How to: Polishing with Meguiars Scratch X

I know Primera Man has a nice polishing how to, but I've been using a product called Scratch X by Meguiars. It's about $8 and can be found at Wal-Mart, Target, and auto supply stores. It's too simple simple to use you won't belive your eyes.

You will need some wet/dry sandpaper, a cotton t-shirt, some cotton swabs for the hard to reach areas, and Scratch X.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/caddguy025/How%20To/HT_01.jpg

First, select a victim with some orange peel.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/caddguy025/How%20To/HT_02.jpg

Level any orange peel lightly by wet sanding with 2000 grit sandpaper. If it's a little heavy I'll start with 1500 and then 2000.
In this pic the hood, nose and fenders have been wetsanded, and the grit washed away with some dishsoap and water.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/caddguy025/How%20To/HT_03.jpg

Now that we have a smooth, but scratched surface it's time for some Scratch X. A little bit goes a long way. Use very little to achieve the best results.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/caddguy025/How%20To/HT_04.jpg

Put a little bit on your rag and use small circular motions. Medium pressure is all you'll need. You will start to feel the shine under your finger as you rub.
As you get a bit of a shine, switch to a clean part of the rag and buff it a bit. Rub some on..Buff it off.. and repeat until you get a nice shine.
In this pic I have rubbed and buffed the lower 3/4's of the hood.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/caddguy025/How%20To/HT_05.jpg

You may find that after polishing it up you have to go back to your sandpaper and level an area some more. Just repeat the steps until you get a nice smooth shiny surface.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/caddguy025/How%20To/HT_06.jpg

It will take some trial and error, but once you figure out it really makes polishing fun! :)

i use the same stuff but i think 2000 grit is a little harsh. i use micro-mesh starting with 3200, then 3600, 4000, 6000, 8000, and finally 12000 grit. then lightly use Scratch X. but is is a good and easy to find product. i recommend it highly! remember also NOT to buff your model for at least a week until after painting. waiting 3 weeks is even better. And dont buff metallic or pearl paints unless you have clear coated them. it will dull the finish and make the flakes to large for this scale.

Veyron showed me a chart comparing Micromesh labels to the US grit equivalent.
Using 2000 Grit Tamiya paper is somewhere between 4000 and 6000 micromesh cloths. Not to harsh really.
This info is on the Micro mesh site.
http://www.sisweb.com/micromesh/conversion.htm

Micro-Mesh Size VS Grit Equivalent Comparison
1500 = 400
1800 = 600
2400 = 800
3200 = 1200
3600 = 1350
4000 = 1500
6000
8000
12000

Good stuff right here! :bigthumb:

Nice writeup CADguy. That's how it's done with other types of cutting/polishing compound too, doesn't have to be Meguiars.

Nice writeup CADguy. That's how it's done with other types of cutting/polishing compound too, doesn't have to be Meguiars.

Somewhat true, but not all compounds are created equal... this particular Meguiars product rocks on model paint...it cuts paint beautifully-high shine w/minimum effort-it smooths out as you buff the paint, it's superior to Tamiya compound that used to be my favorite. It handily beats Novus #2 that was my favorite before Tamiya compound. And it's available everywhere, but the tube will last a long time. Next time you need to buy compound, this is well worth it.

Absolutely, all compounds are different in amount of cut and resulting smoothness. The latest Tamiya polishing compounds are a case in point, coming in three different degrees of harshness. I imagine Tamiya intended for the modeller to start with the hard and finish with the finish.

Somewhat true, but not all compounds are created equal... this particular Meguiars product rocks on model paint...it cuts paint beautifully-high shine w/minimum effort-it smooths out as you buff the paint, it's superior to Tamiya compound that used to be my favorite. It handily beats Novus #2 that was my favorite before Tamiya compound. And it's available everywhere, but the tube will last a long time. Next time you need to buy compound, this is well worth it.

I didn't convey my main points of this article well, and you summed it up for me.

That one $8 tube has polished 24 cars so far, with about 1/2 left over. So there is a cost savings. One little tube of Tamiya compound is not cheap in hobby stores here in my area. If you can even find it.

It works with minimal effort as mentioned. Other rubbing compounds I've used took some major work and elbow grease. Not rubbing as much or with as much force leads to less rub throughs.

I've used Scratch X on enamels, and acrylic lacquers (Tamiya paints love this stuff) with great results.
This particular car was sprayed with CobraColors clear. It is an acrylic lacquer as well, but dries much harder than Tamiyas clear. It sands and polishes very nicely.

Okay, okay, I'm convinced. :) Will have to get me some.

I used by girlfriends face buff with similar results (other then the screming afterwards)

Great tutorial! kudos.

yes this stuff is amazing...it clears away scratches so well that it confuses me. The only problems that i've run across are when I used too much (learned that after reading this tutorial) and the results are hazy and not so shiny. Thanks for the tutorial CADguy!

sounds like you sold me on this, before i was using 3m rubbing compound which still works good but id like to try this one, now one more thing, do i have to still wax afterwards? and if not, is it still a good idea to wax afterwards anyways?, by the way, i use meguires cleaner wax to wax my models because i use automotive paint. thanks!

It is a good idea to wax the car to keep that shine!

Sold. good thing wallyworld is open 24-7.

Thanks for that tutorial, my favourite Veilside Porsche is looking very shiny !!!

Mike

It is a good idea to wax the car to keep that shine!

