what to do about scruffed clear cloat?
 

It looks like my clear coat is scruffed. I had a paint chip. It is very minor, but....

When I was doing the paint chip repair. It looks like I sand down some of the surrounding clear coat and scruffed it.

What do you guys/gals recomend. Should I just use a polishing compound and then wax when the paint is dry. Or should I try to put some clear coat on the paint chip and the scruffed clear coat.

blau

It depends on how bad the scratches on the clearcoat are.

You said you sanded down the area when you were doing the paint chip repair. What grit sandpaper did you use?

I used 1500 and 2000 grid sand paper.
 

I used 1500 and 2000 grid sand paper. I don't think I went through the clear coat, but in some area. I know there are some indentation. Keep in mind I use a magnifying glass to do the examination.

With the naked eye in certain light it just apperar dulled.

Then you are going to have to use a paint compound that will remove grade 2000 sanding marks, and then work down to finer and finer compounds, ending with a polish, then a wax.

You will have to use a rotary buffer. A random orbital buffer will not be able to do enough work to remove the scratches.

If you don't have a rotarty buffer, I would recommend a Makita or a DeWalt rotary buffer. You will have to purchase a velcro backing plate and a selection of foam pads. Both 3M and Meguiar's have nice pads.

To remove your sanding marks, I would use the following products.

1. Start out with Meguiar's W8006 polishing pad and Meguiar's M84 Compound Power Cleaner.

2. Step down to a finer compound using the same pad and Meguiar's M83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish.

3. Step down to a very fine paint cleaner / polish, like Meguiar's M82 Swirl Free Polish.

4. Use a random orbital buffer or hand-apply Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax.

If the above sounds a little over-whelming or too expensive, then I'd pay $100 and have a professional do it for you. :)

Anytime when you sand paint or just a chip, you will by accident always damage the paint so always make sure the sand paper is clean and wet. Make sure the surface is also wet and just wet sand the general area, paint the chip, let it dry, often paint it again. DO NOT OVER PAINT. Only hit the chip. Then clear coat it. After all that, once its dry, grab 3m's fine polish, and hand buff it out. Repeat and apply pressure until the paint comes back to life and then you will be able to relax. The chip will for the most part dissapear.

Peter

a good detailer
 

I too have scratches and dings and wonder if there is a recommended detailer for MB's in the New York City/Lower Hudson Valley area?