Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0

[jrmexplorer]

So I noticed the other day that my A, B, and D pillars (the ones that are blacked out) had hundreds of little micro scratches that you could see in the right light. In the right light they looked terrible. My guess is that it came from the factory that way (or the dealership did it somehow) as I've only had it 2 months, and while I have taken it to the automatic car wash three times, no other part of the paint has the same issues.

Anyway, I read about Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0 online and decided to try it. While my arm is ready to fall off (requires some elbow grease) IT WORKED AWESOME! 99% percent of the scratches are gone and it looks great! Looks basically brand new.

I topped it off with a fresh hand wash (with the Maguiar's new car kit) and fresh wax and it really shines!

Kudos to Meguiar's - and I would recommend anyone else with some light scratches to give it a try.

 

[1995E]

Sweet. I notice the pillars have slight scratches too. Had them when I first bought the car but it was unnoticeable. Thanks for the tip! I'll try it this week.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Glad the Scratch-X worked well for you...

Here is another good read- the DISO, or, the "Dealer Installed Swirl Option"

CLICK ME

 

[jrmexplorer]

Glad the Scratch-X worked well for you...

Here is another good read- the DISO, or, the "Dealer Installed Swirl Option"

CLICK ME

Hillarious! It looks like the dealership spared me of that kind of damage - just on the black pillars. It looked like they used sandpaper on it. Scratch X 2.0 took it right out -

Needs lots of elbow grease and you have to rub it against the direction of the scratch and you have to use like 4 applications of it - but it eventually works!

I would recommend anyone about to use Scratch X 2.0 to go on amazon and read A DeMello's review which describes how I used it to achieve the results I did.

The relevant parts:
"Roll a corner of the microfiber cloth into a tiny ball. Create a little pad for yourself so you can apply pressure without hand cramping. Put a nickle size dallop on the center of your "pad".

Rub......rub gainst the scratch criss crossing the scratch line. DO NOT GO WITH THE DIRECTION OF THE SCRATCH.

When you feel the pad drying out, put more product on. Dont rub dry.

Hard pressure and elbow grease is only at first, lighten up your pressure when you see the scratch starting to disappear. Finesse.

For DEEP scratches it will be impossible to "level" the scratch or make it disappear. Instead, you will soften the hard edges and smooth it out so it is "invisible" from 3 feet away.

This is "minimizing" or "concealing" the scratch. "

I would also add that doing smaller portions at a time seemed to have better results. I divided up my A pillar for example in 3-4 sections and did each section individually. It was also helpful to have an unfinished section to compare! You could literally tell where I had and hadn't used it because the scratches would litterally end where I had used it.

If you can feel the scratch with your fingernail - you might need some stronger stuff - Meguiar's makes an "ultimate compound" which I think is a bit stronger. But this works great for micro scratches.

 

[RandyH2]

Whatever the material is on the pillars, it does scratch easily. My guess is that the automatic carwashes are the culprit and the scratches are less visible on the body panels because the clear coat is harder than the black stuff.

 

[calb]

So is Ford aware of this defect? A few car washes shouldn't damage the paint in this area that much? I'm looking at getting a 2012, and so far I have listed on my improvements list:

1) New MFT (that works and has functionality for Canada - end of July hopefully?)
2) Rain noise in front of cab (not yet addressed)
3) Now - micro-scratches?

Yeah -for a $50K ride, even though I quite like what I'm seeing I'm a little more fussy than usual I miss anything?

 

[jrmexplorer]

So is Ford aware of this defect? A few car washes shouldn't damage the paint in this area that much? I'm looking at getting a 2012, and so far I have listed on my improvements list:

1) New MFT (that works and has functionality for Canada - end of July hopefully?)
2) Rain noise in front of cab (not yet addressed)
3) Now - micro-scratches?

Yeah -for a $50K ride, even though I quite like what I'm seeing I'm a little more fussy than usual I miss anything?

Yeah, it's probably a little bit softer. I'm not too worried about it - Scratch X took car of it no problem.

 

[VinceL]

That scratch x is some great stuff, but be sure to take some care when using it. With a gentle hand, the stuff will baby your paint. If you use a buffer, it will go to town.

I used an orbital buffer on my wife's car and it did a beautiful job taking out the swirls in her black paint. I also noticed that the matte finish trim around the rear door windows was now glossy!

Whoops!!! She never noticed but it was a lesson learned for me.

The stuff will work very quickly. I still use an electric buffer, but I now keep in mind how fast it can work

I wonder if one of these polymer car finishes, like zaino or something like that, would help resist those annoying types of scratches?

 

[Joe Dirt]

Not likely, it's more improper washing technique than the protection on the panel. I've been using polymer wax products for years and still end up with marring and swirls eventually. It only takes one questionable wash. If you use automatic car washes, you're going to get them no matter what.

There is nothing "defective" about the panels that show scratches. $5,000 or $50,000 you're still going to get abrasion.

 

[calb]

Hmmm - makes me wonder if that clear protection film (3M?) could be applied to stop the problem?

 

[VinceL]

Hmmm - makes me wonder if that clear protection film (3M?) could be applied to stop the problem?

Hmmm.... I think that is an awesome idea. Get it all nice and polished up with scratch-x and then film it.

I think the challenge would be getting a good finish on the film so that orange peel wouldn't be a problem.

 

[Joe Dirt]

There will always be a trade-off...