Q on removing small scratch on clear coat and tire dressing oil stain

[laz]

On my Satin White Pearl paint I found a small one inch scratch that is hair thin. So my questio is what is the best way of getting rid of a small scratch on the clearcoat that is about an inch long, and thin that you can feel with your fingernail when you run it over it? I am pissed that this happened, but I like to get rid of it, oh and also the stains of the armor all oil they use in car washes on the tires that splashes all over the bottom parts of the wheel wells as soon as you take off? I don't think it is regular amor all but some other black heavy oil like substance. I will try some sap and bug remover ans see if it helps, if not what else can I try.

 

I will order mudguards soon!

 

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[OCDetails]

The problem with scratches that you can feel with your fingernail is that they have gone through the paint. Once a scratch goes through the paint then you can’t polish it out. Picture it like sanding a table. Scratches on the surface are no problem, but if you set a Skil saw right in the middle of the table and cut clear through then no amount of sanding will fix it. A scratch that you can feel with your fingernail isn't one that can be polished out generally. That is a job for touch up paint unfortunately. There is a great touch up guide on www.premiumautocare.com if you want to check out that site for it. A product called Langka is also available on that site. It helps touch up repairs go much more smoothly.

 

The stains you see on your wheel wells are pretty much just a fact of using tire shine that slings. You can wash it off if you want to reach back there and scrub. No need to get too exotic with your method to clean it up. Soap and water works fine. Mud guards won't help keep it out of your wheel wells. Actually, I have been very impressed with the design of the Legacy in this regard. Either what I use isn't slinging (Eagle One Wet or Four Star Bazooka) or the design of the Legacy keeps it from flipping all over the bumper and doors. My guess is that it is getting on the inside of the wheel well instead and saving my paint. I'll give Subaru props for that at least.

[laz]

Thanks for the reply, now I have some pics of what I mean.

 

Front and rear wheel well lips I should say:

 

http://deexboy.com/albums/album25/frontwheel.sized.jpg

 

http://deexboy.com/albums/album25/rearwheel.sized.jpg

 

And this is after cleaning with a petroloum (SP?) based bug, tar and oil remover, the stains seem to ne impregnated in the paint.

 

And this is my seat stain, it is not as noticeable as in the pic, but it is there:

 

http://deexboy.com/albums/album25/seat.sized.jpg

 

Tried the leather cleaner and conditioner but it did not do anything.

 

And this is a poor pic of my scratch, I will try to get better ones:

 

http://deexboy.com/albums/album25/scratch.sized.jpg

 

And yes I can feel it with my fingernail, and it is deeper on one end that the other. Do you think a detailer would be able to get rid of it, or a paint shop would do a better job. I know it is small, but it still bothers me.

 

I think the mudguards will at least hide and protect that area.

 

So yeah, I think my leggy after two weeks of service already is showing some batte scars!

 

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[laz]

So I just ordered some paint from paintscratch.com Only thing is that my paint is a tricolor paint which means there is a base coat, and color mid coat and clear coat. It comes with all three, but I wonder how hard it will be to apply?

 

I also ordered some mudguards from subarupartsforyou.com Hopefully they will help with the splattering.

 

If you guys have any hints I would appreciate it.

 

Man I never knew whit was so hard to keep clean! And I thought black was bad.

 

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[OCDetails]

I have a suggestion for you. Buy a tube of Meguiar's ScratchX. It is a black tube with red writing on it. Should run you 7 or 8 bucks and it is available probably just about anywhere you can buy car care products. With that you should be able to clean up those marks on the inside of the fender without difficulty. That is only considering that just wiping it with a towel doesn't work. ScratchX is abrasive enough that it should do the scrubbing you need it to do on stains. It isn't maybe the best product for the job, but it will work. The real reason you should get this is because it may help reduce the scratch a little bit. The way I would use it would be to take one of those blue shop towels (any towel will work) and fold it in quarters. Then on one corner apply some of the product. Rub that agressively back and forth along the scratch in the same direction that the scratch goes. Don't go in circles or 'against the grain'. That should reduce the appearance of the scratch on the shallow end. Anything that isn't removed with this method will need to be touched up or airbrushed by a professional most likely.

 

Give ScratchX a try. You'll be surprised at how many uses you'll find for it.

 

As for the stain on the leather... without knowing what kind of stain it is I have a really hard time suggesting the best course of action. Different stains require different methods. As with any leather treatment process, you should test whatever you choose to use on an out of sight area first. If you use Isopropyl alcohol on it (an effective method, by the way) then you want to make sure that it doesn't change the color of the leather as well as removing the stain. If you have tried leather cleaner and that doesn't work, then try leather cleaner and a brush. If that doesn't work then try a little bit of soap with a brush. Try to keep your methods of removing it as evasive as possible so you aren't ruining the leather. Don't bust out the Simple Green for something like this, in other words. If you can figure out what caused the stain then it is easier to know how to remove it. Try brushing it out with a tooth brush and some leather cleaner first and then we'll go from there.

 

I've got a leather care guide on www.ocdetails.com if you wanted to look there for some tips on future leather care. It looks like you may have some conditioner in the perforations of the seat and in the seam. Perforated leather is a pain to take care of, but it is possible. There are several good leather conditioner products that aren't lotiony and much easier to condition perforated leather with. Check out www.premiumautocare.com and the Wolfgang line of products. They have some good stuff for leather.

[laz]

Thanks for the very detailed reply! I went out and bought the scratchX yesterday and applied it to the scratch. Wow, it is a lot less visible now! I can barely feel it with my fingernail, but of course it is still there. Now, it looks like that scratch is only on the clearcoat. Do you think that I should be able to make it better by just reapplying some clearcoat with the pencil paints that I will be getting soon? There is really no discoloration, just the surface acratch.

 

On the seats I think the angle of the pictre is what makes it look like there is residue. I checked them again and all the perforations are clean. the stain is really almost invisible to the eye, is just if you look for it that you can see it. I enhanced the picture so that it became more visible, but it is not that dark. I will try all the methods listed above, and will also try the scratchX on the wheel well lips.

 

Thanks again!

 

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