Hair-thin scratches !!!

[Pish]

Hey everyone !

As the title says , I am asking about hair-thin scratches I recently found on my car !

Yes I know that in time scratches will happen but I want to do my best to keep my car in good condition for as long as possible !

It was really gusty a few days ago and I think some gravel scratched my car

Black car with a few hair-thin scratches that didn't look too deep .

This is my first high maintenance car color unless you want count how bright red is pretty much a moving target for law enforcement :p

I am aware I cannot make the scratch "go away" without touching up the paint of the car but is there anything I can do to make it less noticeable ?

Thanks in advance !

[Stay Fresh Car Care]

Sounds like something our Refresh 3 polish can take care used with our green polishing pad

http://www.stayfreshcarcare.com/#!package-deals/c1pqy

[Paul_S]

A picture of these scratches would be very helpful. Kind of pre-mature to suggest a technique or product without more info. Depending on scratch depth , most can be eliminated or dressed and made hard to notice.

[Stay Fresh Car Care]

Originally Posted by Paul_S

A picture of these scratches would be very helpful. Kind of pre-mature to suggest a technique or product without more info. Depending on scratch depth , most can be eliminated or dressed and made hard to notice.

Covering up swirls or marring is never the way to go. First paint correction is needed. We did PM this user

[vividracing]

Listen to the pros.

[Paul_S]

Originally Posted by Stay Fresh Car Care

Covering up swirls or marring is never the way to go. First paint correction is needed. We did PM this user

I never mentioned covering up swirls or scratches. Dressing up a scratch has nothing to do with fillers . It requires reducing the depth of a scratch by correction of the surrounding surface. Telling someone what compound and pad combination to use without knowing type of paint , extent of paint defect etc is IMO irresponsible. Telling someone a blanket cure might work on everything from soft Honda paint , stickey Subie , or rock hard Ford or GM paint is not productive. Over the years customers have called and said it's minor damage but looks like they drove through a barbed wire fence. Others said the might need a re-paint and were surprised a three step correction saved the day.I have only been doing this since 2005 but I don't shill or sell products. In recent years my travels have taken me to work on everything from soccer moms mini-vans to a car for Pebble Beach Concurs that got a 3 rd. place in class. I just get paid to shine cars and make customers happy. So you can take the advice of those who make their money selling product or the free advise of those just offering to help.

[Pish]

Thank you everyone for the responses !

I really appreciate what you said @Paul_S , it's never good to try and treat a problem without properly diagnosing the problem .

Thank you Stay Fresh Auto Car for pming me , I will post pictures for everyone to see once I get home from class and work !

[Stay Fresh Car Care]

Originally Posted by Paul_S

I never mentioned covering up swirls or scratches. Dressing up a scratch has nothing to do with fillers . It requires reducing the depth of a scratch by correction of the surrounding surface. Telling someone what compound and pad combination to use without knowing type of paint , extent of paint defect etc is IMO irresponsible. Telling someone a blanket cure might work on everything from soft Honda paint , stickey Subie , or rock hard Ford or GM paint is not productive. Over the years customers have called and said it's minor damage but looks like they drove through a barbed wire fence. Others said the might need a re-paint and were surprised a three step correction saved the day.I have only been doing this since 2005 but I don't shill or sell products. In recent years my travels have taken me to work on everything from soccer moms mini-vans to a car for Pebble Beach Concurs that got a 3 rd. place in class. I just get paid to shine cars and make customers happy. So you can take the advice of those who make their money selling product or the free advise of those just offering to help.

Paul,

While I agree with you on customers saying one thing then looking at a completely different thing on the paint. I must have taken your last post the wrong way when you said
"dressed and made hard to notice" that to me is using fillers. Nothing should ever be dressed or hard to notice when it comes to paint correction. Its either paint correction works or something needs to be repainted! His car is brand new and im sure it wont need serious correction that's why we recommended the final polish Refresh 3. We will be posting pictures Wednesday something similar to this problem to show you what I mean.

Refresh 3 is used to freshen up the paint. Obviously inspection of the paint is needed and this is why we PM'd this user and others who have sent us pictures of similar problems.

Btw we don't just sell products we are detailers. please check our other posts on here.

[radroach]

You can get the Meguiar's microfiber correction system kit (dual action polisher, polishes, accessories) to buff out small scratches: http://www.meguiars.com/en/professio...-system-kit-6/

It's what my local detailer uses, very easy and safe to use as long as you're doing proper prep work (washing, claying, masking off areas).

[Pish]

Hey everyone !

Here are a couple pictures of a scratch I found on my car , about a inch long .

I do apologize for the quality of the pictures , I'll try to get more when I have a chance later today .

[Stay Fresh Car Care]

Originally Posted by Richard Grasa

I've detailed 2 day old cars that have needed 8 hours of paint correction to fix the damage that has come from various places, mostly dealer washes and details, and damage incurred during transport, so as a "professional" detailer I don't know how you can say just because it's a brand new car all it needs is your #3 polish. The age of the car has nothing to do with some scratches it's picked up at some point. How can you tell that a light polish is going to remove those scratches without actually seeing them or putting the polish to the paint to see if it actually does remove them? You can't. Maybe they are a bit deeper or the paint is a bit harder than your #3 polish can handle? You can't tell from a quick description someone gives you. The first thing a real pro will do is a test spot on the car with the compound or polish he/she thinks will work and if it doesn't, adjust accordingly. And I have checked your other posts on here, one is the 50/50 shot of some light swirl removal you said took 3 steps to do. If it actually took you 3 steps to remove those swirls, you need some help, or more training. Or maybe you were just trying to sell your 3 polish set. I really don't like making posts like this but I also can't stand the misinformation you put out there.

