Doctodd33

It was an all around bad day yesterday. And to top it off, i decided to try to fix my garage door with the damn car inside. I have already punished myself enough, so plz no additional punishment is needed. So anyway a rather large screw fell on my trunk and left an incredibly tiny scratch. No dent or anything....i tried some wax/cleaner...but no luck. Any advice is appreciated. My s550 is obsidian black. Silver lining...now i dont care if i get any door dings cuz the first one, the hardest one, is over with.

T

iBenz

Take your car to the nearest MB dealer... probably for no cost they will buff/polish it for you... if the scratch is indeed fine and not so deep, it will be cleared in no time.

Good luck!

lkirchner

If your dealer is anything like most dealers that is the last place that I would take it. Find a good detailer in your area and have them buff it the right way. I have seen some of the cars delivered by dealers and I swear they use the same cloth that they use to wipe up oil spills to "detail" customers' cars.

StephenK

I wish you the best of luck in getting it repaired. I know your pain, the first one is the WORST.

Please let us know how it turns out.

amdeutsch

Doc, check here link. We have numerous members that are experienced in this. They posted info for those in the need. HTH

Kar don

Let me chime in here. Can you feel the scratch with your fingernail (dont go rubbing your nails all around the area). But if you can feel it with your nail it is probably too deep to fix. You could wet sand slightly and buff it with a polish.

StephenK

Not to be negative, but of all colors the most difficult is black, you really need someone who really cares to get it done right.

Doctodd33

thx for all the comments/advice....unfortunately i can feel the scratch a little. I have some Meguiars cleaner and wax/polish. I have about 4 bottles of the whole series. I will try the suggestions given and report back.

thx alot guys/gals

T

BigGar

Black is the most difficult to buff out, but fortunately it is also a color that touches up better than most others. I would try to find an excellent detailer or body shop person who really knows how to colorsand and polish. I've managed to remove small problems that I could lightly feel with my fingernail. You don't want him to go at it too hard and risk running out of clearcoat in the spot. You could also just go to the dealer and get some Obsidian black touch up paint. Shake it well, put your reading glasses on and with a steady hand, use the absolute least amount of paint possible to simply fill in the void where the scratch is. Too much and it looks like crap. I'm in SoCal or I'd help you out
The beauty of touch-up paint is that if you don't like the result, wipe it off with some lacquer thinner and try again. You can even wipe the touch up off with lacquer thinner long after it's dried without risk to the factory paint. The factory paint is not affected by lacquer thinner if your just wiping off a spot or wiping tar or other gunk from the paint. It's a good idea to re-wax any areas that you wipe with the thinner as it does remove any wax or sealants. Acetone is NOT the same as lacquer thinner and may cause damage. Do NOT use acetone on anything on your car, interior or exterior. Mineral spirits is generally safe for gum and goo and tar on paint, leather, carpets, vinyl, etc. . . I would not use lacquer thinner on any interior items, but for the exterior, it is a more effective product, although a little more harsh as well. I always try with mineral spirits first and if that doesn't do the trick, I'll give the lacquer thinner a go.

Best of luck, and don't accept any doordings now that you've got a little nick in the paint! Paintless dent guys can work wonders if that happens. Doordings on black cars are below average.


Gar

Kar don

do not use lacquer thinner on todays water born paints... it will damage them if not immediately over time.

BigGar

What do you recommend? I always test in an inconspicuous place first on any car, but have had virtually no problems with using a little lacquer thinner to clean off a misplaced blob of touch-up, wicked hard road tar or sealer, etc. . . I prefer to use mineral spirits as there's nearly no way at all to get in trouble with that stuff, but sometimes mineral spirits absolutely will not handle the problem.

I've had cars that I've looked after for many, many years with no issues.



Gar

NeverColdCall

I'm a bit of a detail nut with about a grand's worth of detailing equipment - the thing you have to watch out for with these cars is that the paint is the new ceramic crystal clearcoat, which is NOT COMPATIBLE with 99.9% of the compounds and polishes on the market!!! A special kind of polishing pad is also recommended for that paint. Here's what I'm talking about:

http://www.properautocare.com/grgipopadfor.html

http://classic-motoring.stores.yahoo...gerbespol.html

Find an experienced detailer rather than trying to mess with that clearcoat.

BigGar

I'm a 3M polish guy going on 20 years now, but I may give that stuff a try. I still try things that come highly recommended, but usually go back to what truly works. It's hard to beat 3M, even though the stuff is ridiculously expensive. I charge $100/per hour. Chemicals and polishes are only eat up a small portion of my detailing income. Working at a high level all the time, it's important to use whatever product truly does the best and most efficeint job.



Gar

Doctodd33

thx for all the responses and recommendations. Now i guess i will be looking to pick up some MB Obsidian Black touch-up paint.

T

BigGar

Remember to shake the heck out of it and less is more. A steady hand and if you don't like the result, wipe it off and have another go at it.

Best of luck.



Gar