First of all, I'm a dumb-***. I wanted to scrub bugs off the front of my IS before washing it, so I grabbed what I thought was a soft sponge from the kitchen, sprayed on some Pledge and dish soap, and scrubbed away. After the wash, I was horrified to see the aggressive scratch marks left over from where I'd scrubbed the bugs. I then Turtle-waxed the areas, but the scratches, for the most part, remain. What can I do now about the scratches -- on the hood, grill, quarter panels, side mirrors? Rubbing compound? 3-M Kit?

 

Follow this method,

1) Clean and wash the vehicle.
2) Clean the interior.
3) Take some good quality pictures of the vehicle.
4) List the vehicle for sale i.e, craigslist / auto trader.
5) Sell the vehicle when the offer is made.

( If you use some ragged dish sponge and cant tell the difference between it and scotch brite, you don't need the car
( Also because you used Turtle Wax.

 

I would put some Racing stickers to mask these spots like:

 

Do yourself a favor and take it to a professional detailer. You'll likely just make it worse.

 

If you insist on a DIY fix, then you buff it out and polish. Since it is a small area, you should be area to get by without an orbital polisher. Use microfiber cloths and whatever fluids you want to smooth it out.

 

SAVAGE

buy some rubbing compound and buff out the scratches. (I am not responsible if you rub away down to the base coat.)

 

This video will help if you removing small scratches and such...Just.......Be careful...Dont EVER use pledge..please.

 

If you used a sponge and pledge to clean the car I'd probably not suggest taking up polishing, compounding, and other detailing techniques right away... Next time you should try to pressure wash the bugs off first or use the jet function on your hose. Else for stubborn things like road tar you can use peanut butter or wd40 on a soft clean microfibre cloth.

 

Claybar.

Claybars are great for bugs and other contaminants in auto paint. Soap it up, clay bar while lathered. Rinse before dry.

Than a good cleaner wax and spraywax between washes.

But for your current issue, find a reputable detail shop.

 

If I was you I would stay out of the kitchen

 

Sounds like your car needs to be detailed to removed the scratches in the clear coat. I'd say you can DIY but you'd probably burn the paint. Take it to a detailer and cough up the dough. Also, learn how to properly wash your car using the two bucket method. YouTube is a good starting place. Also check out autogeek. You're not going to learn everything in one day; however, we all start somewhere.

 

LOL HankMoody, that's some funny s*$%

100% do not do it yourself. Detailing paint is something a guy gets good at through lots of experience. Let a pro help you out and skip the extensive learning curve. You will be very thankful you did and you will see a world of difference in your car. It's amazing what a skilled detailer can do to your car's paint.

Don't take it to 'a friend who details cars' or to your local full service car wash. What you want is an expert detailer who takes pride in his work. He's out there, but you are going to have to find him. Make some phone calls....Ask for recommendations at your Lexus Dealer (mine actually told me to NOT go to their guy)...Ask guys you see who have beautiful sports cars who does their detailing. Once you have some prospects, ask them about their procedure. Generally, it would include, washing, clay bar, polishing with several levels of pads using an orbital or rotary buffer, followed by waxing. It should take 2-4 hours. In my area $150 is a fair price for a quality job.

Good luck.

 

A full detail will take at least a day, if not longer. Good luck finding someone who will wash, claybar, compound, polish, and wax for $150 and does an excellent job.

 

I must be lucky then. I just paid $150 for a full exterior detail completed in 4 hours. Amazing job. I didn't need the interior, nor does the guy who initiated this thread.
It's all relative to the going rate in your town. The shop I found, after visiting 4 of them, only does detailing. The bulk of their business is the major brand car dealership they share property with. They are 4 guys working 8 hrs a day.

I'm sure a guy could spend a whole day on it and it would be even better. Like anything else in the world.......

 

It's hard to tell the depth of the scratches in a photo, especially on silver. Being that small of an area, you should be able to do by hand it yourself with the appropriate clay bar, cut, polish and pads. I use Detailed Image for this kind of stuff. As others have said, autogeek also has a plethora of info and products.

If all you intend to do is spot treat with no intentions of doing an entire car, this kind of kit would work. You will just need to get some compounds to go with it:
http://www.detailedimage.com/DI-Pack...fing-Kit-P454/

I've had good luck using the OC orange and white pads with the Meguiars M105/M205 combo. I don't do it buy hand though since I polish all 3 of my vehicles entirely using the Porter Cable 7424. Always wash and clay bar your work area very well before doing any rubbing/buffing/compounding on paint!