Rubbing Compund fixes scratches?

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sickmark8

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Hey guys i need a little help. this past wednesday kids were playin on my block and made a nice long scratch on my drivers side door about a foot and a half long. i went to NAPA auto parts on hylan blvd for any of you Staten Islanders reading this and got this thing called NO. 7 Rubbing Compound. the guy told me it should remove the scratch no problem w/ just a lil elbow grease. The thing is i never used this stuff before. So my question is, does anybody have experience using rubbing compound on their paint job? if so, what should i know before i start messing around with this stuff? i don't want to make it look worse than it already is. if its any help the mark viii is black and most of the scratch is not that deep. thank you for your suggestions.
 
The rule of thumb is if you can catch the scratch with your fingernail it's permanent. What brand of compound did you get? If you use a compound you are going to need a finishing polish to restore the gloss to that part of the car.
 
i'm not sure about the finishing polish. these are the instructions as follows:
1. Make pad of soft, dampened cloth. work a small ammount of compound
2. apply to car finish with back and forth strokes for best results, start with light pressure and increase until desired result is achieved. rinse and wring pad frequently.
3. As compound dries, rub with less pressure to get shine
4. buff with clean dry cloth
5. for a finer finish, repeat the process with milder No. 7 Polishing Compound. To protect finish, apply Rally Cream Wax

I'm assuming that i have to use the wax but it might not necessarily be the case

The can also has a NOTE and a Caution. The note reads: "Nor recomended for use on clearcoats, vinyl, mealized plastic trim, simulated wood, decals, rubber bumbers, or flat paint surfaces"

The Caution reads: " Contains powerful abrasives that may remove or scratch paint." This doesn't make sense in that on a diffrent part of the packaging i quote them when they say: "Cleans & Smooths rough surfaes including paint repair blending, removes scratches and stains to provide a smooth, shiny surface ready for waxing"

Jesus, i just basically typed the whole damn label...lol
 
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Depends how bad the scratch is on what grit of compound to use. what compound does is sand down your clear coat until the clear coat surrounding the scratch is worn down. If the scratch is too deep you can't get it out without taking away paint. You don't want to go past the clear coat.

As mentioned pictures would help others give correct advice. The fingernail rule of thumb as mentioned is generally what the body shop goes by. But applications vary. I'd say go pay a body shop the 30 bucks to have them buff out what can be buffed. It's just a buff, not a paint job. They shouldn't charge much. Good luck.
 
 
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It's hard to tell if the scratch is more of a 'mar' or deep scratch, .. does your fingernail catch if you pick at it? Or can't your fingernail get ahold of it?

If it's a mar that compound looks like it'll work, 'cleaning and restoring dull finishes' indicates it's probably a fine compound, which won't make it look worse. Pretty much a polish. Use it if the scratch is more of a mar, if it's more of a scratch, go to a body shop. The body shop will use coarser compound then finish off with fine compound, and they won't burn through your clear.

If you do use the compound yourself use a microfiber towel. Get a couple, use one for the compound and keep one clean for wiping off dry compound.
 
towards the side mirror the scratch is a little deep, but the rest i believe its a 'mar' type scratch as you put it...if i were to take it to a body shop how much would it cost more or less?
 
:) LOL that pic looks like a carnival mirror :D makes you look BIG and WIDE :)
I see white which means its deep good luck and sorry :(


fat.jpg


OBTW open a photobucket account upload your pics and use the icon that looks like a mountain and sun when you post then use direct link on photobucket copy and paste the http:// bingo you got pics ;)
 
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ford nut said:
:) LOL that pic looks like a carnival mirror :D makes you look BIG and WIDE :)
I see white which means its deep good luck and sorry :(


fat.jpg


OBTW open a photobucket account upload your pics and use the icon that looks like a mountain and sun when you post then use direct link on photobucket copy and paste the http:// bingo you got pics ;)
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hey fordnut, i hope ur some kinda motivational speaker or operator at a suicide hotline...cuz u sure give me a heluva lot of confidence about my apperance...lol. My friends nicknamed me "JUICE".....dunno why. lol
 
well i applied the compound today and it did not work. its still there. i guess i'll just have to live w/ it even though it pisses me off. But anyway, thank you everybody for the help and advice. once again greatly appreciated.
 
sickmark8 said:
well i applied the compound today and it did not work. its still there. i guess i'll just have to live w/ it even though it pisses me off. But anyway, thank you everybody for the help and advice. once again greatly appreciated.
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that scratch is real deep, It could easily be touch up, I have touch up many of those up at the body shop. i say take it to a shop have them touch it up, color sand and buff it.
 
I tried to buff out my hood and in florida My clear coat is so thin All I seemed to do was take the clear coat off mine, Waxed and Waxed the areas and still alot duller
 
mannieg said:
that scratch is real deep, It could easily be touch up, I have touch up many of those up at the body shop. i say take it to a shop have them touch it up, color sand and buff it.
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hey mannieg, how much do you think a scratch like this would cost me to fix? considering your expertise on the topic?
 
sickmark8 said:
hey mannieg, how much do you think a scratch like this would cost me to fix? considering your expertise on the topic?
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I would say about 300-400 bucks, Assuming who does the job preps it right and blends the paint right. The labor is not so hard the costly part is the matching the paint due to the fact that they have to do a color match and black is one of the hardest colors to match.
 
thnx alot for the help guys. i'm gonna buy some touch up paint and give it a try, if not, i'll go shopping around for a good body shop and let them fix my mistakes.
 
A small body shop should be able to paint your door relatively cheap, maybe 2-300 doll's or less. black doesn't need to be blended, they can paint your door and match buff into your quarter and fender and roof 12-18" and you wouldn't be able to tell there was ever a problem.

In response to the guy who buffed his hood or what not and "just made it dull" .... you used too coarse of rubbing compound and you'll have to go over it with a finer compound.
 
well what do you guys think about using that "crayon-type" scratch fixer. My dad used it on the front bumper when it still was his car. i rubbed it out w/ the compound and it looks like if it was never there....i mean u really have to look, but considering this is on the door, mabye i should spend the dough? keep in mind i'm a college kid...money is hard to come by... :)
 
Ahhh Hyland Blvd.. Good times in SI miss it...
Anyway on subject, as stated before if your fingernail catches the scratch it will take paint to remove it. But you can make it look better, you will need a buffer, something like Porter Cable 7424 and some meguires 80 and 83, or one of the other million companies. I use Meguires Scratch X to get rid of faint swirl marks and very fine scratches by hand.
 
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