How to get rid of light scratches?

matthew34brown · 02-21-2011, 01:50 PM

Just got my 07' BMW 328i Sedan. Love the car but has a door ding and some light scratches that I wanted to get out easy and cheap? Any suggestions...PLEASE!

MuttGrunt · 02-21-2011, 02:33 PM

Cheap and easy eh?

Let me know how that works out for you.

Congrat's on the new ride and start by reading the sticking and older threads.

dday · 02-21-2011, 03:44 PM

Cheap: no options here, you need at least a few hundred in equipment to take car of this and if you don't have it you need to buy it all

Easy: take it to a detailer and spend a few hundred

Buegie · 02-21-2011, 07:07 PM

Pics would help, how light are we talking about? You can use ScratchX by hand on a MF pad and it will take out really light stuff. For the deep stuff though you'll need a buffer.

ScheerSpeed · 02-22-2011, 07:31 AM

You need to have painless dent removal guy look at the dents to see if they can be removed or not.

As far as scratches that depends what you feel comfortable doing. If you do not know anything about detailing i would take the car to an expienced detailer in your area, since you can really mess up a car if you do something wrong. Scratches need to be polished out with a machine polisher and some abrasive polishes. A pro detailer could help you out because they will know exactly what needs to be done to your car to get It back to better than showroom condition.

However if you wanted to tackle the problem yourself you could go with claying the car and using a filler glaze... Which i don't really like, but it's safe to use without a lot of experience. Unlike a polish, which actually wears down clear coat (on a microscopic level) to remove scratches permanently, a glaze is more of a temporary fix that just fills in small swirl marks, but will need to be reapplied about every 2 weeks to keep the car looking good.

At the end of the day polishing is the way to go. It's not cheap but remember it's a permanent fix, and the scratches won't come back as long as you maintain it properly after.

matthew34brown · 02-22-2011, 07:45 AM

thanks yeah i will check around for a detailer in the area!

VWtoBMW · 02-24-2011, 08:30 AM

Has anyone tried Swissvax Cleaner Fluid? The normal one, not medium or strong.

I ordered some, along with their Clay Kit and Blau Weiss. Hoping the cleaner fluid get out the very mild swirls I have.

02-21-2011, 01:50 PM	#1
matthew34brown Banned 17 Rep 273 Posts Drives: 2007 BMW 328i E90 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Columbus OH iTrader: (0)	How to get rid of light scratches? Just got my 07' BMW 328i Sedan. Love the car but has a door ding and some light scratches that I wanted to get out easy and cheap? Any suggestions...PLEASE!
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02-21-2011, 02:33 PM	#2
MuttGrunt Banned 27 Rep 872 Posts Drives: beater;) Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: SE Michigan iTrader: (0)	Cheap and easy eh? Let me know how that works out for you. Congrat's on the new ride and start by reading the sticking and older threads.
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02-21-2011, 03:44 PM	#3
dday Captain 33 Rep 856 Posts Drives: 2014 Alpine White 335 M-Sport Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: MA iTrader: (1)	Cheap: no options here, you need at least a few hundred in equipment to take car of this and if you don't have it you need to buy it all Easy: take it to a detailer and spend a few hundred
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02-21-2011, 07:07 PM	#4
Buegie Captain 48 Rep 714 Posts Drives: 330xi Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: CT/DC iTrader: (2)	Pics would help, how light are we talking about? You can use ScratchX by hand on a MF pad and it will take out really light stuff. For the deep stuff though you'll need a buffer. __________________ Black Dakota \| Aluminum \| Sport \| Premium \| Cold \| iDrive \| CA
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02-22-2011, 07:31 AM	#5
ScheerSpeed Major General 415 Rep 5,767 Posts Drives: '13 F30 Estoril M-Sport 335i Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Miami, FL iTrader: (14)	You need to have painless dent removal guy look at the dents to see if they can be removed or not. As far as scratches that depends what you feel comfortable doing. If you do not know anything about detailing i would take the car to an expienced detailer in your area, since you can really mess up a car if you do something wrong. Scratches need to be polished out with a machine polisher and some abrasive polishes. A pro detailer could help you out because they will know exactly what needs to be done to your car to get It back to better than showroom condition. However if you wanted to tackle the problem yourself you could go with claying the car and using a filler glaze... Which i don't really like, but it's safe to use without a lot of experience. Unlike a polish, which actually wears down clear coat (on a microscopic level) to remove scratches permanently, a glaze is more of a temporary fix that just fills in small swirl marks, but will need to be reapplied about every 2 weeks to keep the car looking good. At the end of the day polishing is the way to go. It's not cheap but remember it's a permanent fix, and the scratches won't come back as long as you maintain it properly after.
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02-22-2011, 07:45 AM	#6
matthew34brown Banned 17 Rep 273 Posts Drives: 2007 BMW 328i E90 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Columbus OH iTrader: (0)	thanks yeah i will check around for a detailer in the area!
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02-24-2011, 08:30 AM	#7
VWtoBMW Captain 68 Rep 896 Posts Drives: 2021 X5 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Toronto iTrader: (5) Garage List 2013 750i xDrive [0.00] 2015 Mercedes GLK350 [0.00]	Has anyone tried Swissvax Cleaner Fluid? The normal one, not medium or strong. I ordered some, along with their Clay Kit and Blau Weiss. Hoping the cleaner fluid get out the very mild swirls I have. __________________ 2018 540d xDrive Carbon Black Metallic on Cognac leather. Spec'd out to the max 2017 Mercedes C43 AMG Coupe. Black on black
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