Car Scratches -- Products To Protect, Do They Work?

[Sheryl]

From time to time I have seen kiosks in superstores selling a product they claim will make the car less susceptible to minor scratches. Does anyone know if they work? I live out in the countryside and often have to drive through areas where trees and bushes scrape the car, even the lightest touch seems to produce a scratch (through the paint) and I am fed up with the costs of continual repainting.

Related to that, last paint job I did seems to have been very thin and after just a few months there are a few small round chips showing through the paint. What did they do wrong, was it a matter of not enough coats or is there some sort of sealant that should have been put over it? Can one have some sort of sealant sprayed on the reduce scratching/preserve the paint coat?

And lastly can anyone recommend a good product for removing superficial scratches.

Thanks!

[Kwasaki]

As for superstores kiosks selling a claimed high quality wax product I find the cheaper ones like ' Carpro ' in Big 'C' is just as good, it's a silicone wax cream at a reasonable price.

Most cars these days have a final lacquer finish and mostly metallic type colours and I use a ' T ' cut product for use on metallic finish paint work, as for scratches it depends on how deep they are as to whether you can polish them out completely.

Stone chips I touch in using a tooth pick dipped in the touch up paint until it levels off and then protect with several layers of polish.

[funcat]

I don't think that any wax product can protect much from the tree /brush scratches...but there is a product called ClearBra which can protect better,or any vinyl wrap for this case...it's not cheap thou

http://www.motortrend.com/womt/112_0401_clear_bra/viewall.html

[Sheryl]

The kiosk stuff I'm referring to is not a wax. it's some sort of clear liquid.

re ClearBra: (1) where in Thailand (Bkk area) can one get it and (2) Just how expensive are we talking?

[transam]

If scratches go through the clear coat you are stuffed. You cannot remove them without removing the clear/lacquer coat. Best protection is to use, bit late now, is to polish car with a non silicon based polish. Leave a week and polish again. Then polish again. This will build up a thick layer of wax where you can remove minor scratches from the WAX, not the paint.

[funcat]

The kiosk stuff I'm referring to is not a wax. it's some sort of clear liquid.

re ClearBra: (1) where in Thailand (Bkk area) can one get it and (2) Just how expensive are we talking?

I'm in CM,so can't help you much in BKK...but if you'll find any good car wrapping place,they should give you the price...

[Sheryl]

If scratches go through the clear coat you are stuffed. You cannot remove them without removing the clear/lacquer coat. Best protection is to use, bit late now, is to polish car with a non silicon based polish. Leave a week and polish again. Then polish again. This will build up a thick layer of wax where you can remove minor scratches from the WAX, not the paint.

Good advise, thanks. Any idea if the waxes used in car washes here fit the bill?

[transam]

If scratches go through the clear coat you are stuffed. You cannot remove them without removing the clear/lacquer coat. Best protection is to use, bit late now, is to polish car with a non silicon based polish. Leave a week and polish again. Then polish again. This will build up a thick layer of wax where you can remove minor scratches from the WAX, not the paint.

Good advise, thanks. Any idea if the waxes used in car washes here fit the bill?

Unfortunately you/we don't know what they use. Silicone based is cheap and looks cool but is crap. If you go to a shop to clean your car l would advise you buy a good polish and let them use it, of course giving you the tin back .

[Sheryl]

Unfortunately you/we don't know what they use. Silicone based is cheap and looks cool but is crap. If you go to a shop to clean your car l would advise you buy a good polish and let them use it, of course giving you the tin back .

Good advice. Any specific brands you'd suggest that are silicone free?

[transam]

Unfortunately you/we don't know what they use. Silicone based is cheap and looks cool but is crap. If you go to a shop to clean your car l would advise you buy a good polish and let them use it, of course giving you the tin back .

Good advice. Any specific brands you'd suggest that are silicone free?

Sorry no but the tin will say silicon OR wax. Noooooo, silicon.

[pipo1000]

I don't know these days, but in my glory days I sold a product called Polymer,as it contained polymers.When treated with this polish it would lay a protective film and you could take an object and it would glance of the surface.Of course if you would take a key and attempt to make a deep scratch you would succeed,but the purpose was to prevent chippings from stones thrown up by cars in front of you, and it worked very effective.

I think there are still polish products inn the market that contain polymers, but I guess the newer generation contains Teflon.