I am away in the Lake District at the moment. The narrow country lanes are very scary and hubby has had to get very close to the hedges to avoid hitting cars. As a result of this there are some light scratches along the side of the car and the bumper. Some look a little worse than others but all seem to be just surface scratches. Tried wiping over with water and a microfibre but still there. Didn't want to mess to much until I clean the car, hopefully on Sunday.

What's the best way to tackle these. I have g3 scratch remover paste. Will this be ok? I have sonax npt as a base with brilliant shine detailer over the top. They run nearly the whole length of the passenger side.

no wax or sealant will help protect but it will need a polish with something abrasive like the g3 to get them out. You might AG SRP does an OK job as well or better still find someone who can give it a machne polish and it may come out in a few mins work

My Dad's missus' Audi A3 gets like this due to the Devon narrow lanes.  A relatively straight forward cutting polish by machine did the trick.  Trouble is it's already back to original condition.....

 

 

 

The wingmirror I ended up wet sanding as that had been pushed further into the undergrowth

 

 

 

 

 

I don't think scratch paste (if anything like Tcut scratch remover paste) would be good to use.  That could make more of a mess.  Something a little more mild is needed really.

 

if G3 is more of an actual polish than a paste, then it would be OK I bet.  Always easier to do by machine though.

That's what ours get like almost instantly after polishing as the roads are so narrow with little pulling in opportunities.

I don't think scratch paste (if anything like Tcut scratch remover paste) would be good to use.  That could make more of a mess.  Something a little more mild is needed really.

 

if G3 is more of an actual polish than a paste, then it would be OK I bet.  Always easier to do by machine though.

+1 on using a machine.

I've used g3 scratch remover with a DA and it works well on light scratches that pass the finger nail test with a yellow 4" pad, though the areas I treated were relatively small e.g. single scratches up to 30cm long rather than whole panels. it's got deminishing abrasives in so they break down and leave a very smooth finish, though it will be more difficult to do this by hand.

if you've got scratches over the whole panel you'll really need a machine polish. A DA would be a good choice as using a rotary is quicker but is best left to the experts.

Thanks for the replies. I think a machine polish is overkill with the amount I have. There are only 3 or 4 along the car. Not lots in a patch like the piccies above. Think I will give the g3 a go on a test area. Seemed to be ok on my qashqai when I used it. They all pass the fingernail test as far as I can see.

G3 works on light/medium scratches (even by hand).  If it's worse then sand it with really fine grade wet n dry paper (using a sanding block) with lots of water, then use the G3 to buff it up.  Watch you don't go through the paint/laquer tho, or it's a re-spray job.

G3 works on light/medium scratches (even by hand). If it's worse then sand it with really fine grade wet n dry paper (using a sanding block) with lots of water, then use the G3 to buff it up. Watch you don't go through the paint/laquer tho, or it's a re-spray job.

G3 by hand without sanding shouldn't cause any problems though should it?

Edited 8 August, 201411 yr by tigermad

G3 by hand without sanding shouldn't cause any problems though should it?

As they all pass the fingernail test there's no need to sand first IMO. If in doubt always start with the least invasive option and go from there if it's not successful. I have used g3 by hand with one of their waffle pads and it does work, it's just a lot easier, quicker and more consistent doing it with a DA. Make sure you prime the pad with a light spray of water and work it in line and at 90 degrees to the scratch as per the instructions and make sure it doesn't dry out and that you've worked it until it goes opaque so the abrasives have all deminished to nothing and polished the surface nice and smooth.Good luck.

As they all pass the fingernail test there's no need to sand first IMO. If in doubt always start with the least invasive option and go from there if it's not successful. I have used g3 by hand with one of their waffle pads and it does work, it's just a lot easier, quicker and more consistent doing it with a DA. Make sure you prime the pad with a light spray of water and work it in line and at 90 degrees to the scratch as per the instructions and make sure it doesn't dry out and that you've worked it until it goes opaque so the abrasives have all deminished to nothing and polished the surface nice and smooth.Good luck.

Thanks. I am not sure how hard to do it. Do I just press lightly or firmly?

IIRC I used moderate pressure with the waffle pad-it's quite thick and you put the paste on the wavy bit and compresses so regulates the pressure to some extent. The important thing is to keep the pressure even so it works the same across the whole area evenly. I've used the paint restorer on my black alloys too on very light scratches with a mf cloth which is not so strong, only because it was more fiddly and I had to do some scratches twice. There's a few good demo vids on youtube that worth watching if you're unsure how to do it by hand.

Any update on this - how did you get on Mandy? 

Any update on this - how did you get on Mandy?

Hi ya

I managed to polish most of the lighter ones out but for some reason there are still some light ones that show a bit. It's strange considering you can't feel them with your nail. They are not too bad really unless you look very closely. I went over quite a few times with the g3 and stopped after a few applications because I was frightened of going too far.

Edited 19 August, 201411 yr by tigermad