Scrubbing to hard?!

antodeco

hi folks,

I was trying to remove some of the 3m sticky residue that was on the car from when one of the letters fell off on the back of the car, and in my haste I may have made more of a mess! On closer inspection (in quite bad light) it looks like the paint has been "worn away" and lots of tiny little scratches. Any ideas on how to remove them? Would a good polish or wax resolve it?

I used a sponge to try and remove it! It came off at least!

colm_mcm

try using tar and glue remover to remove any glue residue, then use cutting compound to rub down the paint and level out any scratches, then finish off with some polish.

antodeco

OK ill know for future reference!! The issue is its a black car! Hopefully it wont look too bad in the morning!

JoeA3

Light scratches and marks on dark paint always look a million times worse under artificial light in the dark - if you know what I mean. It probably won't look as bad in the morning daylight, but if you do as suggested above, it will help.

antodeco

hopwfully! it was artificial light I had on it. Plus around it was wet and dark, so probs highlighted it!

In regards polishing. i polished a different car before, and it made the car permanently worse. Alomost left an oily haze on it. Was also a black car.

Anyone any tips or anything for polishing?

Thanks again

JoeA3

Try any motor factors and see can you get some of the Meguairs products. They do a good scratch remover, and good polishes/waxes. If you made a previous car worse, it was most likely down to technique! A bit of common sense is all thats required. Use some foam applicator pads to apply, and a soft cotton cloth to buff. Don't use harsh abrasives... reminds me of when my Dad thought it a good idea to use a brillo pad to remove tar!

So the idea would be to use the scratch remover / polish (don't scrub!), then apply some wax, and buff it up. Should look fine then.

antodeco

I have a sheepskin glove anyway, so ill use that. All I need is some decent weather! Thanks for the tips

crosstownk

Don't attempt to use rubbing compound or similar unless you know what you are doing - otherwise you will end up with a worse finish. If you do decide to use it rub very very gently and clean with a dry cloth after each rubbing. Repeat this process as often as required. Be advised that continually rubbing will lift the top layer of paint each time and as a result will look different to the surrounding paintwork - especially if you are to enthusiastic with the application. The object is to 'blend' it in as you rub. Don't underestimate the power of petrol when it comes to removing adhesives.

Polishing invloves removing the uppermost layer of paint, whereas waxing applies a film that protects the underlying paintwork.

I'd be more inclined to proceed with a light application of T-Cut rather than rubbing compound. T-cut is slightly less abrasive.