Remove fingernail scratches and residue
 

Being the master detailer that I am, I tried to remove some residue from my hood by scratching it off with my fingernail. Now there are fingernail scratches that are very obvious at certain light angles. I tried to polish it out with Meguiar's Ultimate as that was all I had on me, but no luck. Should I be good to go with one of the Meguiar's scratch removers, or is there a better method?

The residue was from the car sitting under a tree, so I guess the sap or whatever...could be dark bird poop, who knows. Anyway I got it off but there is a thin layer of residue that I can't get off. Any suggestions? I know a clay bar removes "environmental contamination" but I figured it meant particles invisible to the naked eye. Does it apply to fairly noticeable residue?

Thanks!

Did you use the UC by hand or with a polisher?

By hand. Don't have a polisher.

The ScratchX 2.0 says it's good for fingernail blemishes. Guess I can give that a go or do you think I'd have better luck with the Ultimate on an orbital?

Hm...or the 3M sanding system...

From my experience, polishing by hand does not exactly work. The only this is works for (once again, in my experience), is light water spots. You will probably need an buffer. The cheap ones from Wal-Mart don't work too bad. Only one speed though. If you go that rout, research how to properly use it!! You don't want to screw it up ever worse. :happy0180::happy0180:

Think a drill would be a good substitute? Only wondering because I still have a pad attachment from a headlight restoration project a couple years back.

I would THINK it would, but without seeing and feeling it, I don't want to say yes and it mess up your clear coat. Hopefully someone a little more knowledgeable, can chime in.

As long as you don't run the drill full speed, and press it into the car too hard, and keep it moving back and forth, you should be okay.

"3m scratch remover" works for me.. maybe give it a try.

UC works much better with a polisher. I've done it by hand and with my Griot's Garage ROP, and there's a definite difference.

You can try ScratchX and see if it works, but I don't think you'll get much different results. Then again, it's been a very long time since I've had my hands on a bottle of the stuff.

Drill would work, but you run a high risk of burning the paint if you're not very careful.

Went ahead and did this with the 3M scratch kit and a drill. Went the drill route because I moved out recently and I figured a drill would be a more versatile tool lol.

Scratches (and residue, tried it on that too, dunno if I was supposed to, oh well) are definitely reduced. They're still there, but definitely not blaring in the light like they used to. You've really gotta look for them. I probably could go over them again, but I think I'm just gonna get a full detail done with Opti-coat.