[Vette Kirk]

My brother's car (non-vette) has a bit of a parking lot rash. Scratches run down the side of the car. It's a very old Honda Civic, and the quoted cost of repair/repaint is higher than the value of the car.

I told him that I'd see what I could do with it - and worse case scenario, he'd still have to paint.

I got the scratches out with 1000 grit wet sandpaper. It actually looks pretty good. The problem is, the finish is a bit dull where I worked on it. Not a huge deal, but I think it could be improved.

What next? I don't want to order any special products, but a bit of polish that I could find at my regular autoparts store that could help gloss the repair areas would be great.

 

[BWF07]

If you wet sanded it, it should actually be buffed out with a buffer, and I would recommend an orbital type of buffer as it will not burn the paint. If you are going to do it by hand I suggest that you start with a swirl and haze remover, then go to a good polish finished with a coat of wax. I use Adams products, but I see you don't want to order any products. Therefore I suggest that you go to a good auto parts store that carries a variety of car care products. Don't buy a polish and wax combo that you will find at the parts store.

Meguiar's carries a good line of products and they work well. They are carried by most of the top auto parts stores. Good luck.

 

[Vette Kirk]

Swirl and Haze - Great. I've used both Meguire's and Mothers in the past.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[RTGordon]

I've had good luck with 3M buffing compound with one of those drill-mounted pads for getting out heavy hazing like that, followed by a good quality polish on a microfiber pad by hand. Finish with a good coat of wax and you're done. Just be careful if you're not using an orbital - as mentioned above, easy to burn the paint.