Dealing with ultra fine scratches

zesty-man

zesty-man

how do ya like it?
i worked on my mom's ML 320 yesterday, and it looked really great, however i found that there were millions of these ultra fine scratches on the hood. im not quite sure what its from, but im thinking that it may be from the one time that she took it into the carwash. anyways, heres what i used...... im sorta new at this stuff, an i spent 4.5 hours working, and the scracthes seem to take away from its finish.

meguaries gold car wash
ssr2
ssr1
meguaries gold wax (pure, not the cleaner)
i used the pc 7424 to apply the ssr 2/1 and a microfiber to take it off. also, i applied the wax by hand.

these scratches are scratches that you cant see off hand, but as you look really close at it, and at certain angles, it just reveals millions of them, all over the hood. im not sure what product to use to remove them. any ideas? if its possible, could you leave a hyperlink? thanks
 
They may be deep enough to require a rotary or even wet sanding? Either way I consider that over my head as far as offering suggestions. I'll do that kind of work on my truck, with guidance from my friend the body shop owner....but I sure won't try to guide you in using a rotary or sandpaper...except to say get help and go slow.
 
If the scratches were in the same direction that you rubbed to remove the polishes, waxes, etc.
They may be coming from your towels or your polishing process.
I have had that problem from using the ceap micro-fiber towels from Wal-Mart.
Also make sure you use a new/clean towel when you remove each product.
Make sure there is no remaining previous polish on the vehicle before applying the next product.
If your towels have been washed and you used fabric softener, I have seen that creat what looks like scratches but is actually real fine streaks caused by the softener.
 
hmm, from what i gather, im dealing with something called spider webbing. do you guys know if theres any products in particular that are made for the removal of spider webbing?

kim wallace: ill check my mom's car today to see if the scratches are in any partuicular patern etc. however, ive awlays used microfiber to take off my polishes and waxes.
 
If the scratches are only in the hood, one other possibility is the hood having been repainted.

1. Could be a different consistency of paint and require a different process than you were able to use on the rest of the car.

2. Not a good thing to even think about, but I have seen sanding marks left in the basecoat that you can't do much of anything with. If it is under the clearcoat, you won't be able to polish them out. Solution? Repaint the panel. (Without the sanding marks being left.)

Hopefully, that is not the problem, but it does happen more often than people realize.

Charles
 
hmmm... well that car is a mercedes benz ML 320. i think it would have good paint being that mercedes is a prestigious company. i believe my car is about 2 years old now. i think its been painted once. anyways, i sure hope those scracthes arent under the clear coat...
 
You may want to replace the pad your using. I think SSR2 may have been a little steep for "Spider webs"....Normally, a 1 step polish (light abrasive ) will remove those.....You could possible need to go over it again with SSR1.....Try using a glaze before you seal it next time.......
 
hmmm, well i dont use the pads that the 7424 came with, i bought sepreate ones. for apply the ssr2, i used "The Edge DA (Dual-Action) Light Cut Green Foam Buffing Pad", and for applying the ssr1, i used "The Edge DA (Dual-Action) Blue Foam Polishing Pad". Whats a glaze, could you give me a hyperlink to an example of one, if possible? thanks.
 
ok, from waht i gather, the scratches seem to be randomly placed. there scractches here and there, in no particular partern. it may be from my microfiber cloth that i use or something. anyways, now that we know how it got there in the first place, anyone have any ideas on how to remove it?
 
Zesty, you could simply polish them out (or try to again),next shot go with a slightly more aggressive pad, but use SSR1.....The try a glaze (Megs users chime in here) or try Vanilla moose, then seal away... (I think #7, or #9 Megs )
 
if you can get your hands on a PC 7428 with a cutting & polishing pad (green) set it at 1400 i use GLIPTONE ONE STEP POLISH i pics on the gallery its a 2000 honda with 70 000 miles and was not washed for 2 years if u can get some of GLIPTONES STUFF TRY IT I like it alot more then magr.
 
hmmm, well i just got some NXT wax from the friend's brother (Chris Y.), and i was wondering. it said that it would deal with small scratches and swirls. would the NXT wax perhaps fill out all of those fine little scratches? its worth a try.. this weekend ill try it.
 
I found out by experience that NXT doesn't do much to remove/fill swirls and scratches. However, I do think that it is going to be a very good sealant to use once we get used to its limitations.

On my year old black Hemi, I attempted to use NXT without polishiing first. I thought the finish was in good enough shape. I had given the truck a thorough detail in December using BLACKFIRE. I assumed that NXT would take care of the minor swirls and fine scratches that had appeared. Wrong assumption.

I am now redoing the whole truck using these steps. Meguiar's DACP #83, Meguiar's Swirl Free Polish #82 and then NXT. This seems to be the combination that is giving the best results for NXT users. I have already redone the hood and it looks great!

I use a pc to apply all of the products and remove them by hand with microfiber polishing cloths.

Tom :cool
 
hmmm, if you have to polish EVERYTIME you want to apply the NXT? i mean, i polished my mom's car last week, and i dont wanna spend another 4 hours polishing it again all over, just to add the NXT. i mean, if i had polished the car 2-3 weeks ago, then i washed it, and tired applying the wax (maybe some clay too), would that work?
 
If ya gots the scratches, ya gots to polish again and maybe AGAIN. Wax or sealant simply will not remove them or cover them all that well. Regardless of the hype, NXT does not remove scratches.

Tom :cool
 
Sealants and waxes provide protection, thats it. They do not clear the paint up......Some multi purose products do that but they lack protection....
 
arg, that makes it really hard for me... anyone know any good products to get rid of scratches then...?
 
Light scratches go with SSR1, anything heavier, try SSR2......Follow up with 1 after using 2 though....Youll be amazed....
 
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