Scratch X Troubles

L

lp2137

New member
So I was ready this labor day weekend to try to reduce my swirls. My car or well my parents car is a swirl machine :( I figured since I don't have a PC I could reduce my swirls (Thanks for Accumlator for telling me to aim for "signficantly better")



I set out and found some time in between the rain today. I washed the car with Meg's nxt gen. I backed her up into the garage and tape offed everything via the blue painter's tape.



I started on the trunk. I put a little bit of scratch X on a foam applicator pad and did about a 1' x 1' area. I went in a back and forth motion at least 15 times then waited to dry. (How long are you suppose to wait? I waited for a few mins) I wiped dry. The swirls didn't seem to get even a little better so I redid this 2 more times but to no avail. All I got was this weird haze but I used Meg's QD for that.



Any suggestions? I can't afford a PC right now and if I had the money I'd love to take it out to Roselle and pay Frank Canna (fellow autopian) a visit.



Side Notes: I applied some BM just a few weeks before but I was planning to apply nxt gen paste wax, maybe that had something to do with it?
 
If you only have scratch X I would find a spot on the body of the car that is not in a very noticable place, like down low. Then I would take the scratch X and rub back and forth in a 5inch by 5 inch square. Do that and rub pretty hard. Then wipe off right after that. The vigorous rubbing should dry the product very quickly. Its very hard to remove scratches by had and i'm not quite sure scratch X is the best product. You need to produce heat by rubbing to break down the product and remove scratches. Hope this helps.
 
As David703 said you really need to rub it in hard.



My experience with scratchx is you need to work it in till it is almost gone then wipe off. Do not let dry it will be difficult to remove if it dries.
 
As far as I can see there isn't swirls on the lower body panels so it wouldn't help to do it that low. The only reason I let it dry is because it said it on the tube.



Do I need to strip the old wax or something?
 
Scratchx is not a wax letting it dry will not do anything. You don't need to strip the old wax a good wash

and a clay would help. Claying will remove the dirt/bumps you can feel on the paint and reduce the likely hood of those comming off and causing more scratches.



Use a terry cloth applicator for more bite. 1'x1' may be too large an area. Start on a smaller area till you get some experience, it's not difficult, hang in there.
 
scratch x by hand to remove swirls......probably not.

You could buy a gallon of that stuff and rub untill your elbows lock up and you're probably not going to get the results you're looking for.

Save your money for a PC, some pads and some good polish.

RET
 
I've used ScratchX to 'remove' swirls many times, but I mainly use it for working small spots. For instance, I worked on a 68 Mustang this weekend and the owner used a nylon brush to remove his polish from the joints between the headlight cowling, the quarter extensions, etc. His brush left very noticible scratches in the surface and ScratchX was the perfect product to work / fix these small areas.



Doing an entire car with ScratchX is a HUGE job that's better left to a PC or rotory with the appropriate products, but ScratchX can be used if you've got a lot of time and patience to properly work it. It's a good product for working small spots and not the best choice for doing an entire car, but if money is tight and you've got the time / energy / strength / stamina, then ScratchX might be a fair choice. The thing with SratchX is you really got to put some serious effort into working it against the finish to get results and you've got to work small areas at a time (i.e. 6" X 6" or smaller). You've got to keep working it until it turns clear and stop working it before it dries. When you're done working the area, then wipe it down (don't wait for it to dry). You may have to work that same small area 3 or more times with some serious effort before you see results, but you will see an improvement if correctly done. ScratchX contains fillers, so you'll want to wipe the finished area down with a 50/50 mix of water & isopropyl alcohol to remove any fillers so you can see the true finish to determine if you've got more work a head of you or not.



The best way to demonstrate the effectiveness of this product is to find an area on the hood that has noticible swirls. Then bisect a swirled area with some tape. Put some serious passion behind working one small area next to the tape and repeat this process 3 times. Then wipe that area down with the water / IPA mix and pull the tape. The area you just worked should look greatly improved compared to the area seperated by the tape.
 
lp2137 said:
I [used].. scratch X on a foam applicator pad .. The swirls didn't seem to get even a little better so I redid this 2 more times but to no avail.



Any suggestions? I can't afford a PC right now...
Click to expand...



If you're gonna work by hand I'd *absolutely* get some 1Z brand polishes. If the vehicle's really marred up I'd start with their Ultra/Extra Polish and then follow up with their Paint Polish. These are by far the easiest to use by hand *IMO*. I'd top with Collinite wax. That's the best way I can think of to effect the "significantly better" improvement by hand.



I've even removed scratches from Audi clear (like behind door handles) with Ultra, though it did take quite a while. Using terry applicators for the Ultra/Extra will give a bit more bite. Then use foam with the Paint Polish. I think you might even *like* using these polishes, you can actually feel the abrasives breaking down (and it doesn't take forever either), lots of feedback/confirmation that you're actually accomplishing something.



The 1Z polishes do contain waxes/fillers. I wouldn't worry about it and I sure wouldn't use an alcohol spritz to remove them (leave that sort of thing for when you're working on better vehicles and/or with machines). Just apply a long lasting wax like the Collinite over top of the stuff the polishes leave behind and it'll look good for a long, long time.



The 1Z/Collinite approach is one I use (though I do it with machines ;) ) on beaters, both my own and those I do for my mechanic. It works, period.
 
It sure is nice to see someone still recommending the 1Z stuff. 1ZPP was the first polish I ever used via PC. I usually forget I have it. I think with its fillers it would be great under a carnauba since I've gone back down that road once again.
 
And it's not like the fillers negate all the correction it does either. The abrasives really *do* effect some decent correction and IMO the "fillers" are mostly waxes, which I'd be applying anyhow. For those vehciles where perfection just isn't *close* to being an option, 1Z/carnauba is just as good as it ever was.



One thing I've noticed over the years is how many people say that yeah, the 1Z (especially by hand) recommendation worked for them. It's easy for me to know what works for *me*, but there are just so many variables when you recommend something to someone else...
 
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