OP, if you would like me to recommend a good detailer in your area who may be willing to take a look and give you proper advice, feel free to send me a PM.

To answer a few of your concerns before you judge a professional detailer based off one post. I'll start with the post your referencing to the 50/50 shot. The paint on this car is over 18 years old and had never been paint corrected and it was not light swirls. I'll be happy to send you high resolution pictures of the paint if you would like (before/after)? Now onto my point! We offer a 3 step process because each polish is formulated individually in conjunction with our buffing pads. Most people in this market who are novice are not seeing superior results because the market is getting flooded with so many buffing pads that are different! I'll say that again, buffing pads that are different! As a detailer you should know certain buffing pads wont remove heavy scratches or other imperfections. You need to step up to a more aggressive pad and polish. Also please refer to the instructions on each bottle. I'm sure you realize polishing the paint is done in steps. This is why we offer different kits.
please also refer to this post: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65152. This is a novice at work. We don't offend we simply try and teach. You didn't happen to chime in on this post? why not?
Why would I push any type of heavy polish on a car that's actually less than one year old? We also linked this user to our kit section. Please refer to them for more information. Who takes delivery on a 2 day old car that needs 8 hours of correction time should have never taken delivery of that car! wow.
I'm not going to make a customer purchase products they don't need, i.e. Restore 1 that's going to cut the clear cut when it's not even needed. If you are mainly detailing 2 day old cars my man ill pat you on the back, and say great job. If you would like us to send you pictures of our work during our 3 years of formulating our products on severely neglected paints, will also be glad to get those to you
If you would also like to see our email trails with our customers to verify how well we are assessing situations will be happy to send them to you. First thing we do is have a customer send high resolution pictures to better assist them in saving money when they purchase, i.e. buying our full paint correction kit vs. out high gloss kit. This is the tricky thing when it comes to marketing in this business. Customers are seeking the best products but as a company we don't even get to see your car in person! I don't think you understand from our aspect!
After looking at your post about automatic car washing you state " On the left are the scratches and on the right is the paint that has been repaired by several passes with aggressive compound and then finished with a fine polish". With our products you don't have to do several passes. 2 should probably be the most you should ever do, then sit back and maybe assess using a more aggressive pad if you want to cut down on time if you're not seeing results. But then again you are basing your work off of 2 day old cars. I don't know what pads or compounds your using and you don't know ours. We only know what our products can do. If we offended you because we offered our help in saying "Sounds like something our Refresh 3 polish can take care of it used with our green polishing pad" we are sorry.
Also I visited your site. You say you charge $250 to remove light swirls and light imperfections. If you don't mind me asking, what products and pads are you using, that's causing you to do several passes? sounds like your compounds are watered down!

I also would like to mention! after viewing your website I visited your link that directs you to Autopia (The FRS) you claim to clay after the car was only two weeks old. You my friend are not washing the car properly before claying. I suspect your ONR wash is not letting your shampoo formula break down stubborn dirt on the paint! I'll never grasp that concept of adding a extra additive to you shampoo! Because the clay bar you are showing in that photo could have never pulled all that junk off a two week old car! absolutely no way the car was that contaminated! Why did you not take before pictures of both the cars you linked to Autopia? As a company we strive to show you what our products can do! Unlike our competitors who show you products on new cars, we are always challenging ourselves to fix the most neglected paint. One more thing! The microfiber towel in the picture below! PLEASE tell us your not using that towel?

In the news video you posted on your facebook, I see your basically cleaning the paint with the Clay bar! For anyone who reads this and visits his video at 2:15, No clay bar should ever be that dirty, if it is you are not using enough cleaning shampoo (detergent) to remove the problem.

We don't mean to pass judgement but your basically trying to insult my character and detailing skills over one post?

Here is a few more pictures for you

[Paul_S]

I have found some of the most contaminated cars I have encountered were those off of a new car lot. Sitting exposed to the elements on lots for a extended period while only getting a quick power wash by the dealer. Add the rail dust from shipping and you have a extremely contaminated car. Washing a car like this will not remove all contaminates on the surface or those below the surface. A combination of claying and a decon agent such as Val-Guard or Iron-X is required. Many times in the past I have seen clay become filthy on newly purchased cars. As for saving time with this process most have moved on to Speedy Prep or a Nanoskin type clay towel.
So in closing most will find even a aggressive wash will not remove the contaminates that the clay shears off of the surface.

[Stay Fresh Car Care]

Originally Posted by Paul_S

I have found some of the most contaminated cars I have encountered were those off of a new car lot. Sitting exposed to the elements on lots for a extended period while only getting a quick power wash by the dealer. Add the rail dust from shipping and you have a extremely contaminated car. Washing a car like this will not remove all contaminates on the surface or those below the surface. A combination of claying and a decon agent such as Val-Guard or Iron-X is required. Many times in the past I have seen clay become filthy on newly purchased cars. As for saving time with this process most have moved on to Speedy Prep or a Nanoskin type clay towel.
So in closing most will find even a aggressive wash will not remove the contaminates that the clay shears off of the surface.

Buying products you don't need is growing beyond believe in this industry! If you feel the need to purchase extra products then go for it

A concentrated wash before claying can remove alot of stubborn stuck on contamination. foaming the car and letting it sit is key also! heck I usually wash the car twice, im just paranoid!

Isn't there a company selling like 6 different types of shampoos

[Wilso]

Originally Posted by Stay Fresh Car Care

Sounds like something our Refresh 3 polish can take care used with our green polishing pad

http://www.stayfreshcarcare.com/#!package-deals/c1pqy

Is this good for all paint colours? Or just black? Where does your stuff ship from? I'm in Canada