How to polish out scratches?

Hamzter

Hamzter

Hamzter

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Joined
19 Mar 2003
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1,364
I've got an old Mk3 Fiesta that's covered with tiny scratches, looks like someone tried cleaning it with a scourer or something at some point, what the best way to polish these out? They're really light scratches, but covering the entire car, I passed an identical Fiesta the other day and realised just how much better it could look! Thanks for any tips :)
 
I've had some good results with T-cut polish. Just wash, leave to dry, then go over the whole car with the T-cut polish, then wax it with a good quality wax afterwards. Luvverlyjubberly!
 
Applying polish by hand is a pain in the nether regions. To shift even the lightest of scratches you are going to have to use something mildly abrasive and work it hard (enough that it warms up slightly) This will probably leave a hologram effect that some people seem to be either not bothered about or in some strange cases actually proud of because it "shows that its had a good polish" in the case of one guy I share an office with. Anyway if you are anal like me then you will then need to go over it again with a less abrasive polish to shift that... and then its time to get waxing....

I've shifted some pretty deep(ish) scratches with the following but even if only removing light swirls I wouldn't attempt more than a couple of panels in one stint to do a good job.

3M Perfect It III (fine)
3M Imperal Hand Glaze
Autoglym Super Resin Polish*
Harly Wax**


* Not really necessary
** Take your pick of solid Carnauba wax to finish but I get good results with Harly and 5 years down the line my original £20 tin still has plenty left.
 
Your best bet is Meguiars Ultimate Compound, or the Carlack Paste from CYC, but personally I wouldn't try and do them by hand, it will take forever!

Do you know anyone with a machine polisher?
 
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