I have this long mark on my rear driver side panel. It was windy one day, and an old ironing board (with no cover) sitting out for garbage, fell and left this long paint mark. It didn't cut through the paint, just marred it. Any ideas of what would work best to remove it?

 

That looks like a surface mark. If so, that should come right out. I've always had good results using wax and a little elbow grease.

 

I just quick waxed the car the other day but that didn't do anything.

I was able to rub off a small portion that wasn't so stuck on there with my hands when it first happened but this portion left is tough.

I don't want to start scraping either for fear of scratching the paint.

 

My neighor had something similar on his car and I was able to get it out using this polish by hand:




Something on the surface like that is an easy fix

 

Ok, thanks.

I actually have a Turtle Wax polishing compound that I haven't tried on it yet. For more cutting action, it says to use a soft cotton towel and for less action, a sponge. What kind of towel is okay to apply, a microfiber or should it be terry cloth?

 

I would use a microfiber towel or applicator pad and follow it up with a little wax or sealant

 

Don't mean to be captain obvious but have you tried claybar? Often times I find marks, streaks and little black dots that I think are stone chips and I give it a shot of claybar+lube and it takes the stuff right off!

P.S. I like your 3" backing plate for the porter cable... I just recently acquired a PC but I only have the large backing plate. Have you tried ultimate compound with the PC? It's supposed to be the harshest compound by Meguiar's save for the M105 ultra cut compound. I question the ultimate compounds cutting ability but then again, the fits paint scratches so easily I'm hesitant to try anything more aggressive.

 

I strongly advise against using turtle wax compounds, I've red too many angry posts on forums of people getting very bad results.

I might give Meguiar's Ultimate compound a try first. You can use a terry cloth to get it to cut more. You might finish afterwards with a polishing compound. People swear by M205 by meguiars from the pro line.

I question whether a polishing compound has the cutting ability to get rid of the paint park which is why I recommend a more aggressive compound. I've used ultimate compound and it finishes pretty well with not much marring. I still finish up with M205 and it finishes to a high gloss.

You might try a polish with a MF cloth or a foam applicator and if that doesn't work, move to a terry cloth with a more aggressive compound and then come back to the MF + polish. Remember that you need to put some elbow grease if you are gonna remove defects and then rub more lightly for the post compounding polishing step. Don't forget to use a sealant afterwards since you will effectively strip any wax or protection you had on there.

Good luck!

 

I've used the Turtle Wax polishing compound on the roof and hood when I first bought it and it seemed to work very well. Gave the paint a deeper more wet look while getting rid of light oxidation.

I do have a claybar as well, just haven't gotten around to trying either method yet. Thanks for the advice.

 

I purchased the 3" backing plate from Chemical Guys, works really well for the smaller and harder to reach places. Currently, I use that Cut 1.0 for all the surfaces and it has been working well for me. I have found that their products work really well and since they are local to me and I know someone who works there I try to use that.

My Fit's paint was alright when I got it so I haven't had to do much other than an initial polish. Let me know how it goes with the PC, I have been using mine for about a year but still need to keep practicing.

I had a similar scratch on the fender of my 350z and got it out on Saturday using my machine, I think you should be ok using it by hand as long as you use some type of compound (if the claybar doesn't work)

 

Have any of you who are using polish on your fits actually measured the paint thickness? I haven't found my first scratch yet, but there is no way I'm using anything more aggressive than a swirl remover.

 

No, I have never measured.

I think my next car will not be NBP or something like it. It's hard to keep black looking good for a long time. You see every little thing.

However, when black is spot on it looks real nice with a mirror like finish.

 

In general, "Swirl Remover" (although vague in its own set), will not reduce your CC to paint on 95% of brand new cars. The other 5% are for those that have been thoroughly abused by dealerships (e.g. lack of care) or their "quick" detailers that do more harm to the clear coat than make it shine.

Put it this way, for our Fits, more than likely, you can go through a sufficient orange-peel correction with still a bit of microns to maintain for the following decade.

What brand of swirl remover are you using? Companies like Poorboy have a wide range of "swirl removers" that can teeter close to compounds, while others are more of a glaze.

Unless you've let poop eat through your coat through an entire hot summer without addressing it, more than likely you're fine to use a compound, IF NEEDED. If you haven't found a scratch (use a wide variety of lights to check your paint), you could use polishes like Menzerna SF 4.5K, which has the lowest cut but most gloss-factor for maintenance.

As for Porter Cables, it's still my go-to, bulletproof, fail-proof polisher. However, I've been using it more so for lending to friends, or when the wife wants to give a hand with the car. Other than that, for DA polishes, I've only been using my Gritos (3" dedicated), Flex (varying plates), and Rupes (21). I've been thinking about pulling the trigger for the 75E to replace my gritos but you gotta love the lifetime warranty.

 

For me personally I have already done a deep polish on my Tafetta White when I first got the car using the PC and a heavy cut compound due to the previous owners utter lack of keeping the car clean thus it was full of swirls and some scratches.

At this point I just spot treat some of the other areas that the dirt will buildup (rear bumper, front bumper, mirrors)