so in the process of generally tidying up the car, bought it about 5 months ago and have been loving it - MK3 Sprt - 2010 - paint is Metro Gray Metallic
when I bought it from the dealer, it had a variety of small scuffs and chips nothing really severe just your usual wear and tear from a car where maybe the owner didn’t look after the bodywork with due diligence.
So now I wanted to just go around touch up all the small chips and scuffs.
My question is does anyone have an experienced opinion on what compound is best for removing light clear coat scratches? G3? T-cut? Paste or Liquid? something else?
I previously had used T-cut on my Passat for light scratches and always had decent success, but reading around I saw some people saying its not so suitable for Mazda’s?
So any opinions/advice? Otherwise I probably will do a small test in a not so obvious area and just see how it goes.
Whatever I end up using I’ll get some pictures for comparison etc.
As above post for hand polishing/scratch removal I use the two products below. I try and stick to the super resin polish for lighter scuff/scratches but if needs be I get the paint renovation bottle out but go easy as the Mazda paint is soft. To finish polish the area around the scatch with the super resin and apply wax.
If it won’t fetch out the scratch then maybe it’s too deep for any product and a touch-in is necessary. Other products are available, these are my preferred.
Don’t use T-Cut. Far to aggressive on Mazda paint.
I’ve used Meguairs Scratch X2.0 on some more significant scratch’s in the past but I’d be very cautious using that. Not something you would use on the whole car
Best thing I ever did was, a few years back, purchase a Meguairs DA polisher and have had great results using Megauirs Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish and Ultimate liquid wax. I pretty much don’t need to use the compound now as the finish is good and easy to keep that way with the DA. Just use the polish and wax along with good quality Drying towels and Microfiber wash mitts.
You can achieve good results by hand but be careful with compounds as they are more aggressive.
Stating the obvious but before you start go over the car with a Clay bar first.
I’m curious though about T-cut being too harsh? most of the scratches I was intending to work on are probably not into the paint but just in the clear coat?
Yeah I was planning to do this mainly by hand to start with so I can keep some good control, I am tempted to also invest in a polisher but initially I thought most of the scratches and marks are fairly light and fairly contained not anything that’s say spread out across a panel. The only area where that is a mild issue is across the rear boot panel where someone I think in the past has used a polisher but without preparing the surface properly hence the swirling.
Interesting to hear your thoughts on T-Cut being aggressive, this is why I wanted to hear thoughts from owners here as I say using it on my previous car was never an issue for light marks.
The Meguairs polisher seems something to invest in later down the line once I have got it all in good order, I’m still trying to sort out the annoying amp issue as well right now.
My plan really is to get the car back up to a very tidy standard, which means a lot more little bits of updating care all around. I’m considering getting some of the interior done next year as well.
I wanted to try the G3 Yellow Farecla and see how that was, but apparently that’s more severe than T-cut? So likely I will order something you guys recommend, and then see how I get on with that.
I tried on my boot lid with a clay bar then loads of polishing (by hand) all types of products (not T-cut) and it wouldn’t fetch out the swirls. It looked like the previous owner had not taken care of the paint work very well although over all it looked decent. So it was time to fetch the experts in, I used a mobile detailer he came down from the Sheffield area. He gave the car the once over and set to work, washing polishing, washing and polishing, there’s more to it than just a bucket and sponge and polish a microfibre cloth I thought. It took all day and he took most of the deep scratches out but some still remain, he told me they are far too deep to remove, he was using a light meters and paint depth gauges to show me, he had all the gear and said the Mazda paint is soft so gently does it.
I can’t put you on to him as I believe he’s not in the business anymore, a shame really he did such a good job on my car and at a reasonable price.
I’ve just got a NC Sport and was in the same boat ref bodywork no dents but lots of scratches.
I used G3 mainly because we sell it at work and thought I will give it a go with my new DAS6 polisher someone bought me for christmas and never used and was happy with the results for first time with using both, didn’t get very aggresive let the machine do the work…
Can’t wait till I master what pad paste combinations work together without spending the earth.
Still a few swirls under torch light but ton’s better.
