Stinky Crappy Sport Fabric Seats

byrdpt

New member
I have some swirls and minor scratches on my 2 year old white paint. I tried claying it and caused even more marks somehow ( I followed the directions implicitly). Is the scratch x okay to use on the whole car before I zaino it, or should I wait and try to get some 3M perfect it and do that instead?
 
If scratch-x is doing a good job of removing your swirls then go for it. In my experiance 3M SMR is more abrasive than Scratch-X. They both have filler properties so make sure you wash your car afterwards, so you can see how much was actually done and what was just hidden with filler.



Perfect it may be more abrasive than you want to start out with. I prefer to start with a very light abrasive and work up. That way it minimizes the amount of clear coat that gets buffed off.
 
I don't think Scratch-X should be used on a whole car. Start off with somthing like Meguiar's #9-2.0 and if that is not abrasive enough move up to a 3M SMR.
 
I really don't see any reason why using ScratchX on the whole car would be a problem. If it is doing a good job at removing the swirls then you should stick with it, instead of using a more abrasive product.

The meguiars website states the following:
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

ScratchX is the most effective way to remove fine scratches and swirls from automotive paint by hand.</blockquote><blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

.It's ideal for use as a quick touch up or to revive a car's entire finish.</blockquote>

If it is not strong enough to remove the swirls in your finish, by all means move up. But otherwise no need to remove more clearcoat than necissary.

3M SWR is the same as Perfect it, Perfect it II is their more abrasive rubbing compound.
 
The reason i dislike to use scratch X on a whole car is that it is hard to work with on large surfaces, in my opinion Scratch X is not a yery good product, but if it works for you use it.



When polishing by hand with a SMR your not removing much clearcoat at all, think about it i can wet sand a car with 1500 or 2000 grit sand paper, than polish it out with a fine compound, so polishing with a SMR is fine.
 
According to Meguairs, Scratch X does its work chemically, not with abrasives. So it takes the "edge" off the scratch and rounds it off by chemical action. It is therefore safe for your car. But it doesn't do much other than make the surface feel smoother. I have used it by machine (PC) and found it to be much more effective by hand for removing any scratches. Needs elbow grease.
 
I agree. Its a very mild abrasive that would be good for consumers that are afraid of scratching their paint. It wouldn't do any harm, but it wouldn't do too much either.



But it works well on small sections if used with lots of firm pressure.
 
It also works very well for taking off marks from your paint like smudges and things like that. Apply with foam pad and don't be afraid to rub it in with some pressure. Then just buff off and repeat until you have your desired result. It has some polish in it also I believe.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Andre' [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>When polishing by hand with a SMR your not removing much clearcoat at all, think about it i can wet sand a car with 1500 or 2000 grit sand paper, than polish it out with a fine compound, so polishing with a SMR is fine. [/b]</blockquote>
I agree completely. :)

I beleave that if you don't need anything stronger than ScratchX then why not, just stick with ScratchX? Its not going to be devistating to use SMR instead, but its a good practice to use the least amount of abrasive as necissary. :up
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by StyleTEG [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>

I agree completely. :)

I beleave that if you don't need anything stronger than ScratchX then why not, just stick with ScratchX? Its not going to be devistating to use SMR instead, but its a good practice to use the least amount of abrasive as necissary. :up [/b]</blockquote>

And i agree with you as well.:)
 
This a used vehicle a customer purchased. I am simply amazed people are willing to purchase dirty vehicles and pay top dollar for them. The customer only wanted the seats and carpet cleaned. The seats are lot more dirtier than they appear in the picture and how they smelled...baby milk..

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Wow. Outstanding job. If I didn't no any better I would think you changed out the upholstery. Those seats were trashed! How's the smell now?
 
Thanks for the pictures..can you post your step by step with products and machines used so we can learn something. Looks like a stellar turn around.
 
Most manufacturers have good chemicals and while people have personal preferences. Each person needs to work with the chemicals they have to understand how they work best on the types of materials, soils and stains you clean frequently.

The principles of cleaning and getting good results are:
Vacuum soil
Identify the material/fabric you are working with
Identify the type of soiling
Use a pre-spray for the appropriate soiling ? grease, food, etc ? remember dwell times to allow chemicals to work
Use an enzyme if you have an odor
Use an appropriate stain remover if you have a stain ? generally blotting up the stain
Agitate the fibers ?to loosen soil and bring to surface
If still heavily soiled re apply pre-spray, agitate blot and transfer soiling to cloth
Extract to remove soiling ? with extraction machine ? better success comes with hot water and from a machine with a good vacuum lift and minimal over-wetting of fibers
Rinse
Dry rapidly

The idea behind the pictures is to demonstrate to people, that it is possible to clean very well, you just have to push the envelope on cleaning all the time to increase results.
 
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