So, after coming home from Georgiana, AL after giving our '81 F100 to my uncle, instead of fiddling around with it and backing the trailer down my driveway, I decide to take the road that goes around our house (and subsequently next to some low flying tree limbs) and pull straight up into the yard to offload it. Everything went okay, except...

I've got some real light scratches on the right front fender next to the F-150 emblem. They probably wouldn't be noticable to the common bystander, but dammit I know they're there. You can't feel them with a fingernail, but they're there. Did I mention by truck was black? So, is there anything I can do in my front yard to try cleaning them up?

 

So this is on your 04'?

 

Yessir.

 

You mention that you can't feel the scratches with your fingernail... that tells me some about it but, not everything that I'd like to see....

With that in mind, are you able to take a few pictures of your damage and post them here so that several folks (not only me) can give you an opinion about your situation?

If not, I have an idea about what I'll recommend but, if I saw a picture, it'd help solidify it in my head....

RP

 

I got pictures taken, I just gotta get my website set up to host them. I'll try to get them on later this evening.

 

Sorry about the quality of the pic, it's hard to tell where it is, but look closely at the corner of the fender by the windshield where the door and the fender meet up

Edit: I suppose it'd help if I posted the link

http://home.earthlink.net/~legendf1/id1.html

 

Hmm.... I can't see anything... the picture is mucho small.

Care to email me a larger, higher quality picture? rockpick@insightbb.com

 

Sorry 'bout that.

One's on the way.

 

I'm at work now but, I did receive the picture. Again, it's still hard to notice the scratch but, I know you're like me and you know it's there and that's all that matters. LOL!

I'll get a little 'how-to' together for you this evening so that you may address it. It'll involve products that you'll be able to utilize in the future as well for problems of this nature as well as swirls and cobwebbing.

Hang tight...

RP

 

Quintin,

Since you have hooked up directly with our resident "Sultan of Scratch" (RockPick), you have engaged the best professional help one can ask for. I'll resist the urge to offer you my guidance since he's the one I seek out for advice. One thing I can tell you though, if your scratch is so minor that we're having trouble seeing it, you're definitely one of us! Welcome!

 

I think the worst part is that I knew I could back the durn trailer down my driveway and avoid any tree limbs, but nooooooo...

A rain fell today and I noticed a few more scratches along the passenger's side of the bed. I knew it was in-evitable, but damn, wounded and only 1500 miles old? Doh. I'll clean up the surrounding area and beg, borrow, or steal a better camera and try to get some half decent pictures up later this week.

 

Waiting in total suspense?


HA!


Sorry it's taken so long...

Okay... here's what **I** would do.

Again, what you've shown me is pretty minimal and I don't think that you're going to have much of a problem taking care of them.

First, let's understand what a scratch is...

I know, it sounds stupid but, it's important to understand what it is when we remove it.

The scratch that you've shown me in the photo appears to be extremely light and has not affected the underlying color coat that is on your truck. In short, it has only affected the clear coat that is on top of the paint. Clear coat is, in nearly all aspects of the definition, clear paint. It's applied on top of a colored paint to protect the surface from all kinds of environmental aspects. Generally speaking, it's more durable than regular one-step paint.

With that in mind, what we're going to do to remove that scratch is remove a very small and thin layer of that clear coat so that everything is on a level playing ground (flat surface).

To achieve this, we're going to utilze a product that I haven't talked much about here... that being Meguiar's ColorX. This product can be found at many Wal-Mart type stores as well as online at numerous locations.

I'm going with this product as I played with it out in the garage this evening on some scratches that my dumb butt caused by using a nylon brush around my washer fluid nozzles that was a tad too stiff. The scratches that you've shown me were VERY similar in nature as the ones that my dumb butt created on my hood.

Take the ColorX product and apply it to a 100% cotton-terry or foam applicator. These should be readily available at your local store where you find the ColorX. Once on the applicator, begin to work the product onto the areas where you've scuffed/scratched your truck. Work the product in all directions (up/down/left/right/circles/octagons/triangles/perpendicular hexagonal octahedrons etc). Now, you might wonder what I mean by work.... I mean get down there and use a little elbow grease. I'm not saying bend your panel but, I am saying use enough downward force that you aren't just drying a pan after washing it in the sink.

The COLORX product is a dual featured/one step product in that it offers protection as well as the ability to remove scratches/swirls. So far, from what I've read and what I've experienced, it's a GREAT product.

Allow the product to dry.

With a 100% cotton terry towel or, preferrably, a microfiber towel, remove the ColorX. How does it look? Better? Still there slightly?

If it's still there, repeat application.

I have a very strong feeling that this will address your problem and you'll be in and out of it for less than $10 (plus your labor). If in the chance it fails, please post back and let us know and we can get a bit more agressive with it with other products that will probably be available at some of your local auto parts stores. For the time being, I think, if it were me, I'd go this route first.

Oh yeah, try to detail your procedure with some pictures so we can see it work....

RP

 

Awesome...a trip to the local Wally World or Otterzone is in order. I'll try to get some better pictures along the way as well.

Stay tuned.

 

Okay, so I bought the ColorX today...but I'm curious, as I'm reading the label, how's this stuff stack up against NXT? I was thinking after fixing up the scratches, giving my truck a coat of NXT. How will this stand with the bits of the body that have ColorX applied to them?

 

Feel free to go back over the areas that where you've applied COLORX with NXT. No problem at all with that...

Head to head, NXT should last longer under similar conditions.

RP