For purposes of this post, "minor scratches" are defined as any scratch you cannot feel with a fingernail, but still appear to be rather severe and sharp. These "minor scratches" do not come out without making a conscious effort to remove them.
I've found that 1zUP and a foam Handigrip applicator are all I need to erase these minor scratches relatively quickly by hand. The key is to use lots of pressure, with all the pressure on one or two fingertips. Pounds per square inch is the key to quick paint removal by hand.
The downside to high PPSI with an aggressive polish is the rather severe micromarring that must be removed. By leaving some of the scratch, and moving to a finer polish, you can finish removing the scratch at the same time as you take care of the 1zUP marring. This way you don't take off more paint than necessary. Ideally, the last of the scratch is removed just as the polish marring disappears.
Related to this is the final appearance a polish leaves. By hand, using light pressure with1zUP leaves a noticeably better finish than UP applied with heavy pressure. With a PC, I would think that variations in pressure would have somewhat less of an effect on the final finish a polish leaves. This because added pressure is spread over a much larger area. By hand, all pressure can be directed toward a small area the size of a fingertip.
So, break out the aggressive polish, wrap that foam pad around your finger, and bear down on that scratch that has been bugging you for weeks. Check your work frequently. When the pesky scratch is just about removed to the level of the micromarring you are leaving, clean up the mess with a finer polish. Enjoy your victory over that pesky scratch.
If your clearcoat fails in a few weeks due to that scratch removal, enjoy your new rotary test panel for awhile before getting a paint job.
Mikeman
I've found that 1zUP and a foam Handigrip applicator are all I need to erase these minor scratches relatively quickly by hand. The key is to use lots of pressure, with all the pressure on one or two fingertips. Pounds per square inch is the key to quick paint removal by hand.
The downside to high PPSI with an aggressive polish is the rather severe micromarring that must be removed. By leaving some of the scratch, and moving to a finer polish, you can finish removing the scratch at the same time as you take care of the 1zUP marring. This way you don't take off more paint than necessary. Ideally, the last of the scratch is removed just as the polish marring disappears.
Related to this is the final appearance a polish leaves. By hand, using light pressure with1zUP leaves a noticeably better finish than UP applied with heavy pressure. With a PC, I would think that variations in pressure would have somewhat less of an effect on the final finish a polish leaves. This because added pressure is spread over a much larger area. By hand, all pressure can be directed toward a small area the size of a fingertip.
So, break out the aggressive polish, wrap that foam pad around your finger, and bear down on that scratch that has been bugging you for weeks. Check your work frequently. When the pesky scratch is just about removed to the level of the micromarring you are leaving, clean up the mess with a finer polish. Enjoy your victory over that pesky scratch.
If your clearcoat fails in a few weeks due to that scratch removal, enjoy your new rotary test panel for awhile before getting a paint job.
Mikeman
"Not for use on repainted areas". S8- deer incident, A8- semi incident. Don't worry, I plan to get them for the next S8.