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I recently purchased some 1:43 scale vehicles.  A few had scratches or rub marks on the roofs -- likely from where the roof rubbed against the packaging.   I have a Dremel tool and two buffing tips -- one flat and one pointed, along with some rouge.  I've never used any of these items before (although I have used jeweler's rouge on silver years' ago).

Because there's no hidden place I can first test these Dremel accessories out on, perhaps one of you can offer some advice?  I don't want to make the scratches worse or end up with an even worse dull spot while the rest of the vehicle remains shiny.

My hope was that the polishers could remove the dulled/scratched paint and reveal a shiny surface below.  That assumes that the paint is thick enough for that to work, and on one vehicle it probably isn't.

So, should I use the flat polisher/buffer to avoid creating a divot?  (Actually, once it's impaled on the metal shaft, only the edges will be safe to use.)  Or, will the pointed tip provide greater precision and control for a light touch?

Would you recommend using the rouge or just the buffer?   I will use the low speed setting, of course.

Thoughts? Experience? Do's/don'ts?  War stories?  Attached are photos showing one of the vehicles and my Dremel tips. 

I'm even wondering whether a simple application of some good old Turtle Wax would be best to just fill in the scratches and keep the surrounding paint shining without the risk of using the polishing accessories.  Maybe that's the best place to start?  Do no harm and all that. 

Thanks in advance,

Tomlinson Run Railroad

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   Maguire's wax has cleaning compounds less aggressive than normal automotive rubbing componds. The grit varies by bottle number. Most stores carry them. They also make plastic polishes, but those are less commonly seen. Contact them for a distributor.

I'd skip,the wheel, and for sure it's compounds, till last resort.

I've had good luck with toothpaste for a light wheel polish at times. Yep, "Brightens your enamel"

Stick to just the roof or bed to test. If all fails, go two tone. Recall the black or white truck roofs? Wood beds? Bed liner black? 

Before digital cameras with adjustable diopter viewfinders I used to keep my eyeglasses scratched up pressing my glasses and eye against the camera viewfinder.  I learned a trick that worked very well on plastic eyeglass lens, I think it will work here. I would find a container that the glasses would fit in face down and pour in about 1/4" of Future floor wax.  Dip the face of the glasses in the wax and gentally lift the glasses out and with the sides open just sit them on a paper towel and let the liquid wax sheet off and dry on the lens.  WaLa  no more scratches.  Eventually the wax would get new scratches and I would use household ammonia to remove the old wax,  rinse in water ,  dry,  then reapply the wax. 

  I would if possible disassemble the truck, wash the roof in dish detergent with a SOFT brush to get any paint dust out of the scratches, rinse,  dry , let set for an hour so any water in the bottom of the scratches dries.  It must be totally dry,   set the roof in the acrylic floor wax.    As you remove from the wax tilt it a little to one side and let it sheet off to the side. Hold it at that angle with a paper towel catching any runoff. Once dry the scratches should just about be invisible.   You can recoat if necessary.  If it does not work household ammonia will remove the wax.  You should be able to keep the wax off everywhere but the roof with just a little care.   Acrylic floor wax comes in high and low sheen I think you need high sheen.   j

Steam Crazy posted:

There are plenty of 1/1 cars and trucks on the road with scratches and dull paint.  A few of them on your layout won't look out of place.

Ha!  So true!  So true!  Except that I have a carpet layout and from a standing view and with such bright paint finishes, it's noticeable in a less authentic way.  Also, I bought these for some close-up photography for humorous RR and food vignettes I'm planning some day. 

Of course, now you've made me think of a spray of dull coat I have as a possibility that can be "undone" if it doesn't work.  

However, I'd like to keep this particular commemorative truck shiny.  Another truck with a single rubbed spot is also a limited edition with a really, really nice black paint sheen.

I think I'll try the floor wax for starters with just this brown truck, as floor cleaner was in my shopping list anyway. LOL.

It's going to rain heavily all day.  So, I'll grab supplies but wait for a sunny day to try it out.

