Rookie mistake..Please Help!!

[Sahil]

Hi guys,

I drive a pearl white Hyundai Elantra (two months old). So a couple of days back while I was driving some paint fell on my car (a few blotches) basically on the roof and on the boot. Mistaking it for some bird poo i let it be, and thought I ll attend to it first thing in the morning. The next day to my horror i realized it was some paint. Being a novice, i tried removing it with a mixture of oil and nail polish remover (low concentration) and used cotton/paper tissues to apply/rub the same. I manged to remove all the paint blotches but in my quest to remove them it appears that I have scratched my paint as well. The scratches are not deep as i cant feel them with a finger nail. However, the places which I attended to, now have these scratches along with loss of glossiness. Given the location of these blotches they are not much of an eyesore but I still want to fix this. As for the intensity of the scratches/blotches they can be seen only in direct sunlight and not otherwise.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[kieron24]

Re: Rookie mistake..Please Help!!

Hi guys,

I drive a pearl white Hyundai Elantra (two months old). So a couple of days back while I was driving some paint fell on my car (a few blotches) basically on the roof and on the boot. Mistaking it for some bird poo i let it be, and thought I ll attend to it first thing in the morning. The next day to my horror i realized it was some paint. Being a novice, i tried removing it with a mixture of oil and nail polish remover (low concentration) and used cotton/paper tissues to apply/rub the same. I manged to remove all the paint blotches but in my quest to remove them it appears that I have scratched my paint as well. The scratches are not deep as i cant feel them with a finger nail. However, the places which I attended to, now have these scratches along with loss of glossiness. Given the location of these blotches they are not much of an eyesore but I still want to fix this. As for the intensity of the scratches/blotches they can be seen only in direct sunlight and not otherwise.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You can try Ultimate Compound or Ultimate Polish with a foam applicator pad. It depends on how hard your paint really is. The compound is more aggressive than the polish though. Hope this helps.

[Nick Winn]

Re: Rookie mistake..Please Help!!

We would agree Meguiar's Ultimate Compound would be a good start to try to address these scratches. If applying by hand, we would suggest using a soft foam applicator pad, and working in no larger than a one square foot area at a time. Keeping your hand flat, apply the product in circular, overlapping motions, using moderate pressure, for about a minute. The product will start out as a white residue and will then break down to a light wet, translucent film. Wipe the product residue off immediately and inspect your work. You can repeat this process 4 or 5 times if needed in any particular area but if the scratches are not removed after repeated attempts they will likely require a machine like a Dual Action Polisher to remove.

Meguiar's G17216 Ultimate Compound
Meguiar's X3070 Soft Foam Applicator Pad

[Sahil]

Re: Rookie mistake..Please Help!!

Hi Nicholas, appreciate the help.

I heard from someone that the ultimate compound is quite abrasive (I am not questioning your advice but just curious), so I was wondering whether one should try Scratch X first instead? What would you suggest?

Additionally, depending on whatever you finally suggest, would the botches re-appear after a while? India is a pretty dusty place so my car wash chap washes the car quite often.

Thanks for all your help!

[Sahil]

Re: Rookie mistake..Please Help!!

Thanks a ton Kieron24. Appreciate the help. Depending on what Nicholas and you think on my below-mentioned query I ll get to work on it. Cheers!!

[kieron24]

Re: Rookie mistake..Please Help!!

Thanks a ton Kieron24. Appreciate the help. Depending on what Nicholas and you think on my below-mentioned query I ll get to work on it. Cheers!!

No problem, this is a good link for you to look it http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...t-surprise-you!

In terms of the Ulitmate Compound, I've used it alot and it works amazing and has never given me any problems and as the link shows Scratch X is just under it.

[Nick Winn]

Re: Rookie mistake..Please Help!!

Hi Nicholas, appreciate the help.

I heard from someone that the ultimate compound is quite abrasive (I am not questioning your advice but just curious), so I was wondering whether one should try Scratch X first instead? What would you suggest?

Additionally, depending on whatever you finally suggest, would the botches re-appear after a while? India is a pretty dusty place so my car wash chap washes the car quite often.

Thanks for all your help!

To give you an idea, even when using our Ultimate Compound with our MT300 Dual Action Polisher, the process itself is extremely non-invasive to the paint, sometimes the amount of paint removed is not even measurable by paint thickness gauge. When working by hand, you are at a less aggressive level of cut. You still don't want to rub a 2 inch by 2 inch area by hand with a compound as hard as you can for minutes at a time, but when applied as described in my initial response is safe, and likely is going to be needed. Based on your description of the issue with the paint, and how the scratches were inflicted, we think it is going to require Ultimate Compound, maybe even a Dual Action Polisher applied compound to remove.

Hope this helps.