Scratch removal

[elwesso]

I have a few scratches on my car like this, and want to know if there is a feasible way to remove them?

[AZhitman]

That looks like it might come out with a good rubbing compound. Get a magnifying glass and look to see if it's a mark ON the red paint or if it's the result of the REMOVAL of the red paint. If it's the latter, I'd recommend you go to your dealership and find out who does their pre-sell paint prep for used vehicles. Those guys use an airbrush and special polishers and they can make a scratched-up mess look like new.

I had my hood and both front fenders done for $180 and it looked like a new car. Can't even find the original chips. The guy buffed my whole car as a favor (so it'd be uniform).

[elwesso]

I think it is scratch through the paint. What bout some touch up paint??

I also see your bidding on a 94 service manual on ebay, correct?? If you win, scan some pages for me!! Dont you already have a service manual, because the the one I have )90) doesnt have all the stuff im looking for.

[AZhitman]

Unless you're very adept at it, touch-up paint will make it even worse. Alternatively, you can try that colored wax (in red). But I'd really recommend the above...

I already have a 91 manual, but I figured if I can get a few more of them I can hook up other NICO members (or future members).

p.s. Did you get the 1100 page manual or the minimanual?

[elwesso]

I got the mini manual. How much more detail does the big one go into.

[daniel240]

that wont come out completely but if you know how to wet sand and buff it will probably come almost out. get some 2000 grit and wet sand over it. then get a high speed buffer(not an orbital) and buff it out using rubbing compound, that should take care of it. but dont do this unless you know how cause you can burn the paint, take it to a detail shop, most of them can buff. if its a larger deep scratch, you can fill it with touch up paint and repeat the process above.

[elwesso]

How much might this cost at a dealer??

[daniel240]

umm shouldnt be much, i detail cars, but only for a dealer not to the public, so im not sure exactly how much, but it would only take me 2min to do that scratch. if you ask nicely they might not charge you. hey elwesso, where in IN are you from?

[elwesso]

Im in Anderson. My dad was down that way not too long ago for some turkey hunting.

[greg_atlanta]

Unless you're very adept at it, touch-up paint will make it even worse.

I'll second that....

My car had the paintless dent removal done at the dealer as prep for the used car lot, and that worked fine. But they didn't bother with the paint... probably too much work.

If little scratches bother you, touch-up paint will bother you even more. (Very sticky and lumpy).

But I don't really care about minor stuff.... a good coat of wax and CLEAN WHEELS and car looks great from 10 feet away.

[daniel240]

touchup paint looks good if you put it on right. first of all, i dont recommend guessing colors at autozone or somewhere. go have a body shop or paint shop get your exact color. and when you put it on, dont use the little brush it comes with. use something very small and sharp like a toothpick is what i like to use. and fill in the scratch using very little paint. only get the paint on the scratch and not the surrounding area.

[elwesso]

Would I be able to get some touch up paint from a dealer?

[AZhitman]

Yes.

[greg_atlanta]

But the dealer touch-up paint is not very good!!

[elwesso]

What about that GS-27 stuff-- Does it work??

[pimpingurz]

the paint color should be located on the side of the driver door

[daniel240]

the paint color should be located on the side of the driver door

ushully on 240's its in the engine bay, firewall, passenger side. it will say something like trim color.

[elwesso]

Before I do that, i got some of that turtle wax color cure with that lipstick looking thing. Ill try it when I get a chance.

[Q451990]

What about that GS-27 stuff-- Does it work??

Nope... my friend tried it on his 240SX and didn't like it at all - and he's not the pickiest of car people to say the least.

One thing I would recommend for minor scratches and surface hazeing is a product by KIT called Scratch-out. Works great to remove surface scratches in the clear coat and as a good pre-wax cleaner. I use it for all sorts of plastic cleaning as well, like removing CD scratches, instrument cluster lenses, etc. Another use I've found is for cleaning up plastic headlamp lenses - so far it's cured the brown haze on my girlfriend's Mercury Tracer and her mom's Dodge van.

Heath

[maxnix]

I will state, as an amateur, that factory touch-up paint is the best for color matching and relatively inexpensive from Joe at http://www.infinitipartsusa.com . The trick, as shown to me, is how to use it.

After shaking well, one should try to remove all the paint possible from the stem and brush by raking it against the inside edge of the bottle repeatedly until the brush is formed into a blade with very little paint on it. Then the paint is applied very sparingly by the tip of the brush blade thus formed. One does not fill the chip with paint, but rather fills it gradually layer by layer as described. Correct cleaning and preparation of the surface to be painted is required.

Painting over scratches and mars like Elwesso illustrated is more problematical. Gentle polishing should be attempted first. Using the techniques described above, I will use the Langka system and report back to the forum on the results. Being somewhat clumsy and impatient, if I can achieve decent results, anyone should be able to also.