How not to fix a scratch

[alarimer]

I think I made it worse. I tried to fix a small scratch in my new car by buying some scratch-fixing kit. It included some very fine grained sandpaper (2000 grit I think) and I followed the instructions exactly. The scratch itself looks better but the area around it is all dull. I think I hit too wide an area with the sandpaper. It looks horrible. I don't have any polish right now. Would it help to polish it? I only have my own two hands, no tools. I am haertsick over this. I tried to fix it but made it worse. I think I'm going to go cry now.

[Monk06]

1. Go over it with a good quality cut wax. Blend into a wide area.

[alarimer]

2. Is there a good brand?

or would any one do?

[jmowreader]

4. DuPont is the only one there is

[jmowreader]

3. I hate to be the bearer of BAD news...

but those freakin' Scratch Repair Kits should be banned. They do not work on cars that have been made in the last 25 or so years.

The Scratch Repair Kit is designed for single-stage paint systems. A single-stage paint system consists of primer and paint, and these days it's used on commercial trucks, where you want a real thick film to absorb abuse. You can sand out scratches in this. It's called cutting.

Your car has a two-stage paint system on it--primer, color coat, clearcoat. If you use a scratch repair kit on this, you will sand the clearcoat off.

All is not lost, though. You need to polish the affected area with a little white polishing compound, then have a car painter squirt a little bit of clearcoat over it. Don't bother going to an auto parts store for the polishing compound--you need a lump of polish about the size of a dime, half of which you'll use now and half after you get the part clearcoated. Anyway, polish your car then have the guy shoot a little clearcoat on there, give it a day to cure and polish the area.

[alarimer]

5. Well this one supposedly was for clear-coat paint

it has a little tube of clear coat in it.

[MissB]

6. Just go back into a post.

It'll make it all look better.