Thanks all,

Tomlinson Run Railroad

John,  I got a kick out of reading about your glasses and your clever solution.  I always seem to destroy my lenses no matter how carefull I am.  I never thought about the camera eye piece, but the left lens does seem to be the one that takes the worst beating.

Adriatic, I can't place the two-toned roofs you mention, but that would work on the truck in the photo without needing to paint over the graphics.  A lighter tone might also suggest a cow.  The truck shown is really the worst case.   It almost looks like the paint wasn't dry before handling.  But, hey, it was the last one and on clearance.  Good idea about testing on the truck bed.  Now that's where I'd expect to see some scratches.  :-)

TRRR

gunrunnerjohn posted:

I would not resort to power for this task, I'd try by hand first.  I think pointing a power buffer at it might well screw things up more.

Thanks, Gunrunnerjohn.  I've was thinking of a trip to an auto body shop and how well the paste and buffering filled in scratches, even in the plastic bumper.  But I focused in on the buffing tool and not the compound.

That led me to thinking about my perpetually idle Dremel tool.   Clearly, this was not the correct "model" to have in mind for the job!  =grin=

TRRR

Last edited by TomlinsonRunRR

Many models available, including trucks and fire engines, come with lettering and logos, for cities  or products far from your modeling area.  Be careful trying to paint over or touch up paint on some imported models, such as roofs mentioned above. I have had bubbling when using different model and household spray paints, and had to strip and repaint. Dunno what is the paint base of these imported models, but compatibility seems to be a problem.

 

Steam Crazy posted:

There are plenty of 1/1 cars and trucks on the road with scratches and dull paint.  A few of them on your layout won't look out of place.

Yes; looks better with the scratches. It's a truck, after all.

Also - these shiny, shiny vehicles look better when you mask the windows and hit the car/truck with Dullcote. These vehicle models have thick, clunky details and finishes most of the time (especially that chrome) and knocking off most of the shine enables your eyes to see the models in a more subtle way, which looks more like the real thing.

The problem with trying to polish them out is how thick is the paint at the bottom of the scratch there may be very little room for error.  Another problem is leaving behind the polishing grit in the edges of the scratches that can be difficult to get the last bits out.  Any of the clear acrylic car waxes will also work just like the floor wax at a bit more cost and a lot more protection if you leave your toys outside..  I am of the mind set that a model car would have to be very special for me to go to any trouble. I'd be more inclined to weather it than make it look new. Clear acrylic paint would also work it is basically the same stuff as the scratch remover pen sold in auto parts stores. Since these products are water based they should not pose a threat to the existing finish. In fact you might want to dip the entire truck if protecting the graphics is of much importance to you.  If you do dip the entire truck you could go with the lower sheen product.  j

Duh, sorry...

Novus IS  the good plastic polish.

  I made the same errant Maguire's association mistake a year or two ago. I'm not sure why I do that. It is something beyond a similar bottle shape, number, & flip spout applicator though. (Novus bottles are smaller, and not brown.)

I'd skip their finest cut, almost an eyeglass cleaner. The grit is undetectable with your fingers. Like silghtly thick water, lol.

Lots of possibilities here!  Thanks, all.

It may come down to what I can pick up locally at the supermarket, auto parts store, or hardware store.  I may have time to drop in on the first two after work and scout around.

I do have an automotive plastic/vinyl restorer on hand.  It's a liquid, not a paste, and doesn't quite sound like any of the the products being mentioned.

A dullcoate approach did come to mind but I haven't been happy with the Krylon version.  I used it on my layout "scenery" to reduce glare -- basically photos in plastic display stands -- and it "glopped" in spots and was impossible to fix.  Also, I don't yet know how this truck will be used.  The other one will definitely need to keep its high sheen for an auto restoration scene.

TRRR

Just a quick update so you don't all think, that having asked, that I'm now ignoring your sage advice.  On Monday, I had time to stop in the supermarket to look at floor waxes.  Wow!  Are they expensive at $6.99-$8.00.  It's unlikely I would use floor wax for anything but these experiments, so I thought I'd price the various auto waxes/scratch pens that have been mentioned.  If they are comparable in price, I suspect I'll be able to use it on my 1:1 vehicle and thus be a better value price and utility-wise.

