[Isabelle]

Lurked a long while and now my first post.

My silver prius seems to scratch easily, although they are very light scratches (for example a set of light scratches on the door that look an awful lot like the seams of my son's soccer ball).

In the old days (my 65 Rambler American), we used rubbing compound to get these out, when possible. What's the current approach? Any new products or tricks?

Thanks a lot to all on this forum...it's made driving my Prius even more fun, if that's possible.

 

[bobc]

Hi Isabelle,

Yes, in the old days, rubbing compund was the way to go but no more, with clearcoat finishes, this stuff does more harm than good.

There's a bunch of products out there so I'm sure that people will chime in with which product works for them. As for me, I've had great luck with Meguiar's #7. Pep Boys sometimes carries it. It doesn't remove the scratches but hides them incredibly well. As part of my detailing, I'll go over the car with this then, apply a coat of wax (with no cleaner).

I just picked up some scratchX from Meguiar's but thankfully, I haven't had to use it yet. So, I can't comment on it's abilities to remove scratches.

http://www.meguiars.com/store_meguiars/ ... &store=meg

Cheers,
-bob

 

[priusenvy]

Menzerna polishes

To get swirls out of clearcoat, I recommend Menzerna Intensive polish, followed by Menzerna Final polish. Follow up with Klasse or Zaino sealants.

I bought my Porter Cable orbital polisher, polishing pads, and Menzerna polishes from this place: http://www.properautocare.com/. They sponsor the detailing forum at http://forums.roadfly.org/forums/detailing/. Also check out http://www.autopia.org and http://www.detailcity.com for more detailing forums.

 

[Isabelle]

thanks

Thanks for the tips. I saw ScratchX yesterday at Target, so may try it first at $6.99, but that Intensive polish looks good too...very nice description and instructions on the webpage.

 

[Roger V]

There are clearcoat safe rubbing compounds available. Usually they advise that you use a damp cloth and rub in the direction of the scratch. I have used such a product from TurtleWax with success. Follow with a good polish and finally a coat of wax for protection. I use an orbital buffer/polisher for regular polishing and waxing. (Not recommended for polishing compound, do that by hand.) I like Meguiars car care products. You can get them at Pep Boy's and other auto stores. They're numbered ( ie., Step One is a paint cleaner, Step Two a polish,etc)and come with good instructions, and you can call their customer service number for advice and product information. I've been using their stuff for years. (I'm a chauffeur and I've polished a lotta cars over the years!) Good luck with those scratches.

 

[Brad]

I agree strongly with Roger.

Polish your Prius with a high-quality polymer 3 to 4 times per/yr. Use an electric buffer to buff out the finish.

DO NOT use car-wash facilities that physically touch the vehicle; the result is scratching your Prius' finish.

Touch-free car-wash facilities are your only option.

Do not be fooled into thinking a car-wash wax spray application will provide anything more than short term cosmetic value.

Putting a high quality finish via a polymer will help protect your Prius from scratches and chips.

 

[Tadashi]

What is Nu-finish considered in polishes? Good, bad, OK?

I have been putting it on about every 60 days and just use the touchless car wash inbetween.

Has anyone tried 5-star shine? I did it on my truck but it lost its slick feeling after about 60 days (and they advertise to last 5 yrs), but the water still beaded up. Truck was stolen recently so I do not know how well it is long term.