Best way/products to remove clear coat scratches

[Phillip Dominguez]

Arizona pin stripes is what they call them but I took my truck out on a little adventure in the desert and came back with quite a few scratches from the sides of my truck swiping the overgrown branches and shrubbery on the trail. What’s the best way to get these out?

 

[BigLazer4u]

Arizona pin stripes is what they call them but I took my truck out on a little adventure in the desert and came back with quite a few scratches from the sides of my truck swiping the overgrown branches and shrubbery on the trail. What’s the best way to get these out?

I have had this issue before on my trucks. To do this process the right way, you will need a orbital polisher and meguiars ultimate polish And one of their soft polishing pads for the polisher to remove the scratch on the clear coat depending on how deep it is. Just take it slow and don’t let the polish dry while you work it. One or two passes and it will look as good as new.

Remember to use some turtle wax or carnuba wax after you polish to finish it off.

if you want a fast and easy way with no work at all, this way does not last long, but you can buy color magic turtle wax that matches the color of your vehicle and this will get rid of your scratches immediately but it is not the preferred method.

 

[Kinetic]

They'll need to be compounded/polished out. If they are very deep, as in you can fell them with your fingernails then they may not come out completely.

 

[Gazoo]

I just want to sympathize with the poster. I took my 2022 with 3k mikes on it to Anza Borrego desert three weeks ago. Only used 4x4 twice. miles of dirt back roads until…. Road got narrower and narrower and …. 90% came off with soap and water. (Dirt/mud was scratched not paint). Now I have to deal with the 7-8 real scratches. Had a GREAT time, but not $1,500 worth great…. Ugh… will work on it.

 

[CheechDogg.0n37s]

I just want to sympathize with the poster. I took my 2022 with 3k mikes on it to Anza Borrego desert three weeks ago. Only used 4x4 twice. miles of dirt back roads until…. Road got narrower and narrower and …. 90% came off with soap and water. (Dirt/mud was scratched not paint). Now I have to deal with the 7-8 real scratches. Had a GREAT time, but not $1,500 worth great…. Ugh… will work on it.

Where are you located, you said you were in Anza, I live North of Anza in Moreno Valley

 

[Pull Ya]

When you remove scratches always use the least abrasive product first. There is no sense in using 80 grit sandpaper to begin with if a polishing compound will do the job.
Jay

 

[brian42]

I agree with Pull Ya. It's not a driveability issue so start small and work your way up.

I'd start with a fine cut cleaner and orbital polisher (with the right pad). A couple of different passes with that and I'd see what's left.

My personal threshold with this truck (my first new truck) is a medium cut cleaner. If that doesn't take out the "trail pinstripes" then I'd live with it.

My last truck was an old HD diesel with plenty of trail rash (some pretty deep ones too) that made for some good stories at the campfire. I knew no matter what I did I'd get more on the trails again.

If you truly want to clean up the finish (and aren't confident in your capabilities to do so) go get a quote from a local body shop. They are not cheap but do that stuff for a living. I paid a little extra when my last truck had some work covered by my insurance and they did an incredible job getting everything but the deepest gouges out.

I am comfortable with working on the finish but they have better equipment (and skill) than I do and it was worth every penny.

Just my .02

 

[combatgrunt]

I recommend using a orange cutting pad with some Sonax or Megillans polish. Best bet is to polish the whole truck and then add a ceramic coating to help give you more protection for next time or PPF and a ceramic coating. You can get a cheap Torq polisher or one from harbor freight to do the job. If you have swirl marks I would just do the whole panel make sure to add a sealant when done if you don't ceramic coat.

 

[yogibear18]

depending how deep the scratches are in the clear if they’re deep easy for the fingers to feel water sand them on the surface a light polish with a DA Polisher these are typical scratches we will get after washing your truck more noticeable on darker colors can’t totally eliminate them they are love scratches from keeping our trucks clean. A full DA polish and wax will only last till you wash it, I know it sucks having a darker colored truck

 

[HAL9001]

YouTube has some excellent tutorials on how to remove clear coat scratches. They demo the entire process for you.

Follow this link for clear coat scratch removal.

YouTube is the go-to source for almost any DIY procedure. Whenever I want to do a specific job that I'm not quite sure how to do, I always check YouTube. The depth of coverage is amazing.