Bodywork Scratches

BillHicksRIP · 3 Jun 2011 at 15:09

I've got a 57 plate Passat TDI SEL in black which I bought from a car supermarket almost a month ago. The bodywork was pretty much faultless with no obvious scratches that I could find when I bought it. Since owning the car, an inordinate amount of scratches on the front wing, on the roof, on the boot lid, on the drivers door etc have all appeared. I've been doing my nut as the car has pretty much only been in work's car park or on my drive, with only a couple of trips to the shops. I put it down to being unlucky but am up to 17 visible scratches in the space of 3 weeks.

A chap in work said the dealer must have put polish on it that covered them all up and the recent heavy rain has washed it out. Does that sound feasible? It's still under the seller's warranty for another week. Should I kick up a fuss?

hohum · 3 Jun 2011 at 15:20

It's possible he used something such as that black box kit by Turtlewax to cover any blemishes, but proving it is another matter...

lordrobs · 3 Jun 2011 at 15:29

I'd be very tempted to have a go at polishing it yourself and then sealing the results in with a good hard wearing wax.

Something like Auto Glym Super Resin Polish is full of filler and is non abrasive so would be a good starting point IMO. Top that off with a carnauba based wax Harly, Collonite etc. and see how you get on

I don't think going back will get you very far and I'm sure that with every car you notice more and more marks on them after you've had them a few days / weeks.

EDIT - Just spotted that the car is black... my approach still stands but someone might be able to suggest more appropriate products.

matthewhotdude · 3 Jun 2011 at 15:30

black cars are a bitch for dirt and scratches, even when the roads are dry within 24 hours you can see a layer of dust, think white will be my next car

Minstadave · 3 Jun 2011 at 15:30

I was going to say the same, probably waxed with some coloured wax which has filled the scratches making them less obvious, if you're not too bothers you could just do the same again.

lordrobs · 3 Jun 2011 at 15:33

Minstadave said:
I was going to say the same, probably waxed with some coloured wax which has filled the scratches making them less obvious, if you're not too bothers you could just do the same again.

I used to work wonders on our dark green Polo simply by hitting it with Colour Magic (polish and coloured wax) then sealing it in the following day with some Harly wax.

You aren't fixing the problem as such but are covering it up for a bit

EDIT- That reminds me, Drexel did his black RX-7 in black colour magic and it looked like a mirror afterwards :eek:

[TW]Fox · 3 Jun 2011 at 17:27

Probably polish, yes.

This is what black cars are like. Unless you are really into detailing your car, a black car will always look shabby compared with lighter colours, even the slightest mark sticks out like a sore thumb especially when its sunny.

naefeart · 3 Jun 2011 at 23:36

The flip side is that they look really fantastic when polished, more so than a lot of other colours

OT silver is good for not showing up dirt badly, however I find white cars as much hassle as black.

Fett · 3 Jun 2011 at 23:43

Shoe polish, black wax sticks and Einszett 1z wax. Does the job for just long enough.

Minxy · 6 Jun 2011 at 19:09

naefeart said:
OT silver is good for not showing up dirt badly, however I find white cars as much hassle as black.

Agreed, white is as bad as black since most dirt is either brown or grey.

Brookert · 6 Jun 2011 at 22:49

Touch up paint?

just a though, do it to my car often. Motorway miles take chunks of paint off the front bumper

Sin_Chase · 6 Jun 2011 at 23:16

Polish and wax doing its job of smoothing over and making imperfections less apparent. It;s going to come off eventually.

If it's annoying you that much get a paint correction done.

Brookert · 7 Jun 2011 at 09:09

tried t cut?