Scratches

[Nickdb]

I've taken off my spare wheel and have some nasty scratches

where the wheel has rubbed the body work.

Wot's the best way orstuff to use ??

Many Thanks

Nickdb

[Nick M]

I'm assuming that none of the scratches are so deep that they've gone right through the gel-coat.  If they have then you may need to fill them with new gel-coat.

You should be able to polish out the worst scratches with 800 and then 1200 wet and dry making sure you use lots of slightly soapy water.  If you can get your hands on 2000 wet and dry (local car paint supplier should have some) then finish off with that.

Then polish the matt area with a polishing compound - T-cut is OK for this - and then go back and do it again making sure you cover the surrounding area as well.  You should have a smooth looking finish that doesn't show up the area where you had the scratches.

Finally, apply a top layer of wax - Autoglym or Mer are what I tend to use.

Patience and elbow-grease are the keys to getting it right.

[SteveF]

Nick

If the scratches aren't too deep - I've found that you can take them out with 800 grade w&d (tried going to finer papers - but the results were no better - it just took longer), then gave it a polish with brasso - as recommended by Stevens who are fiberglass specialists.

I put my fibreglassing experiences on the BBS in this thread Who does Chrome plating?

Hope this helps

Steve