G3 & Tcut

[ant111s]

anyone used tcut or g3 on their elise?

I got a scratch not deep though, on the back panel on drivers side..

I think i would be able to get it out with abit of elbow greese but bit dubious of using it incase on the car as i havent done it before in case it takes the paint off?

Any advice much apreciated!

[S Works]

+1 to what Stu said. Take time, do it properly, and you'll get good results.

[Stu_00]

Sorry something wrong with my posts at the moment:

Better to use something like http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing/polish/meg...

First clay the area, makes the job far easier, and if you wont an OCD approach I would do the following

Clean car- Clay - then a pre wax (Zymol HD cleanse or Dodo lime prime) then a wax.

With the scratch X after clay bar session...

Sorry I have car OCD

ant111s said:

anyone used tcut or g3 on their elise?

I got a scratch not deep though, on the back panel on drivers side..

I think i would be able to get it out with abit of elbow greese but bit dubious of using it incase on the car as i havent done it before in case it takes the paint off?

Any advice much apreciated!

[Gad-Westy]

Just used some scratch-x on mine and it tackled a job that T-cut couldn't. Some Zymol polish and some waxing later it looks good as new.

[ant111s]

Meguiars Scratch X?

Anyone know where to get it from? Whats it a case of bit of elbow greese then wipe off?

[mrssumner]

Gad-Westy said:

Just used some scratch-x on mine and it tackled a job that T-cut couldn't. Some Zymol polish and some waxing later it looks good as new.

Brilliant! I'm just off to do mine. Scratch X can be bought from Halfrauds. I bought mine two weeks ago and still haven't used it. Now I have no excuse.

Just to recap, is the process:
1. Wash and dry car.
2. Clay bar.
3. Scratch X
4. Wax?

[Gad-Westy]

mrssumner said:

Gad-Westy said:

Just used some scratch-x on mine and it tackled a job that T-cut couldn't. Some Zymol polish and some waxing later it looks good as new.

Brilliant! I'm just off to do mine. Scratch X can be bought from Halfrauds. I bought mine two weeks ago and still haven't used it. Now I have no excuse.

Just to recap, is the process:
1. Wash and dry car.
2. Clay bar.
3. Scratch X
4. Wax?

I still haven't tried clay bars so I skipped stage 2. As I understand it, clay bars are for removing inpuritys that have stuck themselves to your paintwork so I'm not sure how much it would assist in scratch removal. The scratch-x itself is easy to use although some of my stratches took a couple of repeat efforts. I polished the car after scratch-x before giving it a coat of wax.

[ant111s]

Whats the clay bar?

Ive got what you said it should be used for just before the back wheels like on the bottom panel just before the door.. think its where stones have chipped away at it. Think it would be good to use a clay bar there as washing it off doesnt work!

[Anatol]

I could go on about this topic for hours - but the short version is: be careful just using compound (g3, T-cut, scratchX, whatever) to remove scratching.

Because a compound can remove material from the bottom of the scratch as well as the top, just compounding can remove up to 7 times as much clearcoat as removing the scratch with fine papers on a block (which only removes from the top of the scratch, not the bottom), and then polishing the gloss back in.

I would suggest the following steps:

Clean and degrease the panel.
A few strokes at a time, block the scratch with 2000 grit wetndry, wet.
Use a coarse, then fine compound, or a self-reducing compound to polish the gloss back in.
Apply a good glaze/wax/sealant to protect the freshly-exposed clear

If in *any* doubt how much clear you should be removing, use a professional - a mistake can be extremely costly.

Tol

[mrssumner]

ant111s said:

Whats the clay bar?

Ive got what you said it should be used for just before the back wheels like on the bottom panel just before the door.. think its where stones have chipped away at it. Think it would be good to use a clay bar there as washing it off doesnt work!

The clay bar is for removing impurities, such as tree sap, or even overspray, I think.

It will do nothing for your chipped paintwork, but should remove any stuck on tar (which I seem to attract) in these areas.

Anatol - thanks for the advice and I understand what you are saying. But I'm not sure I'm confident enough to take wet and dry to my car...

The fact that Gad-Westy has given ScratchX a go and it worked is enough for me to give it a try. I have a couple of deeper scratches but my problem is mostly swirls. I think the scratchX is good for this and if I can't get the deeper scratches out, I'm not too bothered. I'm sure someone else will sit or lean against my car before long anyway!

Edited by mrssumner on Tuesday 24th March 13:58

[ant111s]

mrssumner said:

ant111s said:

Whats the clay bar?

