[STiSpecC]

Hey guys, has anyone heard of a 3M scratch remover for cars? Some people told me it was good. However, I heard that the Megiur's Scratch X is good also. Is 3M known for good scratch removal products? Please help. Thanks!

[DubyaSTi]

I've had good luck using 3m rubbing compound, not so much with the Meguiars scratch-x.

[Greg]

I've used Scatch-X and was not impressed. It does have some polishing ability as well as some filler. Results look good for a few days then the scratch comes back. I've heard good things about the 3m car products over at Autopia and Autogeek but never tried them. I ended up getting Porter Cable dual action polisher and two different grades of polish from PoorBoys.

How much these products help will depend on the depth of the scratch. If you can feel it with your fingernail, its most likely through the clearcoat and no polisher will be able to get it out. Best you can hope for is to smooth out the edges of the scratch so it blends better and not so obvious. I've got a few scratches like this. They are still there but harder to see from distance. For smaller scratches, Scratch-X would probably do fine. But medium scratches you really need a polisher and two different grades of polish. A courser polish to smooth out the surface around the scratch (esentually removing clearcoat around the scratch area) and a fine polish to restore the shine as the course polish will leave the finish dull.

What kind of scratch are you trying to repair?

[Greg]

I highly recommend this paint clinic lesson from Autopia. David does a good job explaining the issues with scratch repair as well as other paint issues, like bird bombs.

[STiSpecC]

Thanks for the responses! Good thing I bought the 3M scratch remover. I'm going to try it on scratches that are on metals and paint.

[jookyuh]

Originally Posted by STiSpecC

Thanks for the responses! Good thing I bought the 3M scratch remover. I'm going to try it on scratches that are on metals and paint.

Scratch-X worked very well in my past experience on a small area with fine scratches. Scratch-X is meant to remove hairline scratches. Basically, Scratch-X has a very mild abrasive in it. 3M scratch remover is very similar to Scratch-X but I think it is harder to use correctly than scratch-x as the abrasive in it seem stronger.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by jookyuh

3M scratch remover is very similar to Scratch-X but I think it is harder to use correctly than scratch-x

This is probably true. Also note that scratch-X breaks down as you work it, providing a finer polish the further you go. Most of the higher end polishes are designed to be broken down by a polisher and when done by hand you'll never get to break down enough to reach the fine polish. Also many polishes are meant to be used along with a finishing polish to restore the shine.

[Peleg]

How deep is the scratch? Location?

Do you have a polisher?

[STiSpecC]

Originally Posted by Peleg

How deep is the scratch? Location?

Do you have a polisher?

The scratch was on the roof of my car near the rear right side. It's a small scratch on the clearcoat. I used the 3M Rubbing Compound to remove it and it works great!