Clear Coat Scratches - Jarama Beige Metallic

[Bill_SoCal]

I hope someone is able to give my some DIY advice for clear coat scratch repair. I have done searches in a few of the forums and just thought I would post new.

Here's the deal...In November I went on a Cayenne Off-Road adventure with PCA SDR that was seriously off road through the deserts of East San Diego. I took branch marks on both sides of my '06 Cayenne, however, on my passenger side I have a few branch marks that go from the front bumper to rear bumper and are very light in nature. :soapbox: You can hardly tell unless looking for them. It's driving me nuts. I have tried to hand rub out several times. It seems to me that the clear coat has been damaged to the paint...but not the paint.

I don't want swirl marks and I don't want to take it to a paint shop unless I absolutely must.

Appreciate any advise on scratch remover suggestions...again, just to be clear, the paint is not scratched and it's not abrasive like it's been keyed...just the end of wooden branches grinding through me clear coat. :help:

BTW - The outing was awesome...can't say it was necessarily worth the paint damage.

Thanks for the help.

Bill

[londoner06]

Meguiars makes a product called 'Ultimate Compound':

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17216

You can always call Meguiars and explain your situation and they will advise as to what will work best.

Alex

[Bill_SoCal]

Meguiars makes a product called 'Ultimate Compound':

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+G17216

You can always call Meguiars and explain your situation and they will advise as to what will work best.

Alex

Awesome Alex! Thanks for the quick reply. I read on this product just now and this looks like it should work for me. I didn't even think of calling Meguiars. Thanks!!

Bill :beer:

[geoff]

Meguiars periodically has open to anyone Saturday detailing classes, where you provide the car and they provide the materials and expertise. I've done it before and highly recommend it. My car looked better than new the last time I went. They should be able to help you make the scratches disappear and a whole lot more. See http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28080 for their 2009 Saturday detailing classes.

[larez2]

A good car detailing shop may be able to take them out for you. If you want to DIY, as long as they aren't too deep they could be buffed out which could be quite hard to do by hand. Using a DA polisher or buffer and high quality products are the way to go, but if you've never used one you should try it on a crappy car first. Here are a couple of good articles on scratch removal:

http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/21...uide/Page1.html

http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/26...ches/Page1.html

Good Luck!

Edited February 20, 2009 by larez2

[ventuje]

A good car detailing shop may be able to take them out for you. If you want to DIY, as long as they aren't too deep they could be buffed out which could be quite hard to do by hand. Using a DA polisher or buffer and high quality products are the way to go, but if you've never used one you should try it on a crappy car first. Here are a couple of good articles on scratch removal:

http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/21...uide/Page1.html

http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/26...ches/Page1.html

Good Luck!

The guys at Autopia are some of the best. You can check out their work here --> Autopia Click and Brag Detailers show off their work!

Find one that's close to you, they come to your house and perform miracles! Honestly, I would leave it up to an expert. Well worth the money!

[Bill_SoCal]

Meguiars periodically has open to anyone Saturday detailing classes, where you provide the car and they provide the materials and expertise. I've done it before and highly recommend it. My car looked better than new the last time I went. They should be able to help you make the scratches disappear and a whole lot more. See http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28080 for their 2009 Saturday detailing classes.

Geoff, thanks for the great info. I had no idea that Mequiars held these classes in Irvine. I'm actually here in Irvine at my office today... I may end up paying someone to get the scratches out this time, however, I'm definitely signing up for one of the 7am to 3pm sessions at Mequiars.

Much appreciated!

Bill :beer:

[Bill_SoCal]

A good car detailing shop may be able to take them out for you. If you want to DIY, as long as they aren't too deep they could be buffed out which could be quite hard to do by hand. Using a DA polisher or buffer and high quality products are the way to go, but if you've never used one you should try it on a crappy car first. Here are a couple of good articles on scratch removal:

http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/21...uide/Page1.html

http://www.autopia.org/publish/articles/26...ches/Page1.html

Good Luck!

The guys at Autopia are some of the best. You can check out their work here --> Autopia Click and Brag Detailers show off their work!

Find one that's close to you, they come to your house and perform miracles! Honestly, I would leave it up to an expert. Well worth the money!

I checked out Autopia...cool site for detaling. I've decided it's best to have someone out to the house that's an expert (because it's certainly not me). Appreciate the good info!

[geoff]

Meguiars periodically has open to anyone Saturday detailing classes, where you provide the car and they provide the materials and expertise. I've done it before and highly recommend it. My car looked better than new the last time I went. They should be able to help you make the scratches disappear and a whole lot more. See http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28080 for their 2009 Saturday detailing classes.

Geoff, thanks for the great info. I had no idea that Mequiars held these classes in Irvine. I'm actually here in Irvine at my office today... I may end up paying someone to get the scratches out this time, however, I'm definitely signing up for one of the 7am to 3pm sessions at Mequiars.

Much appreciated!

Bill :beer:

Try the class before you pay someone to get the scratches out. A couple of reasons: 1) You'll get expert advice and help from world class car detailing experts; 2) You'll find out how to get the scratches out for the next time you use your Cayenne the way it was designed to be used; and 3) I've seen bozo detailers who are highly regarded but end up screwing up paint finishes. Our Cayenne had a blemish on the front fender when we got it. Met with the district service manager at the dealer to get approval for having Porsche take care of repainting the fender. There was a brand new Carrera there at the same time, with the owner and the guy who detailed the car. Owner and detailer claimed the original finish was defective, but I can't imagine anyone spending that kind of money and taking delivery on a new car if it looked as bad as when I saw it after the detailer was finished with the car. I've done the Meguiars class twice, and I've seen them do amazing jobs restoring paint scratches to better-than-new condition