I've decided to clean up my interior and noticed that I have swirls on my center console wood clear.

I've read on here that ScratchX should do it. But I recently bought Maguiar's fine Cute #2 to remove my exterior pinstripe using a rotary tools.

Anyhow, do you think the Fine Cut Cleaner is a better product for removing the swirls off my interior wood trim than Scratch X ? Or is there any even better approach?

Scratch X

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4580

Fine Cut Cleaner #2

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4717

 

go with the least abrasive first.

 

Good thread post, cant we see some answers

 

i am not sure how 'abrasive' ScratchX is. I know the fine cut cleaner measures on some scale as you can see in front.

 

i just emailed maguiars and await a response.

 

Here is a good thread.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...wood-trim.html

The only scratches on mine are on the center lower console(where the shifter is). It also has a slight crack from the heat. I am just going to get it refinished, which will fix the crack and also remove all the swirls.

 

still no answer from maguiars...
nothing too specific in the link..


Posted from ClubLexus.com App for Android

 

so i finally called maguiars directly. They recommended plastic X. they mentioned that fine cut cleaners 2 will be better if applied with machine and that it's abrasive if tougher than that of plastic X so i will be more prone to damaging.

so i guess ill try out plastic x for now. I will try to post before and after pics

 

Any polisher designed for plastics will work. Meguiars has specific plastic polishes. You aren't actually polishing the wood itself, but rather a protective lacquer finish that behaves much like plastic.

 

Unlike less expensive cars, our LS has a wood veneer laid over a plastic base structure with clear lacquer sprayed over the top, just as the clear coat on the car. Lesser cars are molded plastic to look like wood, which is probably why they recommended a plastic polisher by mistake. Not sure the chemical differences between plastic and clear coat polishes, but suspect plastic polishes are less abrasive... feel free to give it a try and report back.

Agreed, use theh least aggressive product first... if doing by hand, I would try the Scratch X 2.0 personally since it is very safe and finshes well without a buffer. Then seal it all with a nice wax or sealant. Autogeek forum has many tutorials, or go to YouTube and see their demos to get an idea of best practices to try so you get best results.

For mine which had moderate scratches, I removed my wood completely and used Mequires #83 (for paint) with my RA Buffer and it removed all the scratches, then I applied Meguires NXT 2.0 synthetic sealant for protection and gloss. Looks brand new.

 

I dont know about the products you listed, however I recently did all the wood in my car (4 doors, around ac vent, center, etc) I used car polish and worked it in. The wood showed no swirl marks and really glossy. Then I applied wax as a protective layer and the wood is like new. I ran my finger across the wood and smooth as hell too. I am just listing my experience with what I did.

 

if you REALLY want to get ALL the scratches out:

-Remove wood trim pieces from car
-WET sand 3000 grit (use bodyshop quality 3M wet sandpaper or equivalent)
-buff the haze out with 3M medium rubbing compound applied to a DA orbital.......or use a rotary if you have
the skills
-Another pass with a polishing compound

At this point the trim piece will look better than new. NOTE: this only works on our cars because our wood trim pieces have a true lacquer clear coat, as Viper6 mentioned.

DO NOT OVER SAND, lightly pass the the 3000 grit wet paper over the trim peice in back and forth motions. NOT CIRCULAR. All you want to do is level out those scratches/swirls.

 

Plastic polish has worked fine on all my Lexuses with a lot less work than that. Not sure what all the fuss is about.

That said, I would stick with normal strength retail products, rather than the pro Meguiar's products. I have no experience with those and would not risk it.