scratch repair

[g7jtk]

I have loads of scratches in the lacquer on my Discovery from branches scraping down the sides on green lane trips.
Can anyone recomend a product to fix them?

[Defcon5]

Any photos?

Machine polish will prob sort it if its not too bad

[JulesB]

Try out some 3M perfect-it fast cut-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-Perfect-it-lll-Fast-C...

or/then use some of this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GLARE-professional-car-p...

[iwanna]

g7jtk said:

I have loads of scratches in the lacquer on my Discovery from branches scraping down the sides on green lane trips.
Can anyone recomend a product to fix them?

Depends how deep they are and how much clear coat you have.

Pics help, but it might be best if you can get a local with a paint gauge to come and have a look, they will be able to advise/help you out.

I wouldn't use Fast Cut straight away, its a very harsh cutting compound.

[g7jtk]

There are scratches like these all ove the body and seem to be only in the laquer coat.

[JulesB]

They look like they will polish out easy enough, get the 3M polish on it.

A quick check you can do is see if your nail catches in the scratch, if not you should be able to polish it out.

If you are worried about burning through then you should pop to your local bodyshop/smart repairer and get them to have a go for you.

[iwanna]

If you can see primer in that deep scratch (looks keyed) or feel it with finger nail, then its paint time.

The other lower ones look like they will buff out.

Having done the odd RR, normally get away with a light cut compound rather than a heavy cut.

[Goa'uld]

When I was sorting my old Golf out for sale I wasn't sure if I wanted to drop £150 on a polishing machine/pads/liquid etc. So to test the water I went for the £18.95 Sonus stuff from CleanYourCar http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/car-polish-compounds... also had to add ample elbow grease though!



One bottle and side of the sponge is more abrasive (not abrasive in a worrying way) and the second bottle/side of the sponge is less abrasive and more for a final finish. That kit was enough to do about 2 complete passes of the Golf (one time round the car with the first bottle was ok, the second pass round the car was awesome so I did the same for the final finish), with some left over to have a go at mums car aswell with the same improvements, so I imagine it would do your big beast fine volume wise.

Took my paint from all over looking like this;





To looking like this;



To make completely sure of a perfect finish I used this http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/glazes/poorboys-blac... after the final finish and before waxing. It fills in any swirls or scratches that are left and leaves a wet glossy look to put the wax on. I even still use this on my brand new BMW as even if washing carefully you still pick up fine swirls etc which this sorts out well.

For under £20 it's worth a shot!

[g7jtk]

I am giong to try the Turtle Wax scratch repair kit. I would rather fill the scratches than expend the energy polishing them out. Every pannel is affected after driving down a river bed lined with trees and bushes. Ther are that many scratches that It may need to have another clear coat applied as they don't seem to go through into the green layer.
No way am I going to pay someone to polish the car. For the money mentioned I would rather buy a machine and do it myself.

[JulesB]

Its not as simple as putting more lacquer on top and probably not worth it, will be a lot more expensive than having someone with a bit of know how polishing it

[g7jtk]

First couple of scratches done and things look to be spot on. Just needs a good old polish so it appears that you can just slap a bit of laquer in the scratch and blend it in.

[JulesB]

There is no lacquer in polish buddy

[g7jtk]

So I hear but not looking for A1 finnish. I havn't gon through the lacquer layer, it just look a bit matt in the area covered so far. I will do some pictures when I do the area in my previous picture. It is sure to ge scratched over and over again and to get a couple of cans of lacquer to cover a whole pannel would do me.

[JulesB]

It doesnt work like that, start lacquering your car with a rattle can and I can assure you will have a right mess on your hands, just polish it, get a good sealant and be a bit more careful how close you get to the hedge and I promise you you wont have any more problems

[JulesB]

Please keep in mind I paint cars for a living, I know how paint works, im trying to help!

[g7jtk]

I have had a go with the turtle wax scratch remover. It makes a really good job but as the car is 13 years old and covered in scratches and likley to get even more I decided that I couldn't be bothered. If it doesn't get more scratches then I am not useing it properly.

Thanks for the comments