Unfortunately, I had to work late last night and the auto parts store was closed when I got there.  I will try again tonight or else check out the "medium box" store nearby where I might find both the floor wax and automotive products at lower prices.

In the meantime, I found a safe (and tasty) way to cover the scratches:

The only problem was the payload didn't last long ...

Tomlinson Run Railroad

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UPDATE:  At K-Mart I found a floor wax that could be used on multiple surfaces (a plus for future 1:1 reuse) and it was cheaper than the supermarket's options.  The viscosity was heavier than I expected: Rejuvenate is intended to be applied with a cloth, not poured. So, dipping was out.

I created a single tiny bubble when spreading out the product on the truck roof with a paper towel (or whatever I used) but it was easy enough to smooth out and burnish without causing streaks.  The sheen of this product is a just little bit  brighter than that of the Ford model shown.  But, because it is applied only to the roof, and so isolated from the rest of the model, it is not noticeable.  The super gloss sheen will actually be perfect for the other truck with a rubbed spot on its roof.

And, with the finish evened out now, I can feel free to weather the model should I ever decide to.

I also bought Scratch Doctor and a scratch repair pen.  After reading these posts, I thought I'd go with the floor wax first because it seemed easy to undo if I didn't like the results.  Now, I wish that I had tried the scratch repair pen on the roof on the series of abrasions just above the passenger side door, and then applied the floor wax.  (See second photo, original post or near the KitKat bar above.)

The results are acceptable as is, but using the pen to fill in the area might have made it even better.  Earlier today there was super bright sun, so the next photo has reflections that look like scratches but they aren't.  The roof is the only treated part:

I'll be trying the pen out on my car tomorrow. Scratch Doctor already had a successful test run on some sap:

Thanks for the suggestions and advice everyone.  Maybe some day I'll actually get to use the Dremel and it'll earn its keep.  :-}

Tomlinson Run Railroad

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Last edited by TomlinsonRunRR

The photo looks great certainly an improvement on what you had.  I don't know about the produce that you used but I have thinned Future with water.  You may want to take a capfull and mix it with water and see how it works on something less important than your trucks. I think with a little trial and error you can come up with the proper consistency for dipping. I think I have read that common rubbing alcohol works as a thinner also. Give that a try also.  I bet that in a few days you could burnish the roof of your truck with a cloth to knock off a little of the shine if you think it stands out too much from the rest of the truck.  Though it looks fine from here.         j

   Chances are the floor polish and pen are acrylic based just like "finish" floor polish. I've used the pens to get me by for a bit before buying new eye glasses but the results weren't good enough to forgo new ones. A dog knocked them off, then stepped on one lens and spun; swirl-scratching the lens dead center.. The result was clear but the focus was wavy.  I.e., worked, but eye glasses would have to be very bad before I'd use it that way again.

John, Lou, Ole SF, Adriatic, and Surfliner,

Thanks for your comments and product suggestions.  Oddly, other than the mention of some harmful petroleum ingredient in one, none of these products want to divulge what's in them.  There's no mention of "acrylic" anywhere, let alone any ingredients.

I've been doing school work all day (and not getting very far), and so didn't try out the scratch pen nor daub the second truck model with the Rejuvenate floor wax.   However, I just added some water to a little cap full of the Rejuvenate as an experiment.  First of all, it seemed more viscous to me today, so it might be OK for dipping models without dilution.  (My cloth/paper towel method last week was less wasteful, more precisely targeted, and still worked.)

Rather than messing with a model vehicle, I applied the slightly thinned product to a corner of my kitchen floor.  Although this wasn't a definitive nor even comparative test (linoleum afterall isn't metal), the diluted version seemed to retain its shine and adhesive properties.  The directions say NOT to use solvents, ammonia, or orange-based products because they will damage the "shine and luster".

Back to school work ...

Tomlinson Run Railroad

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