I just went up to a local garage that happily stocks quite a good range of products and picked up the Glym stuff interested to give that a go. I have got some G3 as well so I can try them on non-obvious locations and see what the results are.
If I had a really persistent noticeable mark I would get in a professional for sure, but I think for what I have going on I can probably bring it up to a decent standard I hope.
I’ve still got to go around and touch up some chips as well there’s a couple that need doing so I have the various bits for that as well. So hopefully the range of Glym and G3 will help level off any touch up I have to do as well.
I will get some pics when I do the work on it, probably not until next week or thereafter even, but I will come back to this when I do it just to show results and or failures haha
Personally I don’t find any difference between Mazda paint and any other new paint and I have used G3 on my NC3 with no bad effects, T cut is not what it used to be in my opinion I can remember when it stripped paint off with enough rubbing.
My personal weapon of choice for swirls and scratches is Meguairs Ultimate compound and my Meguairs DA polisher picture below was my wife’s car with bad scratches took me about 15 minuets with the polisher.
In a way you could argue that your logic was a little wrong (really no offence meant). DA’s are great and the ideal tool for paint correction. You really would benefit from buying one now rather than in the future as opposed to going through all the effort of trying to correct it by hand first. I appreciate there is a big outlay with a DA which put me off buying one for some time. My biggest mistake.
We had a NWM area trip to Meguairs (no they aren’t sponsoring me!) where they took one of the cars and polished the bonnet. They divided it into 3 parts did one with a DA, left the other, and finished the last by hand. The DA section looked good very quickly despite the heavy swirl marks. Whilst the hand done section was much improved it wasn’t as good particularly when you factor in how quick it was.
If you haven’t clayed it first I strongly recommend you do. That way you will ensure you get the paint properly clean. Otherwise you may just end up scratching the surface further with anything that’s still left stuck to the paint
No its fine, I appreciate the insight. Not here to argue or try to presume I know better that’s why I am here asking in the first place. But you’re right the outlay is a little off putting.
I think what I am tempted to do though is because of that outlay cost right now for me, as I am also in the process of having the stereo etc redone amp repaired I also need to get the underside of the car cleaned up etc so its all expenses
What I wanted to do just initially was to do some of the smaller marks by hand see how it goes and then if it is really not improved or needs more work doing to it then I will stop and just go for picking up the DA.
As I say its not just scratches I need to touch up some paint chips as well and those are obviously much more specific points on the bodywork.
I plan to get a polisher either way, but its just a case of holding off or just going for it straight away, I will just have to think on that a bit.
^^^ The spending never ceases, I’ve never stopped and getting on for 5 years of ownership of the Mk3 alone. It’s all been cosmetic or upgrades of course, they are such reliable cars otherwise
Oh yeah for sure, and spending over time is fine but all in proportion lol Its been a crazy month or so for me, so trying to just be a little careful heading up to the end of the year.
I just spent a good 90 minutes this evening giving the car a proper wash and one thing that definitely needs to happen before I start doing any work is as Wolves said give the whole thing a clay.
I was inspecting each panel tonight and there are a lot of embedded particles you can feel. I expect its never been done on this car and its still a pretty tidy car so I want to try and bring it up to a decent finish
certainly not make it worse or let it get worse. Anyway, will update as and when, big thanks for all the helpful advice
Not sure what area you are in but if you are close to Hinckley in Leicestershire You could pop round my house and have a go with my polisher I would even let you practice on my car if you were worried about yours.
Totally agree with warbirds earlier post regarding T-Cut. I used to use it during the 80’,s where most cars were painted with cellulose paint so no clear coat. It used to cut through the paint really easy, so had to be careful. I tried the latest T-Cut recently and it’s nowhere near as aggressive as the original. However, with all modern cars that have two pack paint, it will go through the clear coat if not careful. I use G3 cutting compound, but it is really agressive so have to be extremely careful with it. Does do the job quicker though.
As also said above, first port of call is a clay bar. They take a long time and a lot of effort but you’d be amazed at how much different they can make to swirls in the paint.
