Tamiya polishes to fix a scratch?

[Modlbldr]

Last night, while BMFing my model, I put a long shallow scratch in the front fender with my XActo knife.

I am looking for a way to fix or cover over it. It has been painted with Testors One coat Lacquer and their Wet Look clear.

I have some of the Tamiya Finish compound and was wondering if:

1. It would be a good idea to try to polish it out. Should I try it right on the scratch or

2. Should I brush a light bit of the paint on the scratch first, then try the polish over it, hoping that the polish would level out the extra paint. OR

3. Any other ideas???

Please help. I like the paint job and I don't want to lose it or have the scratch, or repair, show.

Thanks.

Later-

[Ragnar]

You can try NOVUS #2 being very careful not to remove all of the paint. Then use NOVUS #1 to bring out that last bit of shine, and to protect it. Use a circular motion with both of these. You really should do the whole car to keep the amount of shine on the car equal! Get a NOVUS Polishing kit, it has instuctions on how to use it. The only way this will work is if the scratch is very shallow, and you have a good deep paint coverage!

CHEERS!

[Modlbldr]

Tom-

Thanks for the info. Is the Novus and Tamiya polishes similar? The reason I ask is because I already have the Tamiya Finish polish (and I can easily get the Fine polish at the hobby store) but I haven't used it yet and the instructions are in Japanese.

I will get the Novus, if I have to, but I was wanting to use what I have on hand.

The scratch isn't deep and I have three coats of paint with two coats of clear. I had planned to use the Finish polish over the entire car after washing it with clean water and a chamois.

Perhaps the scratch is only in the clear and not the paint and I can try to reclear the body first to fill in the scratch? Then polish it out. I'm just nervous to do the wrong thing first and not have the scratch go away.

Any further ideas?

Later-

[Ddms]

Tamiya Finish will have no effect on scratches. It's more a polish than a compound, and a very fine high-gloss polish at that. I use it only after applying Tamiya Coarse (which isn't very coarse) and Tamiya Fine. (My favorite feature: It works with any motions you want to use! ) If the scratch is very shallow, you might try that sequence.

But even if the scratch is down to the color coat, you should be in good shape if Testors Wet Look is a synthetic lacquer and not a urethane.

I would start by wet-sanding the area with 2000 grit until the scratch is no longer visible, then re-clear the area. The only real concern is the risk of sanding right through the color coat down to the primer, because then you'd need to put on another color coat - a major pain. If you see color on the sandpaper, stop!

Before re-clearing, mask off any nearby areas that shouldn't get another coat of clear. I sometimes use a "soft mask," that is, I lift the edge of the masking tape. That way, there won't be any hard edges between the newly painted are and the area that you're leaving alone. Unlike urethanes, enamels and acrylics, synthetic lacquers work great in that way; the new coat will blend in perfectly.

Good luck!

Ddms

Edited November 5, 2009 by Ddms

[Modlbldr]

Tom-

Thanks for the reply. I feel a bit more confident in trying this repair now. I took a closer look at the scratch yesterday and it doesn't appear to have gone through to the paint. I think that it is only in the clear coat. I think that I will do a light wetsand like you suggest and hit it with another shot of clear.

Either way, I need to get on with it so that I can wrap this one up.

Thanks for the help.

Later-