Ok, so I've got this WRX, see? And it's like a magnet for scratches. Two weeks I've had this car, EVERY body panel is scratched. I don't park it under things, I don't park it near things, I stand outside it with a 2x4 to ward off birds.

So I want to give it a nice cleaning and a few dozen coats of wax to try to protect it a bit. But I wanna get rid of these scratches first. Saw a lot of people praising Meguiar's Scratch-X so I grabbed a tube of it from Autozone.

Tried it out on one of my older cars first so I could get a feel for how it works...

Nothing. No change, no improvement. Didn't help small scratches, gouges, or swirl marks.

Am I doing something wrong? I applied a small amount, rubbed it in, let it dry, wiped off... tried again with more, tried dabbing instead of rubbing, tried letting it dry for two hours, tried using strokes with the scratch and against it.

Help! Is this product just bogus? What am I gonna do to remove all the scratches from my WRX?!

TIA

I use Meguiar's Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner for light to medium scratches. It literally makes them disappear almost on contact. However, if the scratches are deep, only a body shop is gonna be able to help you out on that one.

Thanks! I'll give that stuff a try. Any tips on application? I cleaned the surface as best I knew how yesterday, and rubbed the Scratch-X on with a 100% cotton towel... do you rub the Deep Crystal stuff in hard, or just lightly?

-rogue

The subaru paint is soft, I've actually caused more damage by polishing. There are two key points to keep in mind when working with our delicate paint:

1) any old cotton terrycloth towl won't work. I actually went out a bought new ones from kmart, thinking I was being extra careful, but they scratched the hell out of my car. I reccomend t-shirts cuase they're easy to get , but 100% cotton diapers are really the best.
2) A light touch is key. Because you can abrade the paint with the cloth by itself, any sort of heavy touchwith any sort of product will do more harm than good.

I reccommend deep crystal cleaner, then polish (either deep crystal or number 7 glaze) then #12 hi tech wax or another pure carnuba wax that doe not have cleaners in it.

happy shining!:cool:

I've actually got a box of various Zaino Bros products sitting at home waiting to be used. They've got extensive instructions on proper use...

I'm hoping the Z5 will help my scratches :(

I've heard a lot of different things in terms of what cloth/sponge to use on my car. I found a pack of 100% cotton "car cleaning cloths" at Autozone. They feel a lot like t-shirt cotton, can't imagine how they'd scratch anything, but I'm going to use them carefully -_-

Still need to find a natural sea-sponge somewhere.

Thanks, all! More tips, GOOD!

Aagghhh! Please, no diapers or T-shirts on the car; you're asking for more scratches . . . there is no nap on either of these, so if there is the tiniest piece of grit still on your car, you're just scrubbing it into the paint surface. Use only 100% high-quality white cotton towels (made in USA is best, try Field Crest or Cannon), the thicker/plusher, the better. Most cotton towels, even high quality ones, use polyester threads for hems, so cut off all the edges to be safe. It's a pain, but if you really want to be safe, it's the best way, imo.

Another option is high-quality micro-fibre towels . . . these are all synthetic, and the more expensive/quality ones don't scratch the paint surface. They can be used for drying, or applying/removing waxes and polishes. Beware, these are not cheap. You can expect to pay $5-10 for a 15"x15" towel. However, they have a devoted following on the detailing forum that I frequent . . . they absorb 5-7 times their weight in water, and clean most surfaces with little or no chemical. I've got a couple of cheap ones that I use on glass, and they really do a number on that nasty plasticizer film on the windows.

Anyway, that's my $0.02 on towels. For cheap Field Crest and Cannon stuff, you can go to their online outlet mall (http://www.fieldcrestcannonoutlet.com); irregular bath towels can be purchased for around $7. Microfibre towels are available in a lot of places, with widely ranging prices. You do typically get what you pay for; stay away from brands like Nicsand (4/$5 @ AutoZone). The "ultimate" mf towel is called "The Miracle Towel", it's supposed to be the softest/plushest. Neat Items (http://www.neatitems.com/micro.htm) carries a "generic" brand, but the buzz on the detailing forum is that they are quality, almost as good as Miracle Towel, for much less money.

Finally, here's a link to the car care forum I mentioned: Autopia Car Care (http://www.autopia-carcare.com), and click on the Forums link. There are a number of threads over there re: removing scratches, and which products seem to work. And, the community seems pretty helpful . . .

Scott
'02 Silver WRX

Don't listen to anyone. I recommend a heavy grit sand paper. After you're done with it, you won't see any of the light or medium scratches anymore.

Just kidding.

I've had 3 Subarus since 1997 (97, 01, 02) and they all have crap paint. Nothing will truly get the swirls out buy a complete pro job. Seriously. I even went to a few pro car washes and they all told me the same thing: have it done professionally by a body shop. Even my new 02 wagon (black) is bad.

dada: THAT I believe!

My 96 Outback has had swirls and bits and scratches forever... I just chalked it up to being a well worked car.

When I got the Scratch-X stuff I wanted to try it out on an old car before I went after the WRX with it. So I went to our 94 Chevy Blazer that's been to hell and back...

I could not find a single scratch on the paint.

Nuffin. It's pretty hazy and needs to be washed and waxed, but the damn thing has perfect paint. The Outback, on the other hand, proved a ready target for some practice scratch removal!

Who's gonna be the first to get their WRX totally repainted?

I'm sure it won't take long. I'm starting to think that $3000 and a new, REAL paint job will improve my state of mind considerably. My BRP 2001 RS gets scratches if you look at it too hard.

Anyway, I'm using Mothers Scratch remover to very good effect. I work it in with my fingers and keep rubbing till the scracth goes away. haven't gotten through the clearcoat yet. Before I zaino it I'll strip the whole thing and go over it with the 3M swirl mark remover, which will hopefully get some of the waterspots too.

Best thing I've found is 3M Imperial Hand Glaze.

It isn't a permanent deal, even when sealed by wax, but it does take the brunt of the swirl marks out.

Not a single scratch on my Silver paint. Silver is a good color if you hate scratches, cuz even if they are there u dont see em. I can tell the paint quality is cheesy but silver hides imperfections well and it never looks dirty.