Scratch Repair - This is what I came home to after a deployment - Before & After
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 7,994
Likes: 1,050
From: Pennsylvania

So my wife scraped the trashcan while pulling into the garage. Didn't expect it to be this bad:

The scratch ran all the way from the front passenger door handle to the rear taillight.

I hoped it would buff out with M105 and a wood pad, but it was definitely to deep for that.
After getting started with wetsanding with clay bar lube and some 3m 800 grit automotive sandpaper, I started taking photos. This was by far the worst section. The masking tape was to help the camera focus a bit and keep the same color.



Yes, it's gone through the paint right at the edge there. I'll have to get the touch-up paint and correct that too.

Leveled the clearcoat to the level of the scratch with the 800 grit here:

1000 grit:

1500 grit:

2000 grit:

After the 2000 grit, I used the Meguiar's M105 with the wool pad on speed 6:

If you know to look for it, you can see where the scratch was, but it's definitely not the sore thumb it had been. I could have smoothed it out more, but I really didn't want to thin the clear out any more than necessary, since this is a daily driver, not a show car.

The scratch ran all the way from the front passenger door handle to the rear taillight.

I hoped it would buff out with M105 and a wood pad, but it was definitely to deep for that.
After getting started with wetsanding with clay bar lube and some 3m 800 grit automotive sandpaper, I started taking photos. This was by far the worst section. The masking tape was to help the camera focus a bit and keep the same color.



Yes, it's gone through the paint right at the edge there. I'll have to get the touch-up paint and correct that too.

Leveled the clearcoat to the level of the scratch with the 800 grit here:

1000 grit:

1500 grit:

2000 grit:

After the 2000 grit, I used the Meguiar's M105 with the wool pad on speed 6:

If you know to look for it, you can see where the scratch was, but it's definitely not the sore thumb it had been. I could have smoothed it out more, but I really didn't want to thin the clear out any more than necessary, since this is a daily driver, not a show car.
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 7,994
Likes: 1,050
From: Pennsylvania

Thanks. I guess this can help people get over the fear of taking sandpaper to your car to fix something that requires it.
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 7,994
Likes: 1,050
From: Pennsylvania

It's very light sanding, it just completely remove all gloss from the clearcoat until it gets hit with the proper compound, so yeah, it's scary as you go, but finished product is definitely worth it.
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Great work...I've ALWAYS been scared to touch paint with sandpaper. I've recently done some lens restore with the 3M kit on couple of other cars in the family and now confident I can touch up a couple of nicks on my G35. The lens restore process is similar to what you've done..at first you're like "oh chit" but as you go along you kind of see it come through.
Very nice job, I would recommend not to ever start with 800 sandpaper to remove marks. It cuts really fast for a factory finish. I recommend to start with 1000. But very good good done.
Great work...I've ALWAYS been scared to touch paint with sandpaper. I've recently done some lens restore with the 3M kit on couple of other cars in the family and now confident I can touch up a couple of nicks on my G35. The lens restore process is similar to what you've done..at first you're like "oh chit" but as you go along you kind of see it come through.
Great job, OP.
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