Pillars badly scratched

[lwolf1315]

Glad to report that the dealership sent my Ex out to a body shop and they were able to successfully buff out about 90 percent of the scratches. Pretty much the only thing left is that light scratching that is expected.

 

[xsportAC]

Swirl Marks on Outer Door Pillars

Has anyone experienced issues with their outer door pillars with the keypad and also the back rear corners - looks to be made of the same material - being scratched or have bad swirl marks. I have a black sport and there is nothing that gets on my nerves more than a bunch of swirl marks against a paint job that is flawless. My friend says his has the same problem and I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this and what can be done to take the swirls and scratches out. I really believe it came from the courtesy car wash they give you when you buy or get service done. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LIrican]

You can polish but really not much you can do. I thought about plasti dipping to help protect.

Just hand wash, avoid brushes, air, water, sun, wind, people breathing, insects and people looking at you funny.

They are very very sensitive.

 

[boominXplorer]

Plastex and high speed polisher set at 1400 rpm and be easy. Makes them look like new.

 

[CalifLove]

The plastics on all of the pillars swirl and scratch SUPER easy. This is true of most cars with painted pillars but seems to be especially so on the Ex. Not sure why but even the most careful 2 bucket wash with quality mit will likely cause tiny scratches which over time turn into swirls etc.

I have become super **** over those areas of the car as they pretty much need to be polished anytime you touch them when they are dirty to keep them clean

Thankfully, to remove the swirls and scratches, the process is pretty easy. For me, I have a Meguiars Power DA (I can't recommend this product enough if you don't already have a true stand alone DA AND already own a quality drill) and Meguiars Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound.

I pretty much do this every other time I wash the vehicle at this point. I start with the Ultimate Polish and run several passes over the affected pillar with that and the DA and often times that clears up the mess. If for whatever reason the scratches aren't coming out, I'll move to the compound (start least aggressive first) which definitely takes out any scratches but also leaves behind some slight marring on the pillar surfaces (not so much on regular painted surfaces). After a few passes with the DA and the Ult Compound, I'll change pads and move to the Ult polish for a final finish and it looks great - then follow up with Chem Guys Blacklight and V7 like the rest of the car for protection and shine...

 

[ltdjp]

Noticed these swirl marks when I took delivery of my new Sport.. and even more so after my first wash. Sucks how easily they get swirl marks.

 

[sumzxr7]

I use to super **** about these areas well, so much so that after a touchless car wash I didn't even bother drying them down....actually I dont even touch them. I even bought another piece as one area had so many scratches..I haven't installed it yet but I will try suggestions above to fix. Even when I go to the dealer I purposely tell them to not wash the car. I wish they were a dull finish ...less maintenance...

 

[peterk9]

I use to super **** about these areas well, so much so that after a touchless car wash I didn't even bother drying them down....actually I dont even touch them. I even bought another piece as one area had so many scratches..I haven't installed it yet but I will try suggestions above to fix. Even when I go to the dealer I purposely tell them to not wash the car. I wish they were a dull finish ...less maintenance...

I'm guessing that the extra piece you bought is for the 'A' pillar? If so, did you also get the plastic clips for it? Part of the problem in trying to fix the 'A' pillar noise was that when the plastic piece was removed, several of the plastic clips broke and this resulted in some of the 'A' pillar covers blowing off going down the highway. Later, Ford included new clips as part of the package.

Peter

 

[Bobmbx]

Have you guys ever considered masking off the area around the pillar and hitting it with a layer of clear coat?

 

[tmg19103]

Have you guys ever considered masking off the area around the pillar and hitting it with a layer of clear coat?

I'm actually going to give my Ex a complete detail with orbital buffer and remove all swirls - including pillars - and Opti Coat the entire car - including pillars and all plastic molding in a few weeks. Opti Coat is essentially a super sealant that acts as a permanent ceramic clear coat that resist scratches/swirls quite well. I'll let everybody knows how it works on the pillars. I'm hoping it will do the trick for hand washes and brushless automatic car washes.

http://opti-coat.com/

 

[ltdjp]

I'm actually going to give my Ex a complete detail with orbital buffer and remove all swirls - including pillars - and Opti Coat the entire car - including pillars and all plastic molding in a few weeks. Opti Coat is essentially a super sealant that acts as a permanent ceramic clear coat that resist scratches/swirls quite well. I'll let everybody knows how it works on the pillars. I'm hoping it will do the trick for hand washes and brushless automatic car washes.

http://opti-coat.com/

Interested to see how this goes.. keep us posted

 

[xsportAC]

So it is ok to use like a meguiars swril x or scratch x to remove the imperfections in the pillars? I always thought of it to be too abrasive and only for like clearcoated stuff. If it can work somewhat I am up to it.

 

[ltdjp]

I've noticed that the rubber molding strips around the windows and such tend to weather and scuff easily. A towel literally left scuffs in mine during first wash.

 

[tmg19103]

So it is ok to use like a meguiars swril x or scratch x to remove the imperfections in the pillars? I always thought of it to be too abrasive and only for like clearcoated stuff. If it can work somewhat I am up to it.

I don't know if buffing them out will remove a protective coat or not, but I'm not concerned since I'm going to put Opti Coat on them which will protect from exposure and hopefully help with swirls. The stuff will literally last the life of the car. Only way to remove it with an electric buffer.

I don't think anything will help with those pillars when it comes to a regular automatic car wash with harsh brushes, but I'm hoping the Opti Coat will work with me sticking to hand washing and the occasional automatic brushless car wash in the winter.

 

[sumzxr7]

I'm guessing that the extra piece you bought is for the 'A' pillar? If so, did you also get the plastic clips for it? Part of the problem in trying to fix the 'A' pillar noise was that when the plastic piece was removed, several of the plastic clips broke and this resulted in some of the 'A' pillar covers blowing off going down the highway. Later, Ford included new clips as part of the package.

Peter

Hi Peter , no it was for the drivers side passenger door .

 

[Halwg]

Removing scratches from the Black Plastic

What can i use to remove the fine scratches that keep showing up in the plastic trim pieces around the windshield and the liftgate glass? These are like swirl marks and I want to use something that will remove them without damaging the plastic. Any ideas?

 

[peterk9]

Halwg, I have merged your post with this one. There are a few suggestions posted here to help remove scratches.

Peter

 

[Halwg]

Halwg, I have merged your post with this one. There are a few suggestions posted here to help remove scratches.

Peter

Thanks Peter. I am going to give them a try.

 

[StevenC56]

Anybody ever figure out the best product for removing the micro scratches and swirls on these glass black trim pieces??

 

[xlt03]

Anybody ever figure out the best product for removing the micro scratches and swirls on these glass black trim pieces??

This is an old thread. Too bad we didn't hear back from the Opti -Coat user.

When I took delivery of my ordered vehicle, I too saw the swirls on the black trims. The plastic must be really soft. The worst areas will be the two on the lift gate as the rear of vehicle gets dirty really fast. I use the two bucket with grit guard technique when I wash mines and it helps with less grit getting on the wash mitts. Haven't looked at products for swirl removal yet. Check with P&S Sales, they sell products for dealers and body shops in California. Post back on what you used.

Guess you finally took delivery of your Platinum#2 and got your incentives just in time.