Trail Scratches - Best way to remove

swampdog

swampdog

New member
Alright, let's get this out of the way, yes it's black so it will show scratches worse. Got it. Buttttttt....had a bunch of tree growth hanging into the trail both days at windrock last week and got some really deep scratching on my paint and hardtop. I love taking it wheeling and scratches are part of the game, but would still like the paint to took nice when not on the trail around town.

What are your favorite products / processes to make this right? Is a claybar the way to go? I had waxed it a couple of weeks before with griots garage cleaner wax.

Thanks for your input fellas.
 
MTG

MTG

Caught the Bug
When we had our black navigator I used a black wax kit on it before I sold it. I was amazed how well it worked. Think Meguiars made it.
 
JKRicky

JKRicky

Member
This is why I went from a black Jeep to white lol but like MTG said, there is a black paint specific wax that works great.
 
Blazindevl

Blazindevl

LOSER
Waxing will only make those scratches LESS noticeable no matter what type you use... They will still be there. Using rubbing compound will mask them even more. Using a buffer will eliminate all but the deepest scratches and for those you will need to wet sand then buff and wax which in theory should eliminate all of them!
 
JoeB-JKURX

JoeB-JKURX

New member
Blazindevl said:
Waxing will only make those scratches LESS noticeable no matter what type you use... They will still be there. Using rubbing compound will mask them even more. Using a buffer will eliminate all but the deepest scratches and for those you will need to wet sand then buff and wax which in theory should eliminate all of them!
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Leaving you with that much less clear coat and/or color paint (depending on the depth of the crack). Eventually, you get to the primer and bare metal. I'm ok with covering them up (filling them in with wax). I just want it to look nice in town and the wax provides a bit (quite small) of protection when on the trail. There are also the scratch kits but the ones I've tried (on other vehicles) didn't seem to work all that well.
 
Blazindevl

Blazindevl

LOSER
JoeB-JKURX said:
Leaving you with that much less clear coat and/or color paint (depending on the depth of the crack). Eventually, you get to the primer and bare metal. I'm ok with covering them up (filling them in with wax). I just want it to look nice in town and the wax provides a bit (quite small) of protection when on the trail. There are also the scratch kits but the ones I've tried (on other vehicles) didn't seem to work all that well.
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Wet sanding is definitely not something to be done regularly, however, once every couple of years to freshen up the look of your vehicle certainly won't hurt your paint or clear whatsoever unless your doing it wrong. 2000 grit and a spray bottle is reccomended followed by buffing and polishing. If you sat and rubbed continuously on one spot in this manner it would take a LOOOONG time to get thru the clear coat to the paint and probably the better part of a full day to start seeing bare metal...

Btw, wax does not provide any level of protection against scratches... The only thing that could quite possibly help that is wrapping your car in clear which is an option and quite frankly a good one if your really anal about things. I understand most of this is preaching to the choir as this is not a Ferrari forum but they are suggestions none the less... To each their own!
 
Blazindevl

Blazindevl

LOSER
As far as products, anything 3M makes is just about the best you can buy... It's what most body shops use but it's somewhat hard to find on a non commercial level and it's expensive. As far as what your local auto parts store might carry, you can never go wrong with any of Mother's products... They've always done right by me
 
jesse3638

jesse3638

Hooked
My ex father-in-law owns a body shop and the rule of thumb he used was if you lick you finger and run it over the scratch and it disappears it can be buffed out with polishing or rubbing compound. If it does not then you will need a color-sand-buff to remove it. This is the wet sanding process outlined above. Make sure you know what you are doing before attempting this as you can really mess up your finish if you do not. This is a process most quality body shops use on a freshly painted surface to give it the mirror-like finish you see. Also it was explained to me that aftermarket paint jobs will never be as hard as the factory paint. This is because the majority of the painting is completed before the car is assembled, therefore it can be baked and cured at a higher temperature. If you tried to do that on an assembled car you would most likely damage, distort or melt the plastic parts on the vehicle. Just thought I'd add some fun facts..;)
 
Robs_Red_JK

Robs_Red_JK

New member
I know that it was mentioned already but i have had very good luck with the black magic from turtle wax for light scratches
 
JeepinLife

JeepinLife

Caught the Bug
jesse3638 said:
My ex father-in-law owns a body shop and the rule of thumb he used was if you lick you finger and run it over the scratch and it disappears it can be buffed out with polishing or rubbing compound. If it does not then you will need a color-sand-buff to remove it. This is the wet sanding process outlined above. Make sure you know what you are doing before attempting this as you can really mess up your finish if you do not. This is a process most quality body shops use on a freshly painted surface to give it the mirror-like finish you see. Also it was explained to me that aftermarket paint jobs will never be as hard as the factory paint. This is because the majority of the painting is completed before the car is assembled, therefore it can be baked and cured at a higher temperature. If you tried to do that on an assembled car you would most likely damage, distort or melt the plastic parts on the vehicle. Just thought I'd add some fun facts..;)
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This... Clay bars do really nothing more than remove impurities that get into the clear coat. For deep scratches I'd start with rubbing compound and don't be afraid to mix a little water with it. Follow up with proper wax cuts to desired finish.. On black as you mentioned you may be waxing the entire jeep because you'll end up with some really shiny spots. Use a product that doesn't contain silicone. Can't go wrong with 3m products.
 
P

patr1ckm

Member
Tried the Quixx Scratch Remover Kit. It can really remove minor scratches. For the hardtop, you can just use Sharpie or the Mopar touch up paint.
 
J

JKDOC1

New member
MedixJK said:
Theres a few folks on here running the magnetic paint armor panels...may help you in the future
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Mine got scratched up pretty good also but as someone 🙄 once told me it builds character...lol...I'm going to try some of these suggestions and see what happens

When it comes to the magnetic armor wouldn't that scratch the paint also?? Also my scratches are everywhere the armor doesn't cover lol
 
TennJK

TennJK

New member
It also doesn't help that your rig is black. I've considered repainting my entire jeep a few times because of trail scratches. You can even get them from automatic car washes or brushes. There's no getting around it. I just have the "whatever" mentality. But a good wax never hurt anyone either[emoji106]🏼
 
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