W211 vs bramble hedge

[corned]

Result? Home win.

The away team now has a series of minor scratches and scrapes down the n/s following a skirmish in a narrow country lane. Only myself to blame - f***wit - will take wife's car next time.

Question is - how best to tackle the required repairs? There is no paint actually missing - just a series of shallow scratches in the lacquer. Will the old joke "it'll buff right out" do the job, or should I use a different/better approach? Is there any mileage in using that scratch-filling coloured wax stuff, or just attack it with T-cut?

Any help you can offer would be great.

 

[glojo]

I'm guessing you are talking about a 2005 E-class? That top coating is called nano clear coat. if it is scratched then kick yourself even more because that cannot be resprayed with the exact same material.

If you can feel those scratches when you run your fingernail over it then you will need more than a gallon of T-cut

 

[Baron_Samedi]

If its bad it might be an idea to get someone to do the job for you.

The someone would ideally have some idea how to use a Porter Cable or similar...

 

[whitenemesis]

Result? Home win.
.

Shouldn't that be an away win?

I thought the home team was listed first??

 

[Smiley]

You will be surprised how much of those scratches you can get out with the right materials and a bit of patience.

Buy yourself some Farecla G3 and G10. Go easy with the G3. Body shops use this stuff; its good.

Once you are done with those put some decent wax on the car. I can recommend Meguairs NXT, Autoglym HD and seen good reports on Harlys.

 

[corned]

Thanks, chaps. It is worth it from my perspective to try to remedy the situation myself. I'll try a small area first! The scratches are all relatively superficial, but there are quite a lot of them.

I can get the Farecla products easily enough. For the record, will the G10 (finer compound) get rid of any minor scratches on the plastic headlamp lenses?

 

[glojo]

Thanks, chaps. It is worth it from my perspective to try to remedy the situation myself. I'll try a small area first! The scratches are all relatively superficial, but there are quite a lot of them.

I can get the Farecla products easily enough. For the record, will the G10 (finer compound) get rid of any minor scratches on the plastic headlamp lenses?

If you run your fingernail over these marks and can 'feel' this indentation, then I woud be VERY wary about any cheap attempts at repair.

If you can feel this scratch after running your finger nail over it, then what you intend doing is wearing away the top clear coating of lacquer. Is that a good idea?

 

[Smiley]

If you run your fingernail over these marks and can 'feel' this indentation, then I woud be VERY wary about any cheap attempts at repair.

If you can feel this scratch after running your finger nail over it, then what you intend doing is wearing away the top clear coating of lacquer. Is that a good idea?

Yep - better than paying for a re-spray. And then when the bramble meets the car next time it won't matter so much

 

[glojo]

If it was a blackberry bush then might I suggest you spray it blackberry red

 

[corned]

Having heeded John's warnings and given the bodywork some very close inspections, I could not feel the scratches with fingers/nails etc. Actually, on close inspection, they appear to be more like very narrow scuffs rather than what I would call scratches.

I (very gingerly) tried a couple of swirls with some T-cut on the worst area (door mirror) and guess what? Scratches gone! The T-cut has also removed the blemishes on the LED lens as well. I moved onto the front wing and the corner of the front bumper where the scratches are less pronounced, and they disappeared in short order as well.

I am in the process of doing one panel at a time - I would rather take my time over this - and as soon as I am done I will give the whole thing a good waxing with the Meguiars product mentioned above which I have on order.

Thanks for your help and advice chaps.

Now - does anyone know what to do about all those tiny pock-mark stone chips on the front valance?

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Nice one!

If it were me, I would apply a coat of Meguiars or similar to each panel as you finish with the T-Cut.

That will protect the fine finish you have created.

As to the tiny stone chips... I tend to apply touch up paint to them with the tip of a cocktail stick.

That way I can build up paint in layers and then polish the surface to "flat" the fresh paint to achieve a smooth finish.

 

[corned]

Cheers, Baron.

Those pock marks look very odd, don't they? Not like conventional paint chips, but more like very small impact craters in the soft paint/plastic. I am surprised at just how easily the surface gets damaged in this way. It's not as if I tear-@r$e around like a complete t0$$3r either!

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Not much you can do to avoid them.

I think the marks shape like that on the valance because the plastic is torn by the sharp stuff thrown up and from oncoming vehicles.

Pain the bum to be honest

 

[glojo]

Having heeded John's warnings and given the bodywork some very close inspections, I could not feel the scratches with fingers/nails etc. Actually, on close inspection, they appear to be more like very narrow scuffs rather than what I would call scratches.

Nano top coat is certainly a more durable coating compared to the paint it replaced

Good luck and use the least abrasive compind you have and if usung T-cut then as you have rightly said, make sure you polish\wax after using the T-cut