What Product Can I Use To Remove Light Scratches And Swirl Marks

[dohertydeano]

Hi i got a 97 black starlet last week and i want to give it a bit of a spit shine.

Its a bit grubby looking and has a few sratch marks and a lot of swirls on it.

whats the best product to get rid of swirl marks and scratches.

[L22KMD]

if your doing it by hand and not a machine i would say Meguiars ultimate compound or scratch-x.

[dohertydeano]

I have a small buffing machine, but it ant that powerfull.

I used safe-cut on it a few months ago to clean it up, then used turtle wax colour magic. Made a nice job of it, but there are still scratches and some swirle marks, left on it.

Im going to have another go at take them out some day soon. what other products could i use to take these scratches and swirls out with a burrer.

[Whiteclaw]

Meguiars doesn't seem to be rated that highly by loads of people. I was fascinated by this guys demonstrations on removing deep scratches. I assume the same method could be used all over the car if light enough.

Look at a good couple of his vids.

Although, having tried to find out what compound stuff he uses, it is in fact Meguiars having just watched this video.

[dohertydeano]

Dont think you could get a scratch like that out without a polisher like the one he used.

Im looking into getting a makita 9337cx3 polisher, if i can find one in Ireland.

It would make the job a whole lot easyer and it would be nice just to have to.

[Whiteclaw]

Well the list of products I managed to find out he uses are

2000 sanding

meguiers diamond cut

then some ardex products for the glazing and sealer.

[Parts-King]

........and before you know it you will be right through the paint!

You must take the utmost care, the guy in the video is obviously very skilled

[Whiteclaw]

Hence why I chickened out and have done absolutely nothing to the car. haha

Good to know how to do it though.

Any recommendations for getting rid of swirls on the car, something I can do and not be afraid of destroying the paintwork? Something perhaps a bit more lasting and not temporary?

[dohertydeano]

well my car ant that good anyway. Shes got dints and dings all over the shop.

Thats why i want the get the polisher.

going to have a go at taking out some dents and get the paint shining again. Be good practice and its something i would just like to be able to do.

[Gary Maxreflect]

Hi, did you get rid of the swirl marks in the end? had the same problem with my Mini years ago, spent a fortune and ended learning a lot about detailing, if you need any advice feel free to ping me, finally got the car perfect and ended up winning a national award with it so i'd love to help

[gordonD4D]

If it is just swirls and not scratches a wash first then a good polish should suffice

i personally preper autoglym super resin polish , puts a good sheen on the paint and should get rid of any swirls ,then top it of with a good wax for protection coming into the winter months

[GiJoe90]

+1 for AG Super Resin Polish. Great for covering up minor imperfections. A couple of coats should give you a really good finish. Then seal with Extra Gloss Protection or Ultra Deep Shine (Good on dark cars)

If you want a permanent fix, you're either going to have to pay up for a proper correction by a detailer, or master the art of high speed polishing yourself B)

[fastbob72]

My favourite way to remove swirls,faded paint and scratches when I worked as a valetter was to use normal T-Cut,not the coloured type but the original one in the red bottle,with a machine buff with a compounding head if the paintwork needs a fair bit of work.

The thing with T-Cut is it is easy to burn the paint with a buff,it can be hard to remove by hand even.It's great stuff but it's easy to make the situation worse if you aren't careful.

I've tried Meguiars Scratch X n several similar types but there only for the very lightest of scratches,it's fine if you've T-Cut it and compounded it already.

Use T-Cut after the cars been thoroughly washed,dried and preferably gone over with tar and glue.Apply a small amount to your cloth (or a foam applicator) and work it in evenly with a circular motion,don't try and cover half a bonnet at one go but use small amounts on a small area and slowly cover a panel at a time.

Many will tell you to apply the buff off a panel at a time because it dries in quickly then is very hard to remove but the secret is to apply a layer of regular polish on top of the T-Cut.It makes it so much easier to take off.

You can buff it off with a cloth by hand but that takes a degree of effort and isn't as effective as using a good,powerful machine buff.

When using a buff with a compounding head keep a spray bottle of water with you and regularly dampen the head and don't press it to the bodywork rather hold it steady and let it use it's own weight moving in even back and forward motion similar to when using spray paint.

As you buff you'll see the polish removed evenly and it'll glide over the paint.When you feel it begin to drag or catch dampen it again,you may get only 10 seconds before it needs dampening again but thats ok,its better to be a bit wet cos it can burn easy when it dries out.

I would buff the bonnet or just half even then put another layer of polish then take it off with a cloth to see if how well the T-Cut has worked.

The point of T-Cut is to take a layer of old,worn paint off so the cutting compounds can work properly.

Once you've T-Cut it and you can still see scratches then use cutting compound.I liked Fracela G3 for removing scratches,so basically apply one coat over the whole car and buff it same as with T-Cut,if the paints even then do it again but with G10.It's often possible to need several applications of G3 first.

Then use a quality polish,you can take it off using a polishing head on the buff,I'd often buff it with several coats of polish then finish with a coat removed by hand :)

If you're paints rough n old then allow for 6+ hours and a hell of a lot of elbow grease but you can literally polish a scabby turd with enough time and effort :)

[Pcarter881]

There are so many product available in the market. But the one that i used is Touch-up paint/lacquer at your local auto parts store for minor scratches- about $3 US a bottle. Has a little brush in the bottle, Goes a long way and can usually be found for the specific make/color of your car if it is factory paint.

[Red Yaris 54]

There are so many product available in the market. But the one that i used is Touch-up paint/lacquer at your local auto parts store for minor scratches- about $3 US a bottle. Has a little brush in the bottle, Goes a long way and can usually be found for the specific make/color of your car if it is factory paint.

Is this item available in the UK?

This forum is Toyota Owners Club UK so any recommended items should be available in UK shops