Newb needs advice on scratch so he doesn't !@#$ up the paint :)

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DigiDan

New member
Just got my '12 Honda Ridgeline last month and I found these 2 scratches on the passenger side, behind the rear door. They're low, and since it's white, I couldn't see them until I was down on one knee last weekend waxing it.



I've got a PC random orbit, and with a polishing pad I worked on it with some Klasse AIO yesterday. The top scratch is barely detectable by fingernail if at all, and the bottom one is a little deeper, and while I can pick it up with the fingernail, it's better than it was. The PC must have rounded the edge on it a bit.



This is the best pic I could get given it's white and super clean:





I'm not quite sure how to try to take this further.

1. Do I need to worry about rust? I'm paranoid, and since it's my 1st truck, I want to take care of this PRONTO!

2. Should I just polish it as best as I can with the PC and AIO, and then try to apply some touch up via the pen tool?

3. What about rubbing compound? Will that make it worse?



I'd hate to do the wet sanding if I don't have to. It's barely noticeable unless you're down close and have the right angle.



Thanks!

Dan
 
Those do look fairly deep, but I doubt they're deep enough to worry about rust. Get yourself a small magnifier to take a peek at it a little closer; you might be able to see if it's down through to primer or bare metal.



Amazon.com: SE MW10087L Mini Brass Microscope with Illuminator: Home Improvement



Without perspective to see how large the scratches are or what kind of panel they're on it's tough to say if you can expect complete removal or not....
 
Yeah, I would exercise much caution. It looks like you'd have to remove quite a bit of CC/paint to level that out.



Is this damage really that apparent when standing 5' from the car?
 
tom p. said:
Yeah, I would exercise much caution. It looks like you'd have to remove quite a bit of CC/paint to level that out.



Is this damage really that apparent when standing 5' from the car?
Click to expand...



While I'm so nutty-Autopian as to generally scoff at the "five-foot rule" that Tom alluded to, I would *absolutely* just learn to live with those scratches in this case. On my white car, stuff that bugged the [crap] out of me when I was detailing/inspecting it is easy enough to live with in the real world.



And most importantly, doing the kind of aggressive correction that *might* fix those scratches (or, more likely, just make them a little less obvious) is *VERY* risky.



You need to figure out whether the clearcoat has been breached (I bet it has *not*). Only if it has should you consider applying clear touchup paint. Applying more clear when it's not really necessary will just open a can-o'-worms and probably lead to making things worse instead of better.



Thinning the clear in those areas (i.e., compounding/etc. to make the scratches less noticeable) will just make the functional risks (cc failure, corrosion, etc.) more likely.



The KAIO is functionally non-abrasive on most paints (and probably is so on yours). I'd use that to clean the area and then I'd just keep those areas well-LSPed (multiple coats of Klasse Sealant Glaze would be ideal).



Don't let your inner Autopian talk you into making this worse than it currently is in an attempt to "fix" it (scare-quotes intentional ;) ).
 
"Inner Autopian" :xyxthumbs



Yeah I had to pacify mine when I got some scratches on the wheel of my Accord. Months later, I can't see them any more but I also don't go to that drive through any more.
 
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