Scratch-X vs. 83 vs. 80

[Ryan L.]

Hello all,

I searched the forum but couldn't find what I needed...

I am planning on buffing out my truck again tomorrow, last time all the swirls didn't come out and I want them gone. I used M80, which didn't completely remove the swirls (see Detailed the Truck Today for reference).

My question is, what is more aggressive between M80, M83 and Scratch-X? I am planning on doing a test stop but just want to know where to start?

Thanks so much!!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratch-X vs. 83 vs. 80

Go with the M83 Have plenty of pads ready, as soon as a pad starts to get wet switch to a fresh/dry pad.
Carve out small sections at a time

M83 doesn't allow the pad to rotate as well as M80, so use lighter pressure and buff longer.

[Ryan L.]

Re: Scratch-X vs. 83 vs. 80

Thanks for the response, Mike

I have used M83 before and made the mistake of not having enough pads...do you think 4 pads would be enough to do an F-150 SuperCrew, or should I wait and order some more?

Thanks again!

[MrCloudz]

Re: Scratch-X vs. 83 vs. 80

You need more then one W-8006 for M83?? Can't you clean the pad with a terry cloth towel while the DA is on? I haven't used my DA yet but I have been reading a lot on here and didn't see you need more then one pad per product.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratch-X vs. 83 vs. 80

As the pad becomes wet, even cleaned but wet, the performance of the pad falls off, thus having plenty of clean, dry pads improves your speed because you can switch to a dry pad and be more effective with the tool and your time.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Scratch-X vs. 83 vs. 80

Thanks for the response, Mike

I have used M83 before and made the mistake of not having enough pads...do you think 4 pads would be enough to do an F-150 SuperCrew, or should I wait and order some more?

Thanks again!

That's a lot of surface area!


Depends upon what you're doing, removing swirls works best with plenty of pads, applying a wax only requires one pad.

You could get by with 4 pads, now-a-days for a truck that size me thinks 8-12 pads would would be good if you're using a DAP and removing heavy swirls. It would be faster to go with a RB but you would still want plenty of pad. Clean, dry pads always work better then wet pads.

Recently polished out a small car using M83 with a rotary buffer to remove the swirls and as soon as the pad became wet, even with a rotary buffer, we switched to a dry pad to continue on. Used 9 W-8006 pads for the M83/RB step alone.

This was a show car, no room for error, poured 14 to 16 hours of blood, sweat and tears into just the paint, so no time for in-effectiveness.

More is better but it can be done with less pads.

[Ryan L.]

Re: Scratch-X vs. 83 vs. 80

Thanks for the response...

I just checked my cabinet, and I have 5 8006 pads, 2 Brand New and 3 that have been used 1-2 times.

I will get as far as I can with what I have or maybe I'll split the truck in half and do half tomorrow and the other half Sunday...

The swirls aren't horrible since I did 1 pass with M80 about 3 weeks ago, but there are still signs of them.

I'll see what tomorrow has in store and decide then, but I think I will be able to get through with the 5 pads...