I have a 2003 f150 That I picked up awhile back. The previous owner took very good care of it but they apperently did the occasional quarter carwash and used a rather harsh brush. It has some fine brush scratches in the clearcoat. They arent REAL bad but I would like to find a way to get them out if possible. I searched around here but didnt really see anything directly related. Any ideas on what I might try here?

Thanks

 

First thing give it a good washing then claybar the whole thing( I never use towels to dry I either use a leaf blower or hit the waterspots with detailing spray.)
That meguires ultimate compund and a da polisher would be a good way to start. Or you could try meguires scratchx by hand. Which ever method you decide to try first remember to try it out in a small place first. You don't want to do the whole thing then find out it did more harm than good. There is better info on here than what I just gave you but here is another that might help http://www.f150forum.com/f33/how-det...-finish-43935/

 

I'm not one to down any Meguiars product. Their Gold Class car wash is a personal favorite of mine. But in my own personal opinion when it comes to car care/wax products. ZAINO all the way. Here's a quick link to the Zaino clay bar. http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...duct_Code=Z-18 And if I were you i'd follow the clay bar up with a some of their Z-2 car polish http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...oduct_Code=Z-2 applied via a polisher if you'd like and then follow all that up with their Z-6 Ultra Gloss Enhancer. http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...oduct_Code=Z-6 These are the only products that I will allow to see the paint of my Harley =D But my ADHD has kicked in and I forgot about your light scratch problems. As far as that goes you should Clay bar first and if that doesn't take care of your problem. Give this ago http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/...oduct_Code=Z-5 Then apply your polish/gloss enhancer after this. It's a rather time consuming process. But if you have the time and your pocket book can handle it all. Your truck will come out looking "BETTER" than new =D

 

Seriously, that will buff right out. That clear-coat is amazing, and will clean right up. Either do it yourself, as advised above, or take it to a good auto porter. I saw a new F150 that a dog spend the night sleeping in the hood, and was scuffed up real bad, buffed right out, and five years later still looks good.

 

The problem is that none of what you have listed will actually remove the scratches, just hide them. I wouldn't suggest going through all that effort and not fix the defects. IMO Zaino is great for protection, but not removing defects.

 

That is why you have a clear coat layer over the paint. The scratches are only on the clear coat, not the paint. If the clear coat does it's job protecting the paint, then there are no defects to remove.

 

Exactly, if you have scratches that have run through the clear coat there is not product that i know of that restores clear coat. and unless he was washing the the truck with a wire brush lol. Then the ZAINO scratch polish should do just fine.

 

You might also want to find a nice compound wax. applicated via an orbital buffer. This would prob be your best bet. But cost alot more. unless you already own an OB

 

Here's a photo of some recent polishing i did to my truck.
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This was before i did the front bumper and passenger side of truck
And if you look at my signature in my previous post then scroll down you should be able to see a difference in shine. My signature was taken with my truck "Dirty" =D

 

Yes, the scratches are only in the clear coat, which is paint. Using the Zaino products that were recommended will only cover and conceal the scratches, not remove them.

 

No offense, but posting pictures taken in the shade prove nothing. If you've never used anything more than Z5 and Z2, your truck has scratches and swirls.

For example, this suburban looks great in the shade.



Under halogens it looked like this.



None of that was thru the clearcoat, and it wouldn't have been removed by Z2 or Z5. It took the proper combination of compounds and pads to remove and not just conceal the defects.

 

I stated in a previous post that compound was the best bet . And as far as scratches and swirls I can proudly say my truck has zero I had to compound buff it 1 time and ever since ive just dropped on Z-2.

 

Not baggin on ya MRLSU2U, but why jump to compound? First rule is least aggressive first.

Would like to see photos of your paint under a Brinkman or Halogens or in the sun....

Do you think Zanio products can fix this?



Not a chance

Same shot corrected.


I can do shameless too


To the OP, if you haven't done the truck yet, would like to see your paint in the condition it's in, better to see that first before providing advice that may or may not apply to your situation.

 

Dumb question but what exactly is a shameless shot?

 

I didn't come up with it but another member here did...TooStroked...his idea of a "shameless refection" shot.

If you want to show off a correction, take shots under the lights. A reflecto shot can trick the eye so that is why you will see many of the detailers post before's and afters under lights and show the reflection shot to show off the LSP and gloss etc.

Make sense?