General Procedures — Finish Panel Repair

Repair

1. 1
   Clean the damaged panels with mild soap and water and dry them.
2. 2
   Apply masking to adjacent components.
3. 3
   Apply a small amount of clear coat and plastic polishing compound (locally sourced) to a 3-inch polishing pad with the appropriate foam backing pad.
4. 4
   Carefully polish the component.
5. 5
   Clean the polished panels again with a mild soap solution and dry.
   

   • If the scratches are removed, return the vehicle to service.

   • If the scratches remain, perform the following steps.
6. 6
   Select the sandpaper grit that matches the depth of the scratch.
   

   • For very light scratches, use 3 inch 3000 grit sandpaper (locally sourced).

   • For light scratches, use 3 inch 1000 grit sandpaper (locally sourced).

   • For deeper scratches that catch the thumbnail when drawn across the scratch, use 3 inch 800 grit sandpaper (locally sourced).

   • If the scratches are too deep to be removed with 800 grit sandpaper, install a new component.
7. 7

   NOTICE: Do not remove more material than necessary, otherwise component replacement will be required.

   Apply the appropriate sandpaper to a 3 inch Dual Action (D/A) sander and carefully sand the component until all of the damage is removed.
8. 8
   Use progressively finer sandpaper with the 3 inch D/A sander and repeat the process. Finish sanding with 3000 grit sandpaper.
9. 9
   Apply a small amount of clear coat and plastic polishing compound (locally sourced) to a 3 inch polishing pad with an appropriate foam backing pad.
10. 10
    Sand the component until all sanding scratches are completely removed.
11. 11
    Apply a small amount of clear coat and plastic polishing compound (locally sourced) to a 3 inch polishing pad with an appropriate clean foam pad attached.
12. 12
    Polish the component until the polishing marks disappear.
13. 13
    Continue polishing the component until the original level of gloss is achieved.
14. 14
    Apply a small amount of clear coat and plastic hand glaze (locally sourced) to a soft, clean cloth and hand polish to remove swirl marks left by the 3 inch polishing tool.