I have had my car for about 5 months now and I've been meaning to get it waxed before it gets too cold outside. The wax from the dealer is nearly gone.

However, my paint on the front end has a few small marks where bugs have hit the car and I can't seem to get them off. I tried scrubbing the affected surfaces and using Bugs-B-Gone but with no luck. Will waxing the car with these blemishes make the situation worse?

I've looked into clay bars but I've never used them and I really wouldn't like to worsen the problem by not applying it right. I'm not sure if it would help with the bugs either.

I also have a scuff mark (3 inches long, thick as a magic marker) on my driver's side above the front wheel from some idiot in a parking lot I want to remove. I have some Scratch X but I don't know how effective it will be...

I'm about to take back the wax and stuff I bought and just take my car to a detailer next weekend, but I'd rather do it myself if I can. (I'm not sure how good of a job they will do...)

Thanks for your help...

 

Go ahead and try the clay. It is not something that is applied, rather it is, um, clay that you rub across the surface to remove impurities. You really can't screw it up unless you do something like drop the clay on the ground then use it on your car. Just use plenty of lubricant. (Detail spray is usually included in the kits.) It should help with that scuff as well.

 

Right, the lubrication part (or lack of) causing scratches was my concern. And bad use of the word "applied" there

I might just do that then, thank you.

 

Well even if you don't use lubricant, there should not be scratches. provided you have not dropped the clay or set it on anything dirty. It would just leave smears of clay on your car, which can be washed off. If you run out of the supplied lubricant, water with a little carwash soap works just fine. You really can't use too much lubricant, and you can really tell when you didn't use enough. While the clay glides effortlessly over a properly clayed surface, it will feel kind of like a very high grit sandpaper when it is picking up contaminants in your paint, and should you not use enough lube, the clay will just stop and hold its ground as you are sliding it across your paint, or it will hop or chatter along. Again, there is no damage done here, just maybe a little clay to clean up.

You will want to wash again after claying, although a good rinse should be all you need.

And make sure to follow up with wax, as the clay will remove it.

 

Sounds good. I've been doing my homework elsewhere on the forums and this is very consistent with what I've been reading. Looks like I'll go this route.

I've noticed you've used NXT liquid Tech Wax, which is what I bought after hearing many people recommend it as well. I've read it doesn't last as long as pastes but I want to get into the habit of waxing my car more often anyway (but I'll have less time between waxings with the winter weather).

However, what if the clay bar doesn't remove containments such as bugs? Is there anything else I can try? I'll be trying Scratch X for my scuff mark but I'm not sure what else would be useful for removing the bug stains.

I'll have to do all of this when I have a few hours and slightly warmer weather... can't wait to get all of this done.

Thanks again!

 

Try some Bug & Tar Remover.

 

So I detailed my car today. Results were excellent!

Here's exactly what I did for other noobs to car care like me:

Rinsed car, washed with Rain-X car wash "system" (comes with a built-in nozzle, $3 at Big Lots) and a cheap foam sponge, rinsed again, dried with "The Absorber" cloth.

I then took a foam applicator with a tiny tiny bit of Meguiar's Scratch X on it and applied it to the scuff mark above my wheel I mentioned earlier. I found this article that demostrated how Scratch X works and how to use it:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...?threadid=1516

WOW. After about 30-45 seconds of rubbing with moderate pressure, the scuff was completely gone! I expected it to be less noticeable but not 100% removed... amazing! It also left no scratches behind and the surface was left nicely polished. The article mentions that you need several applications but only one was necessary to completely remove my car's scuff marks. I also tried it on a few other places, using just a little bit, and it worked wonders.

I then attempted to clay a few areas of my car with Meguiar's Clay Kit. However, it didn't pick very many containments off of my car, so I stopped using it. It didn't do a thing for the small blemishes on my front bumper either (Scratch X did help though). I'll keep it around to use when spring rolls around... I'm sure it'll pick up a lot more then!

Then applied a nice coat of Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax. Easy enough with included applicator... much more simple than I imagined. I didn't have enough time to wax everything on top of the car though, it's a bit hard to reach and daylight was running out.

The car looked great at dusk but my crappy camera can't really capture the look very well. Will have good pictures soon...

Thanks for your help Max.

 

Excellent..> I have a few scratches off my car and I tried using an Applicator but I couldn't get them out... I was wondering If waxing or polishing would get it off?

 

I still forgot to post pics, lol... trust me, it looked good.

Depends on how deep the scratch is. If you can gently run your fingernail over the scratch and it "catches" on the scratch, than stuff like Scratch X won't work at all.

From what I understand, waxes merely "fill-in" minor scratches to lessen their appearance and will not permanently remove them. Scratch X contains a diminishing abrasive that removes a minor scratch permanently (see the link I posted in my earlier post for more info). However, if the scratch is deeper than the clearcoat, then you have damage that Scratch X can't fix.

Sadly, people have already scraped stuff along the side of my car and it has created deeper scratches that my nail "catches" on that can't be removed with Scratch X. (They don't look bad unless they're pointed out though.) So it's not a miracle fix for everything.

In my post above, the scuff I was talking about wasn't that deep and Scratch X was able to remove the clearcoat blemish completely.

Hope that helps!

 

yes thanks! I just need to findout what I can do to relieve my torn car of scratches lol!