What is a good polish for removing marks??

[RSW]

I have had my engine out to the car for a while and the car has been sat under a car cover outside.
The problem is the wind has moved the cover and left loads of small scuff marks on the laquar of the metallic paint.

It looks realy bad and I'm realy upset by it.
Does anyone know if some sort of polish will remove these marks?

Or am I doomed to having some serious work done on the paintwork?

Any advice is welcomed

[Milu]

I've always thought carcovers were more trouble than they are worth. I find autoglym products good, available from Halfords. They also have a mild abrasive called something like autoglym colour restorer which should be fine for your purposes if the scuffs and scratchs are not too bad. It is milder than T-cut which is what I would go to if the autoglym doesn't do the trick. Finish with polish.

[RSW]

I had seen the AutoGlym products in halfords - i think the paint rejuvenator has a pink label if its the same one i'd seen. I was just wondering if it was the tool for the job.

I've only ever T-cut one car and it worked wonders but it didn't last long (it was a read car that soon went pink again)

I'm going to need to do something with this paint work it's driving me mad.

Richard

[Teutonics]

I would start with the finest cut you can find, and use more elbow grease than polish strength/cut. Start out with a cleaner wax like Meguiars, then if that doesn't work, move to their Body Scrub, then to something like Griots Fine Hand Polish or 3M fine cut polish. A swirl or haze remover might work as well.

I never use anything stronger than the Griots or 3M on ANY scratch.... I find that the follow up work required from using standard rubbing or polishing compounds is more work than the extra effort required with the fine-cut stuff above.

HTH,

[RSW]

Thanks, I'll be honest - I haven't heard of most of the stuff you've listed so it dosen't make a great deal of sense to me just now. But I guess thats the idea - I will have to make some notes and do some shopping.
I'm encouraced to hear that there sounds to be a solution to my probelm.

Thanks
Richard

[MarkY]

3M swirl remover might be able to do the trick, but be aware that you will never break it down by hand.

You can rub it in all you want but if you want to break it down to a fine powder (that is how the properties of this stuff works) you will need a RO buffer such as a Porter Cable.

Good Luck

[Teutonics]

Whoops, just realized you are in the UK. Here's the Griot's (USA) link to the hand polish:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_1000&L2=L2_1004&SKU=11165

Or if above doesn't work you can find the site at:

www.griotsgarage.com

The 3M stuff is professional detailers supplies, you may want to try a local detailer supply company.

The Griots hand polish is designed to break down for hand use, so it doesn't require a buffer.

HTH,

[Drew_K]

Richard,

Be sure to start with the least aggressive polish first. If that doesn't work, then work your way up to more aggressive products. I like 3M products, but there are many other good product lines out there.

It's VERY important to start with a clean surface. Use dishwashing liquid to remove any old wax residue. Car wash soap is the right thing to use after a car has been waxed, but in this case you want to remove the old stuff.

Also be aware that some "polishing products" are fillers, meaning they only fill in the scratches but do not smooth them out. Fillers are a good product in that they're not aggressive, but you'll have to reapply the product perhaps once or twice a year. Be sure to put a layer of wax on top to keep the filler from washing away. Other polishes actually smooth out the scratches, and other products are a combination of filler and polish. For example, the 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (which I like) is pretty much a filler.

To apply the polish, I HIGHLY recommend a random orbital polisher. It will not damage your paint job unless you grossly mis-use it. The one most people recommend is the Porter Cable, which is the one that I have.

Good luck. With the right products and technique (and a machine polisher), you'll be amazed at the results.

Drew

[reed930]

Richard,

I think Drew's advice is right on--with the possile exception of the use of power buffers. I am always worried about uneven pressure and "burning" the paint. I also use 3M Imperial Hand Glaze and have had great results with it. It is very effective for removing fine scratches.

I buy most of my products from Car Care Online. They have alot of experience and are very helpful. Their site also has some very useful how-to tips on caring for almost every aspect of your car's finish. I've included some links.

Proper Use of Car Covers


Cleaners and Polishers

Good luck. The original paint on our cars is very durable and unless really abused, it can probably be brought back to life with a little work.

[APKhaos]

Larry Reynolds [Carcareonline] knows something about Porsche-specific paint systems. His appproach to scuffs and minor scratches is to use 3m Imperial Hand Glaze with about a dime-sized dob of P21S Metal Polish mixed in to give it some cut. No power buffing required.

Its worked well for me, YMMV.

[RSW]

Thanks very much for the feed back.
I now realise I previously knew very little about polishing cars.
I hadn't realised there to be so many product for the different tasks.
I will seriously consider buying myself a automated buffer of the type described I think.

When I get 5 min's I'm going to start to pick through the web sites that you've added.

I now realise why the other porsche's I pass in the street look comparitivly better then mine.

Thanks again
Richard

[MarkY]

Originally posted by RSW
Thanks very much for the feed back.
When I get 5 min's I'm going to start to pick through the web sites that you've added.

Thanks again
Richard

When you get time, check out the Autopia Forum . You'll need a lot more than 5 minutes though. The site has more info on proper auto care than you can imagine. Do a search on Porter Cable or PC. The model number your interested in is 7336. It's next to impossible to harm paint with this machine.

[gr8fl4porsche]

You hear this all the time - 'I would never use a buffer on my car'

Let me add to previous comments about the Porter Cable Random Orbital.

The PC will not hurt your paint - it will only help it. I doubt you could burn thru your paint even if you tried. Just do some research, buy the PC with the pad kits, get some of the 3M products like Finesse-it or the Imperial Glazes and start buffing.

Use a combo of different pads with different polishes to achieve the results you are after. I mixed some of my cutters/polishes to work on certain areas. I am just a novice with my new tool and am confident I could remove any 'mark' on paint.

The PC is a very slow tool, meaning that it cuts very slowly, which is a very good thing for the average DIY'er.