Models don't really need wax. If they're kept in a closed container or even open, since they're not subject to the forces of nature that a 1:1 car does outdoors in the weather. A good polish shines the paint so smooth that wax isn't necessary. Wax won't stop a paint job from losing it's shine if it's been polished too soon. However, for cleaning fingerprints off/final cleanup of the finished model Tamiya wax is very nice, other products that work well are Monokote (made for cleaning/shining RC aircraft), and Meguiars Detailer, all of them are liquids. I polish the paint w/Scratch X to a point that unless it's a mirror finish in jet black (Tamiya black can easily be shined to absolute perfection), no other product improves on the depth of shine from the compound, they only tend to make it a bit less susceptible to fingerprints, and to help to clean the surface.

I avoid any waxes as well, because I'm always wary that somewhere along the line up to final assembly, I might screw something up and have to repaint a section of the model...and that's a problem if it's been waxed. Compounds like Novus #2, Tamiya compound, 3M light duty rubbing compound (it's great stuff-very similar to Scratch X), and Scratch X are all paintable. I do like Tamiya wax, but I only use it on a model that is 100% finished!

I gotta get some.:)

Very nice write up. After I heard about the scratch x, I bought a tube. That stuff is amazing. I use the micromesh cloths then finish with the scratch x. The finish is beautiful, but for some reason, I can't get the super fine scratches out of the darker colors, like black. How do I go about getting the deep glass looking black?

Very nice write up. After I heard about the scratch x, I bought a tube. That stuff is amazing. I use the micromesh cloths then finish with the scratch x. The finish is beautiful, but for some reason, I can't get the super fine scratches out of the darker colors, like black. How do I go about getting the deep glass looking black?

For the darkest colors you either have to have polished out all the tiny scratches out from sanding (sometimes you have to revisit the micro mesh a few times to remove all the microscopic sanding lines), buff the polish a bit longer (a bit of friction/heat works wonders), and for the ultimate shine on black I've used a tiny bit of Meguiars cleaner/wax followed by liquid detailer or Tamiya wax. Tamiya black rubbed out this way will look just like a mirror, and you rarely have to go this far with lighter colors.

thanks for the info about the wax ZoomZoomMX-5, I merely pulled that quote out of the back of the Scratch X :p

this thread came just in time for me to sand and polish the body on my levin (no i haven't quit :grinno: ). i'll give this method a try :smile:

No doubt about the Tamiya Black. I painted my "nightmaR3Z" with that. It's a PITA compared to other colors but the end result (if done correct and with caution) yields great results.

For me, it was too stressful as black has to be nothing short of a mirror.

I won't be spraying bodies gloss black anytime soon. One thing I did find enjoyable is I now know I've conquered one of the hardest colors from a can.

My goal is to successfully spray a body with Gunze Majzora sometime in '05......Lots of practice this upcoming year.....

i tried it after i read this too. happen to be a black car. it took a while to get used to but definitely makes for an awesome shine. but the downside, i broke both rearview mirrors while polishing. gotta figure out a way to be more careful around the hard to get areas.

hey i gotta question, if you polish the car with this first, is it just like rubbing compound where i can still paint the window frame rubber and the paint will stick, or is it like when you paint over wax and the paint wont stick?

hey i gotta question, if you polish the car with this first, is it just like rubbing compound where i can still paint the window frame rubber and the paint will stick, or is it like when you paint over wax and the paint wont stick?

I believe so. I seriously need to get some of this, specially since im running low on compound. I was actually planning on making an order to HLJ for some compound...this will now be canceled. Thanks guys! I also use Meguiars Quick Detailer over the area where i use Compound and it maintains the shine nicely!

Does anyone know if T-Cut (available in the UK, don't know about anywhere else) will work as a polishing compound? Sure hope so! I can get that cheap enough from Halfords.

So, all I do is
1.paint the car with Tamiya spray paint
2.Wait about a week or two
3.use Meguiars Scratch X
4.wait for like 5 minutes?
5.paint the window frames
6.wait for about a day?
7.and use Meguiars Quick Detailer as a wax

question
1.Is Meguiars Scratch X and Meguiars Quick Detailer safe for all paints?
2.Do I have to sand the body if there is no sratches or orangle peel?

Thanks

question
1.Is Meguiars Scratch X and Meguiars Quick Detailer safe for all paints?
2.Do I have to sand the body if there is no sratches or orangle peel?

Thanks
A:
1) I've used it on Tamiya paints (acrylic lacquer), and enamels with great results.
2) If the area does not need sanded, and is already fairly smooth, Scratch X will still even the finish out.

Products on this page will be what you want.

http://www.seriousperformance.co.uk/sp/products/polish_wax.php

Not cheap but will last a long long time..!! After all, model car body shells are a lot smaller then real cars.

i am curious about these steps also?

3.use Meguiars Scratch X
4.wait for like 5 minutes?
5.paint the window frames
6.wait for about a day?
7.and use Meguiars Quick Detailer as a wax

Ok, so I know I am bringing up an old thread, but I didn't think this would warrant a second thread:

Scratch-X works wonders for clearing up scratches in window!

Polishing a non-scratched part of model glass doesn't scew it up, it stays just as smooth as it should be. But it will fix the scratched areas pretty easily. Sand the affected spots with the paper (2400 grit for me) (not the whole glass - that would end up being too much work!) and then polish the sanded spots until they shine up. A couple applications to the sanded area and it looks good as new!

This is truly a magical product.