Okay, so... I'm an avid skier, and a pair of skis fell off their rack in the garage into my 1 month old 8's driver side door, right above the handle.

There's about 5 or 6 small (2" or shorter) scratches along the door. And I can see them in the sunlight when I open my door, so it bothers me. I can just barely catch my fingernail on two of the scratches.

I've searched these forums for a solution to scratches, and most people recommended Meguiar's ScratchX. However there is not a whole lot of advice on how to apply it.

I've followed directions - I've applied it to the scratches and used a microfiber cloth to wipe it clean.

Yet, I'm not seeing much of a change.

Can someone help out a ScratchX noob? Do I need to use a different applicator to buff more? Do I need to buff harder? Am I just screwed?

If the scratches don't come out, am I stuck with touch-up paint? Not a good idea, IMO, because I suck with it on previous vehicles. Should I take it to a detailer if all else fails?

(Also, I would have attached pics, but I can't get the scratches to show up effectively with my digicam, which I guess is a good sign.)

 

wet sand and polish using rubbing compound

I actually made a guide for wet sanding in the DIY forum over a year ago.

scratchx, not sure if I would use that.

wait a second you are in Minneapolis! We have a meet this saturday, june23 at Morries Mazda at 1130am to 1230pm

come on down...heck if you remind me I can bring some rubbing compound and we can see if it can be worked out without a wet sand.

What kind of skis do you run? I've been on Volkl Superspeeds for the past 2 seasons...and love them...they are GS skis...and I've never gone faster in my life (well they are race skis but my other race skis were slow compared to these).

 

Oh and I have clear corners in stock too if your interested

 

Augh! Damn, I'll be out of town this Saturday or I would totally be there. I'll look at your DIY for wet sanding. What kind of rubbing compound would you use?

I've got Nordica Speedmachine 12.2 skis - not quite GS but pretty quick. They're not as fast as my old straight Volkl Pro VSPs though.

It was my girlfriend's Head Cool Thang skis that damaged the car. And it was totally my fault!


Clear corners in stock, eh? I might be interested in those. Where can I pick them uP?

 

I'm in St. Louis Park.

I can run a card on the spot or you can pay however you like

 

Scratch-X didn't do anything removing scratches from my rear bumper. Then I went back and tried again, applying much harder. And it worked! I think you have to really use some elbow grease to get results with Scratch-X.

 

This is exactly the kind of info I needed. I'll really give it some effort and see where I get!

 

This is what we call no pain no gain ;-) I will be doing mine this weekend too.... those damn scratches...

 

It's not just elbow grease—you have to give it several applications. Press hard + multiple applications might do the trick. Good luck!

 

Also do not listen to the directions on the bottle, unless they fixed them. It use to say let it sit to a haze. You want to just rub in, and rub off. It does take alot of effort and elbow greese. It also will not get out real deap scatches.

 

Isn't the scratch remover just rubbing down your uppermost layer of paint to compensate for the scratch?

 

Yes, its an abrassive

 

Scratch-X is a very mild polish and will remove only the absolute (2000 grade and finer) scratches from your paint.
BTW - a 2000 grade scratch is equivalent to the damage your bare skin does to the paint.
If you can feel the scratches, only wet sanding or the equivalent will do the trick.
I recommend 3M Trizac pads. Follow up with compound and then swirl remover and it will be better than new.

 

Great advice, all. I'll keep you posted as to the progress.

 

I used this on a scratch on my rear quarter panel, and all it did was create tons of ridiculous swirl marks. Not visible until theres direct sunlight when it looks awful. I was using a new microfiber towel. I have been applying wax and buffing off on that spot weekly for a few weeks, maybe about 10-12 applications, and its somewhat lessened the micro-scratches caused by scratchx. going to call the number on the tube and see whats up. but NOT recommended.