scrubbed off my auto finish with a sponge! now what? help!

hi everyone,

first i backed my bfs ranger into the corner of the garage. when i tried to scrub the paint marks off, i ended up scrubbing the finish off the truck! now there are cloudy spots all over the exterior. can i buy something over the counter that will bring back the finish to a normal gloss???

thanks!
wendy

 

Unfortunately you may have damaged the clearcoat on top of the paint. Damaged or worn clearcoat often appears as a cloudy spot that resists fixing other than to repaint (or at least re-topcaot) the area.

What were you scrubbing it with???? A little lacquer thinner and a rag would have sufficed.

 

That cloudiness almost sounds like that which is caused by super fine scratches. The kind of super fine scratching you get when you try to clean plexi-glas. Maybe she could try some polishing compound and then rewax at least the section she scrubbed on.

Wendy, Fess up. You used one of those scrubber pad sponges didn't you?

This might sound crazy but on this one beater vehicle I got, the finish went dull, so I applied acrylic floor wax to it, to see what would happen, with a sponge. Did the whole car in 5 minutes! No buffing required. Just apply, and done. It looks remarkably good and has held up even to my surprise in the sun.

 

What year is the vehicle?? Early clear coats from some manufacturers were notorious for doing just what you describe.

 

hi towguy - lacquer thinner? i don't even know what that is!
hello ecman - yes i used the scrubber side of a dish sponge. it makes my dishes shine! but i don't know about covering the truck in floor wax.
morning bill - the ranger is a 1998.

is there not just a bucket or spraycan of "clearcoat" I can buy and apply to these areas? or what if I wax those spots?

thanks guys,
wendy

 

If its a couple years old take it to a detailer,if older live with the mistake. There is no quick,cheap fix.

 

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

yes duplacolor makes spray cans of clear coat.it sounds like you dulled the paint which you'll have to fix first.you can try to sand paint first with the finest wet sand paper you can get to bring back the paint shine if that does'nt work you can by touch-up paint in spray cans then apply the clear coat paint after you complete the touch-up painting

 

"It's a floor wax and a desert topping"