scratches stand out

[driller41]

new guy here.. theres so much info on here its awesome, have been lurking for a while but havent found what ive been looking for..

so heres the deal, i have two dark metallic blue ford superduty pickups that get used, they have scratches, thats fine with me. its a pickup. but i do like to take care of my paint and wax it and still have it look good.

the few various deeper scratches they have just stick out like a sore thumb after waxing and it brings out all the little deeper scratches. like fills em with the left over white residue.

if i asked any ol billy bob in this town what the remedy for this is, they would say colored wax.

i am just curious if i stepping up to non off the shelf waxes would fix this or what the heck?

i wax by hand too if it helps, never really taken power tools to my paint and not sure if i should ( we have an old ass two handle DA)

would love any advice! thanks guys! great place

[artofdetailing]

I would contact a local professional detailer. Have them repair the scratches if they aren't past the clear coat. Then I'd suggest having the car polished and coated. Those are big trucks. Might as well coat them and then just maintain them with routine washing.

[driller41]

some are. and i can live with the big ones, but it brings out all the little ones! and yes i had that done on my personal rig, this is how my question came about, and it was great, till i screwed up one time and didnt dry the pickup after i washed it. i chased the hell out of those water spots, had to do a scratch remover, then polish and wax. now all these white lines are driving me bonkers!

i am having trouble finding a good reputable detailer in this area also

[Pureshine]

Can you get your finger nail in the scratches? If you can not much you can do really except repaint.

[driller41]

There's not a set up that doesn't leave a white residue? Like some sort of sealant or carnauba or synthetic wax?

[cardaddy]

If you strip the wax off with a Dawn wash then do a good claying, then polish, even with your 2-handle DA it'll help. Just don't get aggressive as what you're trying to do is just clean it up a bit.

Glaze will help fill the scratches and won't turn white so much as hand rubbed wax but it's not the solution. Some of the liquid waxes these days like Megs Ultimate are more of a sealant than an actual 'wax'. It also isn't so critical on the trim. Megs M21 2.0 is also a great sealant that shouldn't leave white residue on the paint itself if removed properly, but be CAREFUL not to get it on the trim.

Other higher end sealants along the lines of Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant and Blackfire Crystal Seal that are of the WOWA type, (Wipe On Walk Away) will not leave white residue at all.

And of course a coating would the ultimate solution. But ONLY after the paint has been corrected. It'd just be a waste if you're not going to compound and polish.

[driller41]

thank you for the great info guys...

im feeling like im in over my head..

[Russ57]

Pictures would help us give a better answer. It is a little hard to understand if your scratches are so deep that there is no color behind them....as in all the way through the clear coat and base coat. If that is the case only re-painting the car will fix them.

On the other hand maybe they aren't that deep but deep enough that you aren't removing the wax from them when you buff off the hazed up wax. If that is the case you could try a little harder to get the wax out of them....or use a different wax, like a liquid wipe on/wipe off type.

They do make kits where you can add matching paint to those scratches and then compound/polish them out and restore looks. They take some effort but it is possible for you to do the work yourself.

Really all depends on how deep they are and what you want to end up with. Be a shame to let it go untill you have rust set in.

[Pureshine]

You never answered my post so I can help

[driller41]

sorry guys. not sure if i am doing this right. but here is my personal pickup. (sorry for bad pics, pickup its dirty and it rained last night)


here is one example of a scratch down that all paint has been removed and white residue left behind from wax. i could definitely get my fingernail in er.


here is one that drives me nuts... this is the basis of my question! its not chipped down to bare metal, yet might be pretty deep.



here are some smaller examples of residue making little scratches stick out.



i hope i did this right.. sorry for bein a newb and thanks for keeping patients with me guys!