In 2024, the best car scratch removers for plastic car exteriors include Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze Ultra-Cut, Chemical Guys VSS, Shine Armor Revive, Carfidant Ultimate, and 3M Scratch Removal System. These products are designed to remove scratches from plastic panels quickly and easily, with the fastest and easiest way being to replace them or repair them using plastic aerosol paint.
To remove scratches from plastic, use a mild abrasive, such as a damp microfibre cloth. This guide will help you find the best car scratch removers for your car’s exterior, including T-Cut, Angelwax, Diamondbrite, and Autoglym. Farecla G3 Pro Scratch Remover Paste is the best option for light scratches, priced at £8.49.
A 2:1 ratio of baking soda to water can create a paste suitable for removing scratches in plastic. Magic eraser can remove roughness, followed by a decent trim dressing or coating to mask the bad look. WD 40 is capable of removing scratches on various plastics, but be cautious with WD 40 on Toyota plastic exteriors.
Fresh toothpaste can be used as a DIY method to remove scuffs on plastic surfaces. Wash your car, take a cloth, dampen it in water, and take a small amount of toothpaste. A safer method to feather scratches in textured trim is to use CarPro Reflect and an orange pad on a DA. Speed 4 is recommended first and increase the speed.
In summary, the best car scratch removers for plastic car exteriors include Meguiar’s Mirror Glaze Ultra-Cut, Chemical Guys VSS, Shine Armor Revive, Carfidant Ultimate, and 3M Scratch Removal System. These products offer effective, easy-to-use solutions for removing scratches and swirls from car paintwork.
📹 How to remove Scuff Marks, Paint Transfer and Scratches from your Car | The Detailing Business
I will show you how to quickly remove scuff marks from a car, how to remove paint transfer from a car and how to quickly remove …
📹 Best Car Paint Scratch Remover? Let’s find out! Turtle Wax, Meguiar’s, 3M, Nu Finish, Carfidant
Best Car Paint Scratch Remover? Let’s find out! Scratch removal brands tested: Formula 1 Scratch Out, Meguiar’s Ultimate …
This worked magically and quickly. I had accidently rubbed my husband’s new & much-loved white pick up on one of the Chic FilA signs that was in front of one of their pull-ups. The sign left horrible brown smudges on the truck that wouldn’t come off with washing, elbow grease, etc. I was really NOT looking forward to the conversation explaining how it all happened : 0 Thank you for this unexpected gift!
Hi i had a really bad luck and i scratched a big part of the rear side door throught a white wall jn a indoor parking of a apple store Honestly after cleaning with car soap and water I see that its deep white scratches in a black car im having I will go a head and buy the accessory needed to repair it like in your article but I was just wondering will it work on deep scratches on a black car ??
Wow DJ! That is truly miraculous! I have a brand new white sportbike and when I was taking the wheel dolly out from under it it flipped up and hit the front mask right above the headlight and left a hell of a bunch of black paint transfer. And paint scuff search brought me to you. I had given acetone some thought but I was a little worried that acetone eat s polyurethane such as clear coat material. As you said I will try it on an inconspicuous area. Will it cloud things up in any degree? Are you bound to having to do a compound step even if there aren’t scratches? Thanks for the great article. I subscribed to you!
Thank You so much for sharing, husband was upset cause someone his my car & left but it was mostly transfered paint & one scratch & a tiny dent nothing big I said I will fix it you know Hacks from YouTube lol the insurance wanted $2000 I said NO I will handle it I cam across your article I had pure acetone for my nails lol😂 & BOOM It’s Fixed. Thank You Sir! Who knew! Lol
God bless you, i have a new tesla and someone scuffed it today and i was so sad and i watched so many articles that were 20 mins and that had so many products and i felt overwhelmed then i found you a straight to the point solution like you could have kept this to yourself and yet you shared i really appreciate you. I tried it and it worked, I actually had acetone and nail polish remover at home and I decided to use nail polish remover first and it worked.
Hey, though I liked this article of the use of the Acetone, there are other Websites mentioning that Acetone should not be used on your Car to repair Scuff Marks removal as in time, the ingrediants in the Acetone, will slowly eat away at your Car Paint, in damaging once you apply the Acetone, I mean tell me that these Websites are Wrong in what they say about don’t use Acetone on your car repairing Scuff Marks ..hmm🤔
I bought the Acetone but it didn’t come off. A car kind hit me on my left side bumper yesterday. My car is white, his car is black so I have some scratches of black paint on the bumper. I wonder if it didn’t work because it was harder deeper scratches? what else could I do? I could send you pics thank you
Thank You Thank You Thank You it worked on my roof of my Maserati – my garage door somehow fell and dented my roof leaving white paint scratches and a big dent – I addressed the dent first by laying down on my back, in my back seat – and pushed the dent back into place with my feet. It worked perfectly… then I used your acetone solution to remove the paint scratches on the roof as well – I then applied the rubbing compound and car polish… it looks great – you saved me a lot of money!!!
I lifted my wiper arm to clean the windshield and it is so close to the hood that it scratched some paint right off the edge of the hood. I’m going to the dealer to get a paint pen but do I need to do anything to prevent rust first? It’s a new 2023 car and I’m so worried it’s going to rust if I don’t fix it.
My dad hit a large commercial garbage bin in a tim hortons drive thru and he was trying to use all sort of scrub brushes and everything to remove the paint transfer so my mom didn’t see it. I watched only a minute and a half of your article ran outside with my acetone and in 30 seconds got all the paint transfer off!!!! Thank you so much for this amazing tip!!!
