Some little oik has keyed my car
Discussion
Some little git has keyed two doors on my impreza.
Before I resort to having a pro come in and look at it (wet sand etc) I want to see if I can improve things with my DAS6.
I've got the Menzerna polish with some sonus pads.
Any recommendations of technique... i'm assuming the usual process - start of with the least aggressive combos and work up.
Impreza is a Mk1 in dark blue
Cheers,
Phill
Before I resort to having a pro come in and look at it (wet sand etc) I want to see if I can improve things with my DAS6.
I've got the Menzerna polish with some sonus pads.
Any recommendations of technique... i'm assuming the usual process - start of with the least aggressive combos and work up.
Impreza is a Mk1 in dark blue
Cheers,
Phill
How deep are the scratches, rough rule of thumb if you can stick your finger nail in it it's too deep (and obviously any metal strikethrough means respray/smart ie pro repair), you may "improve" the look but a waste of time if too deep or a safe panel to practise on before you get the pro in depending on your point of view.
It's very rare for deliberate scratching to be light enough that it can be entirely flatted out of the clearcoat (but it does happen, at least for part of the damage).
One way to check - if the scratch is wide enough, fold a piece of wet-and-dry (say 2000 grit) to a point, and use that to rub the deepest part of the scratch once or twice. If the dust on the tip of the point is any colour other than white, you're down to paint or primer, and flatting out will never sort it.
The fingernail test is often wrong - particularly if the panels have been resprayed before when there will be a lot more clearcoat build than from a factory finish - we regularly flat out scratches which can catch a fingernail on non-OEM finishes. A better test is to see what the scratch looks like when wet - this reduces the refraction from the scratched clear and can give you a better indication of whether or not the scratch is through to paint. Still not easy to determine if you're not a paintwork professional though.
One way to check - if the scratch is wide enough, fold a piece of wet-and-dry (say 2000 grit) to a point, and use that to rub the deepest part of the scratch once or twice. If the dust on the tip of the point is any colour other than white, you're down to paint or primer, and flatting out will never sort it.
The fingernail test is often wrong - particularly if the panels have been resprayed before when there will be a lot more clearcoat build than from a factory finish - we regularly flat out scratches which can catch a fingernail on non-OEM finishes. A better test is to see what the scratch looks like when wet - this reduces the refraction from the scratched clear and can give you a better indication of whether or not the scratch is through to paint. Still not easy to determine if you're not a paintwork professional though.
STOP!
From experience, most Scoobies are very thinly painted so don't even think about 2K - 3M Trizact 3K or Abralon 4K pads at the very most.
Given the age, unless it's been repainted at any point, I'd be inclined to surmise the paint isn't thick enough to get too creative with.
If you can't borrow a paint thickness gauge, then employ a pro-detailer to do the job or at the very least, a paint thickness report.
From experience, most Scoobies are very thinly painted so don't even think about 2K - 3M Trizact 3K or Abralon 4K pads at the very most.
Given the age, unless it's been repainted at any point, I'd be inclined to surmise the paint isn't thick enough to get too creative with.
If you can't borrow a paint thickness gauge, then employ a pro-detailer to do the job or at the very least, a paint thickness report.
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