jayrob33

hey everyone.... listen to this one. i have recently used a sponge a couple times when washing my car to remove the bugs from the front and sides. the sponge was similar to a kitchen sponge that has a little rougher side to it, but not overly rough. i have noticed that on a couple places that i rubbed, the paint is kind of scratched and it has left a white hazy area that you can notice a little when in the sunlight. i had tried yesterday to get the scratches out by using turtle wax polishing compound, it appears a little lighter but it is not fully disappeared. any other suggestions as to what i can use to remove these scratches from my stupid mistake???

pls help!!!

wedge357

seeing that the haze did not go away with a polishing compound it may be better just to bring to detailing shop. They have professional strength products as well as a buffing tool that should get it right off.

lurch519

please, please, please dont tell me you used the rough side on your paint.

as to your paint, take it to a professional detailing shop, and they will be able to tell you if it can be buffed out.

on a side note, get some good microfiber towels and use those when getting the bugs off, it takes a little extra effort, but you wont scratch the paint

Gambit

damn bugs....why can't they get outta the way

jayrob33

what if i use the meguiars scratch x? i was reading up on that and it seems to work for others? is there a chance that it would come out after a couple applications?

r042wal

I scratched the clearcoat on my trunk scrubbing a contaminate off the paint. You can't buff out scratches in clear coat like you can paint. Take it to a pro. I went the polishing compound/swirl remover route and it lightened my wallet $8.00 :p

x-ped

You can buff it right out with a porter cable with orange pad and a abrasive polish like poorboys ssr 2.5. If that doesn't get it out you can move up to ssr3. If you have any questions you can p.m. me.

Flawless

You can try using a product like meguiars scratch-x. Make sure you read the directions on the bottle! If not, it's probably a good idea to take the car to a shop and let them fix it up quickly. This way, if they mess it up worse, they are responsible :D

NMShinka

Any chance you had some detergent on that sponge which may have resulted in removing your coating and leaving behind that hazy spot?

Happened to me..very embarrassingly!!

Cheers!

XDEEDUBBX

Buffer

wedge357

x-ped, you're telling this to a person who was *bleep* enough to use the rough side of a dishwasher pad on his car. :p

You think he'll be able to figure out WTH you're talking about? :D

r042wal

By the time you have buffed out a scratch in a cars clear coat, you have buffed right down to the paint and you don't even realize it.

Try to visualize what you are doing and at the same time, think about that soft, thin paint Mazda put on you wheels. How do you think the scratch is disappearing? A body man will spray (and feather) new clear and buff that. You guys are dangerous with a spray bottle and a power tool :p

How are you going to get rid of the swirl marks after you burn that soft, thin Mazda paint? :p

x-ped

r042wal what your saying is some what true, yes your removing clearcoat but it so nominal. If you were using a orbital buffer you would have to polish your car hundreds of time to go through the clear. On the other hand if a rotary is used and if you dont know what your doing you could burn right through the paint. The porter cable orbital buffer is pretty much screw up safe. If that doesn't do the job of removing the scratches then the next step up is having a pro buff it out with a rotary.

Go to http://www.autopia.org/forum/ nice forum to learn all about detailing...

r042wal

The coat of clear on the Mazda is so thin, by the time you have the scratch(es) buffed out, you will be at the level of the paint or so close to it, the clear will be negligible. This spot will be the first to discolor.

I think the lack of expertise being provided here is not fair to jayrob33. I know all about orbital sanders, and buffers and something you fail to mention in your advise is the importance of "random" orbital buffers.

When I scratched my deck lid, I had this process (and same explanation) explained to me by two separate and different autobody shops. I would put mymoney on their expertise. Buffing compounds were made for the days when all that went on a car was paint.

If you love the beauty of your 8, leave the finish to the experts (not the experts here)