ikata

For some uknown to me reason the paint on my otherwise pristine 91 LX sedan is in pretty bad shape. A complete paint job is imminent but since there are more pressing issues to take care of first painting the whole car will have to wait.

One particular scratch (it is not very deep more of a scuff actually) really bothers me, so I tried to remove it over the weekend. I was using a process similar to SpeedDemon's headlight-waxing even though I had heard before people doing something like that with minor paint imperfections. Specifically, I wet sanded the scratch with 1000 grid sandpaper and then tried to smoothen things up further with a 2000 grid paper (still wet). After that I tried waxing the surface with Zymol car wax. The scratch is gone BUT I can't quite get the original shine of the paint. Does anybody have any clues why??? Should I keep sanding with 2000 grid paper or higher (I coulnd't find anything higher than that). Should I keep waxing several times with Zymol or is there a better wax for the purpose. Am I doing something wrong in an otherwise correct procedure or is it not supposed to work in the first place? Thanks for any help. It sucks when you do something like that and end up worse off than when you started. I don't have a scratch anymore, just a big smear on my door.

 

bigdad

do not use any more abrasives on the finish...you removed the clear coat finish, and no waxing or rubbing is going to get it back. Your paint is covered by a clear coated finish over it...once gone, you are down to paint coat and it will not have the gloss..you should never use sandpaper on your finish unless you are going to completely refinish it....for minor scratches or rubs you can CAREFULLY use a clear coat polishing compound (very fine micro compound) to smooth out the surface imperfection...but you can cut through the clear coat with this stuff too if you are not very careful....

AlanJ

Use a mild rubbing compound - here in UK it's T-cut - hope you know what i mean - if that doesnt make it shine, then you have gone thru the clear coat.
If you have gone thry the clrar coat, try using an aerosol can clear lacquer over the area, dont mask it off, just spray over it,, let it dry 24 hrs, then lightly sand with 1200-2000, then use the T-Cut, then polish - Good luck.

ikata

Thanks!

I'll let you know how it goes!