Fine scratch removal in black paint

[14Shelby]

I'm working on getting the dealer installed scratches out of new shelby. After getting the car clayed, I went over it with klasse AIO with a tangerine pad on the 7424xp. The paint shined up, but the car has very fine scratches here and there visible under fluorescent light.

I tried to polish them out with a cyan pad and some Ardex seal-b,
but I can't get some of them to go away. For a change, I'm stopping and seeking help before making the problem worse.

I don't want to get too aggressive with compound or pad.

Please help!

[jamesboyy]

Sounds like a case of RIDS look at each scratch carfully see which ones are big enough or catches nail fill In with clear and body color combo as for the smaller ones leave them be try to bare with them that way when something major come up you have enough "skin"(clear coat ) to work with and potentially remove those smaller RIDS

[Kamakaz1961]

I have a Black 2013 Mustang GT and I use Menzerna FG400 with a Lake Country CCS Orange Pad (6.5" with my Flex 3401 Speed setting 4 or 5) or a 5.5" Pad on Speed setting 5 or in some cases 6) with my PC7424XP. Try that and then follow up with a Lake Country CCS White Pad with Menzerna SF4500 (some use SF4000). Speed settings should be about 4 (for either Flex or PC). That should do the trick. As for product...I like Menzerna, some may like Meg's or other products....again, that is just what I use.

As for the pads, I prefer the Lake Country CCS Pads....some may use other pads but you get the point. Here is the outcome of my ride.

[Evan.J]

Are they super fine scratches? Do they run in the same direction as you were wiping? Do they have any circular pattern to them?

If they are very fine then I am going to suspect they are being caused by the towel.

If they are circular in any way then they will be hazing from the pad and the DA.

[Kamakaz1961]

Are they super fine scratches? Do they run in the same direction as you were wiping? Do they have any circular pattern to them?

If they are very fine then I am going to suspect they are being caused by the towel.

If they are circular in any way then they will be hazing from the pad and the DA.

I never thought of that. You should be using quality Microfiber towels for your ride. No Terry cloth towels or others. BTW, when I take my car to the dealership, I instruct them NOT to wash my car. They have complied as I let them know I will give them all excellent when it comes to their follow-up review,

[14Shelby]

Thanks guys. Evan, they are really fine and generally run in the same direction at least on the spoiler. The rest are just randomly on the car. Both times I've washed it were with new mits, with the two bucket method. I'm using brand new cobra towels and they aren't doing any scratching.
With what I'm doing now, the paint is bright and shiny in this section except for the scratches.

[Evan.J]

Thanks guys. Evan, they are really fine and generally run in the same direction at least on the spoiler. The rest are just randomly on the car. Both times I've washed it were with new mits, with the two bucket method. I'm using brand new cobra towels and they aren't doing any scratching.
With what I'm doing now, the paint is bright and shiny in this section except for the scratches.

Here is the correct way to fold and wipe with a Microfiber towel.

Continued...

Control over the towel
By folding your microfiber towels into quarters, you will now have 8, dedicated sides to wipe with and you have control over all 8 sides of the entire microfiber towel. When you simply lay a microfiber towel flat or scrunch it up into a wad, you don't have any control over the towel because it's too hard to gauge and remember how much of the towel has already been used.


Cushion to spread out the pressure from your hand
Folding your microfiber towel like shown above provides cushion to spread out the pressure from your hand, this provide two benefits,

1) Helps reduce the potential for fingermarks caused by excess pressure from your fingertips.

2) Helps to maintain even contact between the working face of the folded microfiber towel and the surface of the paint. This is important at all time but especially whenever you're working on any panel that is not flat.

Folding your microfiber towel provides cushion to spread out the pressure of your hand plus gives you 8 dedicated sides to wipe with.



Not folding means less cushion and only two sides to wipe with...




Correct Technique
Folded towels provide cushion, cushion enables you to work more carefully on your pride and joy plus even contact of a folded, flat microfiber towel against the paint helps you to remove product residues more effectively...





Incorrect Technique - Unfolded Microfiber Towel
Simply laying the towel flat against the paint increases the potential for swirls and scratches due to pressure points against the towel. Using a towel flat and unfolded offers little to no cushion and reduces even pressure between the cloth and the paint. I cringe when I see someone wiping a nice finish by simply placing the towel down flat on the paint and then placing their hand flat on the towel.




Incorrect Techniques - Scrunched-up Microfiber Towel
Here's another common method, or actually lack of method, for wiping product residue off paint and that's to simply scrunch up a microfiber towel into a wad of cloth and wipe using this wadded up towel. Not only do you have zero control over the surface of the towel but you now are introducing folds and edges of towel directly to the finish... under pressure!






Argh!
There's nothing gentle about wiping paint with a wadded up towel...




Inspect and Fold
Make it a "Best Practice" to inspect the working face of your wiping cloths before using and adopt another "Best Practice" and that is to fold your microfiber towels 4-ways to give you 8 dedicated sides to wipe with and plenty of cushion to spread out the pressure from you hand while being gentle to your car's finish.

It should look like this...



Product Showcased
Cobra Indigo Microfiber Towel



Further Resources
The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish

While good towels are great holding and wiping the wrong way can put toweling marks into the paint. Sounds like you have some soft paint on that car.

How often are you flipping to a new side of the towel?

How often are you getting a new towel.

A dirty towel or dirt trapped into a towel will cause the towel to leave marks behind as well. With softer paints you need to be cautious of how you hold and wipe.

You are saying everything is in the direction of the way thou are wiping which leads me to believe that the marks are from the towel.

[14Shelby]

I've been careful to fold the towel and wipe as shown, but used the same towel to wipe all of the klasse off of the car. I did inspect the towels before starting by laying them out and looking over the nap and feeling for anything in the microfiber as Mike Philips shows.

[aim4squirrels]

Don't know about ardex, but KAIO doesn't have the abrasive capacity to remove swirls.

You may get rid of surface contamination, and the abrasive property of the pad may remove oxidation with KAIO, but not swirls and/or scratches.

IMO, you're not too aggressive, you simply aren't aggressive enough.