Any hunters having the same problem? when I drive into the woods to hunt Small branches and tough weeds leave scuff marks down the side of my truck. I have cleared the lane from most, but just a few swizzly branches leave these scuffs that are not scratches but are still hard to remove? i have waxed my truck with a few coats hoping this would help reduce the marks , any help would be most appreciated.

 

Photos would be useful here if you have the ability...

Additionally, it's important to note that you can't always remove every blemish introduced to your painted surfaces in a short order. While wax, in and of itself, will help a little bit, you're going to have to use something with a bit more 'cleaning power' than wax alone.

Often times you'll hear some products referred to has a 'cleaner wax' or you may have also heard the term 'polish'. Both of these tend to accomplish around the same thing but, on varying levels.

Most cleaner waxes only contain very small amounts of 'cleaner' (the necessary component to remove a very very thin layer of clearcoat to re-even the painted surface). Cleaner wax is more designed as a 'one-step' product that should deal with some swirls, light marring, and other very light surficial problems.

From the sounds of it, you may have problems that would qualify for going with a more abrasive (higher degree of cleaner) product that can remove more clear but, at the same time, bringing some of your finish back to life (while removing the branch scuffs).

I hesitate to direct you in a clear path due to the fact that I've not seen your truck but, odds are that you're going to need to raise the level of 'cleaning power' in order to remove your problem.

There are common products available at most all 'mart' stores. A couple that come to mind are Meguiar's Scratch-X and Mothers Scratch Remover. Both of these products could be utilized to, potentially, remove some of the problem that is present. I'd caution you to not 'focus in' with ffocused downward force on your 100% cotton terry applicator pad (I prefer cotton terry when addressing paint problems; it seems to have a bit more 'cut' -- for simple wax application, I prefer foam pads (both by hand and by machine)) either product as they're both a bit more aggressive than any version of a cleaner wax.

Feel free to ask any questions that reading my reply brought up... Odds are that you can remove some of the problem that's there (granted I'm saying that sight unseen) but, you might not get it 100%.

-RP-

 

Hi thanks for the information. I will try to post pictures when I figure out how to. Would any of the scratch remover affect the clear coat? I have had my truck for less then a month; My previous truck, I had the same thing happen, a friend told me to try a rubbing compound to the areas then buff it with wax, well the test area lost it's gloss and never came back! My truck is black with clear coat, so every thing shows.

 

Ahh... some critical info flows out of the mix... the truck is black.

Rubbing compounds use abrasion (typically) to remove a very thin layer of clear coat to re-level the clear... this is why you had a 'dulling effect'. This, however, could've been removed (most likely).

You'll note that I mentioned to not use much 'downward force' on the cotton terry pad in my first reply. This is why I mentioned that... I simply don't want you to 'dull' your paint whereas we have to do something else to bring back the pop...

Black, however, is a monster of a color to work on. While both the Mother's and/or Meguiar's products that I mentioned will, most likely, help your problems, they may not remove it and, as a result of using these products, you may note slight swirling in and around these areas where the product is used.

This, in turn, will yield the necessity for you to use one of the aforementioned products in conjunction with a good cleaner wax or something designed to deal with light surface blemishes (ie: swirls).

As a fellow 'black' owner, don't EVER expect perfection. Okay?

RP