Ive got what you said it should be used for just before the back wheels like on the bottom panel just before the door.. think its where stones have chipped away at it. Think it would be good to use a clay bar there as washing it off doesnt work!

The clay bar is for removing impurities, such as tree sap, or even overspray, I think.

It will do nothing for your chipped paintwork, but should remove any stuck on tar (which I seem to attract) in these areas.

Anatol - thanks for the advice and I understand what you are saying. But I'm not sure I'm confident enough to take wet and dry to my car...

The fact that Gad-Westy has given ScratchX a go and it worked is enough for me to give it a try. I have a couple of deeper scratches but my problem is mostly swirls. I think the scratchX is good for this and if I can't get the deeper scratches out, I'm not too bothered. I'm sure someone else will sit or lean against my car before long anyway!

Edited by mrssumner on Tuesday 24th March 13:58

yea im with you on that one.. Me and sanding the car doesnt sound like a good idea. Going to give that scratchX stuff a go aswell and see how i get on!

[Stu_00]

Clay bars are excellent as make the paint as smooth as silk. Green Sonus bar is best as not as abbrasive as the rest. You need to buy a lube to spray on while using it. Basically you spray a panel then wipe the clay bar over the panel until smooth. keep remolding the clay so it is always on a clean side. Lots of advice on here, but really makes the next process far easier.

My Choice at the moment is the following: (I am not a pro tho!)

1) Wash the car with some like Zymol shampoo (Halfords Green bottle) or something like that & wheels - Not mastered this step yet! Also use two bucket method ! Lots more on the web about this! And Microfibre wash mitts are really good.

2) Dry the car off. with good microfibre drying towel etc

3) Tape off plastics with Blue masking tape (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/)

3)Use sonus green clay with Sonus clay lube stuff (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/). Make sure it always glides accross panel with the lube i.e. do not wipe without lube on panel. Wipe panel with microfibre cloth so panel is dry. You should find that the panel is silky smooth. keep claying the panel until it is (read internet for more details if unsure)

4)Then on any scratches use Scratch X

5)Then use a pre wax like Dodo prime lime or Zymol HD Cleanse (Hard work but seems to work well with cotten clothes to wipe it off again)

6)If you are not getting paint corrected and have a dark colour, use a wax with fillers such as NXT Wax 2.0. Works a treat. (Skip this if you have no swirls etc or paint correcting etc)

7)Then use a high quality wax, I am using Dodo supernatural - works a treat.

8)Use NXT Glass cleaner - Best glass cleaner I have used .

9) Get a cold beer and relax as your arms will be dead.


Should be a good guide- I am sure other people could recommend better than me tho!

Edited by Stu_00 on Tuesday 24th March 14:16

[mrssumner]

Thanks Stu. You've reminded me I need to get some 3) and plenty of 9)!

[mrssumner]

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/

OMG! I'm not allowed on websites like that!

[Stu_00]

LOL, and that is only for the paint and glass, better not start on interior, roof and rear lights (Some people I hear take them out to clean.....)

and there is the Larini to clean.....

Better get a couple of crates in !

Edited by Stu_00 on Tuesday 24th March 15:16

[Fatrat]

I'm very impressed with the dedication shown here! Call me a lazy git but I'd rather just wash the car every couple of months and let the dirt cover up any scratches! The "Oh bugger" moment when I see a scrach when cleaning the car soon passes, as does any desire to do anything about it!

[Stu_00]

Only because half the time its raining so nothing better to do, and TV is rubbish lol

Build up of dirt can sometimes look better lol

Fatrat said:

I'm very impressed with the dedication shown here! Call me a lazy git but I'd rather just wash the car every couple of months and let the dirt cover up any scratches! The "Oh bugger" moment when I see a scrach when cleaning the car soon passes, as does any desire to do anything about it!

[Wildfire]

Faraclea is a much more abrasive product than Scatch X. I've used vearious versions of it (G3,5 and 7) to buff up cars after flatting from spraying.

IIRC T Cut contains Amonia which is not so good.

[RedFred]

5)Then use a pre wax like Dodo prime lime or Zymol HD Cleanse

Never knew about clay bars, but do now, so thanks for that. But what does a pre wax do? Although I wax mine often I've never pre-waxed.

[Stu_00]

Basically gets the paintwork up to a high standard i.e gets rid of all the bad stuff so the Wax can easily bond to the paint.

http://www.vertar.com/car-care-exterior/surface-pr...

RedFred said:

5)Then use a pre wax like Dodo prime lime or Zymol HD Cleanse

Never knew about clay bars, but do now, so thanks for that. But what does a pre wax do? Although I wax mine often I've never pre-waxed.