ScratchX vs the evil BLACK CAR!!!!!!!

[ViperSRT]

Ok freinds, tommorow is the day.

I will attempt to use scratchX on my black mustang which is.....FULL OF SCRATCHES WEBS, etc and I don't enven know how half of the them got there. Some I do know were actaully there when I got it. For example, the top of the rear and front bumpers are PURE WEB and SWIRL marks. Ford is crappy when it comes to keeping their cars tip top at yon showroom.

Unfortunately I won't have time to polish or wax and won't have time to do alot of scratchX work. Hell I essentially have to do the whole car! That will probably take a couple of days working alittle each day.

Tommorow will be test day and if all goes well, day one of this journey.

I have a couple of questions though:

1. after washing yon car, should I clay bar it to smooth the surface even further? Are there any techniques specific for clay baring?(using quick clay system)

2. After scratchX has been applied and the scratch is gone, do I need to polish and wax the spot right away or can it be left alone until I finish the car and then do a full polish and wax job?

3. Finally, being this car is my baby, what are the odds of a noob moron like myself destroying my cars finish? Is this product "fool proof?"

Thank You all in advance.

[Thejoyofdriving]

Re: ScratchX vs the evil BLACK CAR!!!!!!!

I would first clay the car AFTER washing. All you have to do is to spray on some QD and rub the clay on the paint, it is really easy and you kind of have to do it yourself to see how its done, but like i said its really easy. just make sure you apply alot of pressure. When you use scratch x you are going to need to really really really really really work it in. it take alot of time and you are going to get sore. you will probably need to go over the same area 4 or 5 times, depending on how good you are. and dont worry, you cant mess up your paint job with scratch x. I would STRONGLY recommend polishing and waxing right after because your paint will be fresh and clean. make sure you have enough time, this will take a while. Good luck and dont be afraid to ask more questions, or if you need something clarified!

[Mort Corey]

Re: ScratchX vs the evil BLACK CAR!!!!!!!

Would also suggest that you only do a portion of the car. Maybe the hood or trunk one weekend and work your way around the car over time. Trying to ScratchX a whole car in one weekend would be tough.......two full eight hour days (depending).

Mort

[Mike Phillips]

Re: ScratchX vs the evil BLACK CAR!!!!!!!

Like others have recommended, you'll be better off to only tackle a panel at a time. Note the first two words...

Generally speaking... clear coat paints are harder, often times much harder than traditional single stage paint. What this mean to you from a practical point of application is that removing swirls and scratches by hand will be difficult.

In order to remove a single scratch, a lot of scratches, or swirls in any fashion, you must remove a certain amount of clear coat paint. The goal is to remove enough paint to level the highest points of the surface with the lowest depths of the defects you're trying to remove.

The problems with this are,

The paint is hard
The paint is thin
The paint is scratch-sensitive
You can't get too aggressive because while you might remove scratches you'll leave scratches behind


With all these factors considered, Meguiar's created a product that is gentle to the finish so it won't install scratches but still has enough cleaning power to remove small particle of paint when correctly worked against the finish.

Correctly working the product against the finish means not only putting some passion behind the pad but also shrinking down the size of your work area. We're talking about a 12" square area on average, that means working ScratchX over an area about 12" square, then inspecting, if the swirls and scratches are gone then you can move on to an area next to this first area but you'll want to overlap into the first area so you'll have uniform material removal, (UMR), over the entire panel and car as you work around the car. If your results are not satisfactory after one application they you'll want to repeat the process 2, 3, 4 times, enough times to remove enough paint to remove the swirls and scratches to your expectation level.

Every paint system is different, some paints are softer than otters some paints will be harder, you won't know how hard or soft your paint is until you do a test spot.

More later, have to step out...