I am a jackass, thus need your help detailing.

exceptionaLS

exceptionaLS

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
562
Reaction score
1
Location
New Milford NJ
Heres the deal, my car has some bad scratches and I decided to drive around with rims this winter (pitted and corrosion). The big scratch on my drivers side was from an old girlfriend who like to drink and things like that. Also, I took the chrome trim off the back bumper and scratched the crap out of the paint trying to get the double sided tape off. My baby needs a make over. Any help with covering up the scratches and refinishing the rims is much appreciated.

P1011072.jpg


P1011071.jpg


P1011070.jpg


P1011062.jpg


P1011064.jpg


P1011068.jpg
 
first clean loose sand and dirt off the wheels with a wheel cleaner thats safe for painted wheels. next, use noxon to polish the chrome. its a green bottle, just put some on a clean rag, and keep using a new part of the cloth every time you use more polish. keep it damp and rub til the metal looks clean, then wipe the polish off with another clean cloth until it shines. use a soft cloth only.

for the scratched door, that looks pretty deep. not sure you'll get rid of it completely but you can probably hide it some more. clean the loose dirt off by rinsing, washing, and then rinsing again and drying. use some isopropyl alcohol to remove any remaining oils or waxes. paint in the crack with touch up paint. quickly wipe away with a lightly damp alcohol cloth any paint that is not IN the scratch.

go to an autozone type store and pick up some rubbing compound and polishing compound. i think the brand is "No.7" and its a large tuna can sized white plastic container. same idea here as the wheel; with the rubbing compound, polish by hand using a small circular pattern, keeping it wet, but not gobs of extra stuff, and dont let it get dry either. do not polish exesively with rubbing compound as you dont want to burn through the clearcoat in the surrounding area. do it out of the sun since your black car will just bake the stuff faster. as it starts to dry, polish it off with a clean cloth.
repeat this again with a polishing compound.
clean the area again to remove compound out of the scratch. next, use a black wax and put a few coats on there. it should be a lot less noticable after this.
this method may also work for your bumpers. use the touch up paint and rubbing compound only on deep marks. good luck!

see this thread for more info... http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forumdisplay.php?f=27
 
Thanks alot guys. Ill go ahead and do what you suggested and let you know how it turns out. Thanks again for taking the time to explain it to me.
 
The wheels could be dipped and re-chromed, but for a pretty hefty cost. You'd be better off buying new ones. You can try polish, but I've never had any luck with that kind of stuff on chrome.


The scratch looks deep, maybe even through the paint (cant see because the pic is too blurry). Easiest thing is to just clean it out and use some touch up paint. Unless you want to repaint the door, but with the amount of swirling thats going on in your paint its best not to do that. Fresh paint would stand out like a sore thumb and make the rest of the car look bad.

The bumper looks like you've rubbed almost through the clear coat. Get a can of goo gone and a clean soft rag. Soak a patch of the rag about the size of the piece of double sided tape and and press it against the bumper right over the tape. Hold it for 30 seconds or so and let the goo gone seep into the tape to loosen up the adhesive. Then use the same part of the rag to gently rub the tape off. Once its gone you can polish out that part of the bumper with light compound but don't expect it to be instant. You really have to work something like that for a long time by hand to get it buffed out.
 
hey guys, just happend upon this thread in the search for my own answers about fixing car scratches. i have a similar problem with a scratch on my car door on my 98 Mark VIII. i have a thread on this and pics at http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=41801. however, i applied the No.7 rubbing compound w/o putting any touch up paint. would it be wise to purchase the touch up paint and work it into the scratch even after i applied the compound? And if so, should i apply a little more compound to blend it in or wax? Thanks for any help. it is greatly appreciated.
 
you can go back and do touch up.... i saw the pics in your other thread. remove the waxes with dish soap and rinse good and dry. put the touch up paint in there (sparingly- just enough to cover the white and fill the void) and start the process over. since you used the rubbing compound once already, try to only rub the touch up paint this time; you dont want to make it worse by removing clear coat around the scratch. next use the polish compound, then clean it off again so all the compound is gone. then wax (probably a black wax- its literally black).
keep in mind it will never be perfect - if it comes out good, your eye wont be drawn to it, but you will always see it if you look for it, unless your more than 10 feet away.
 
At my detail shop we have an acid bath solution for chrome wheels. Might check into it.
 
Speaking of... you ever going to let us know about the detailing products you use? I remember a while back you were going to make them available to us...
 
pektel said:
Speaking of... you ever going to let us know about the detailing products you use? I remember a while back you were going to make them available to us...
Click to expand...

well... Im just having a hard time getting everything together. I have had ALOT going on lately. If people are REALLY interested I could get a couple out soon.

Kits are 60.00 plus shipping. Competing kits are going for 85 plus shipping.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 661 (members: 0, guests: 661)
Back
Top