most you did was make it a little less noticeable by rounding off all the edges.



Go to your dealer's parts department and buy a little tube of touch up paint that matches your paint code. Then prep the surface by removing all protectants, etc. with rubbing alcohol. Apply the touch up paint, and let it cure for the recommended amount of time. The more time the better to make sure its nice and hard.



Once fully cured, just do the same process as you have already done, and you should be much happier.



DavidB used to have a tutorial on this on the ACC website, and in his Guide To Detailing. You may want to find that. Good luck, and let us know how you make out.

 

[velobard]

It looks like you did fairly well, especially considering that you were working by hand. I can tell you definitely have some elbow grease invested in this one. The touch-up guide that jdookie referred to is at Repairing Chips & Scratches



BTW, I notice that your pictures are hosted at photobucket. They have a simple editing feature that allows you to resize the photos smaller.

 

[deathlok]

thx for advices and the link. I try to find a touch up but i don't think that it would be easy. Smart (the car is smart) has only plastic panels that are prepainted by the factory so there is no paint to buy .

 

[velobard]

Try to find a local body shop supply business and ask them if they can help with a touch up paint. Lacking that, just try a body shop and ask if they could match and mix up a little for you.