Thanks to everyone who requested this one and please continue suggesting future article ideas. I personally purchased all of the products tested. Products Tested In This article (in no particular order): Formula 1 Scratch Out: amzn.to/3iUOp1X Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound: amzn.to/3j8KUp5 Turtle Wax Premium Scratch Repair Kit: amzn.to/2YdA60v Fenyx Scratch & Swirl Remover: amzn.to/34fvQle Meguiar’s Scratch Eraser Kit: amzn.to/322JLIy 3M Auto Scratch & Scuff Removal System: amzn.to/325FAM9 Carfidant Ultimate Scratch & Scuff Removal Swirl Remover: Nu Finish Scratch Doctor: amzn.to/2EjpPcl WD-40: amzn.to/34bUDql I could use your help. If you’d like to help me decide on which products to test, please consider subscribing to the website. I occasionally ask viewers to vote on which products to test and YouTube only informs those subscribed to the website that there’s an opportunity to vote. youtube.com/channel/UC2rzsm1Qi6N1X-wuOg_p0Ng?sub_confirmation=1 You’ll also need to select the “bell” to get the notification. Thank you very much and look forward to many more product test reviews. Todd
So, I did a LOT of research before attacking the 1 foot long “light” scratch on my cars fender. Based on PF’s review, I bought Meguire’s Ultimate Compound for $12 at Harbor Freight,. I applied 6 small drops to a “wavy” foam applicator. Installed the applicator into a electric drill. Taped off the area I was working on, and ran the drill at about 1,000 rpm with moderate pressure – letting the applicator “do the work” Made sure the pad didn’t go dry, wiped area off with a clean micro fiber towel, and after about 7 minutes the scratch was gone. Thx Project Farm Dude!
Project Farm, you’re the good neighbor that everyone needs; the guy who appears at the moment you need a tool and lends you his own, the one who checks your house when you’re out of town, the nice man who asks how your parents are doing when you’re both out doing yard work, the man who knows the best place to get new tires or good guys who’ll re-roof your house for a fair price. Keep up the great work, neighbor!!
The pacing of cutting the articles nearly as fast as you’re reading the instructions aloud is actually kindof awesome! Extremely easy to follow and doesn’t feel like stretching or wasting time. You even went over several products and their packaging in less time than some go over a single product! I hope other viewers are liking it, too, because lots and lots of products are missing nice, concise examples of use, let alone comparison.
I got the 3m scratch removal kit based on your article, I can honestly say I was bewildered at how well it worked. I have a black subaru and do camp so it has a fair few scratches and an hour with this kit removed pretty much all of them. The drill ended up being a little messy, but the rain should knock that extra remover off
I bought the 3M product based on your results, and it worked perfectly! Totally erased a nasty shopping cart accident. Told my wife and described your website, including your test dummy, the farmabago and your mostly scientific approach and down home methodology. She said “sounds like a cross between Mythbusters and The Red Green Show”. Nailed it! Thank you PF.
Wow, a BIG thank you…I enjoyed your test and now I have two products that I know will work, Meguiars and 3M. Meguiars seems to be the easiest in your first testing. By knowing your test results I will save time and money wasted by using products that either don’t work or are subpar. I also will be able to share your findings with others so, they too, won’t waste their time or money! Again, thank you
VIDEO SUGGESTION: Best Dent Removal Tools as a follow up article to this one. It would be great to see suction cups versus glue on pullers versus paintless dent removal tools. Even the physics trick where you heat the dent with a heat gun and then immediately spray it with an upside down aerosol can to freeze it could also be thrown in. I really enjoyed this article being a gear head as many other have. Props to using your own car also. Excellent article. Keep up the good work!
Great article! I love perusal your content, especially the oil and oil additive comparisons as well as fuel additive/alternative tests. I think since you showed the scratch removers, headlight restoration would be a great follow article to it. I’m currently in the process of restoring the headlights on a car I just bought that sat under a tree for 2 years without being driven or washed. Toothpaste alone didn’t work so I had to resort to sanding them with 400, 1000, 2000, and 3000 grit sandpaper, then using toothpaste as a polishing compound. Now I’m gonna try using some Meguiar’s plastx to eliminate the remaining haze and then apply a rustoleum uv resistant clearcoat to protect them. Much better than spending hundreds of dollars on new headlights.
I love your articles, and I mean n disrespect by this comment. Sometimes less is more. In my experience, the pad (or even cloth) is supposed to do some of the cutting, not necessarily the product. On some that didnt work so hot, maybe if you had used less product and let the foam or cloth do some of the cutting, it may have worked better. I knw when I am polishing my car, I can tell when the pad gets clogged because it takes longer to do a section than before. But as always, THANK YOU. The work you do for consumers is invaluable, and helps us make informed decisions! Thank you again, hope you and your family is staying safe during all of this!
I tried that carfidant one for my swirl marks on my Ford and thought it was going to be a good product due to all the good reviews on Amazon but once I opened the package for it I saw that it had an advert saying if you left a good review on amazon they’ll give you a free product. I guess that’s why it has great reviews since when I tried it I got the same results as Farm did.
been with you for a long time, i Monday night is like Christmas morning, what am i going to save myself time and money perusal you test for me this week! like a box of chocolates, I just never know what awesome article you’re going to throw at me next! keep up the good work and thanks for being here for me!
Yes he is . Upstanding, honest and not greedy. What a guy . He helps us save money by letting us know of snake oils . IE product’s that don’t work, and he gives us helpful tips that saves time wich we do not get back .plus very informative useful knowlage that most people never would have thought of . Thanks for all you articles
For years I swore by TR3 to take out blemishes, light scratches, paint and rubber scuffs from other cars and poles, etc. Would love to see how this compares. These days though – Mequiar’s Ultimate, with a circular drill foam pad attachment set from Harbor Freight. Used to use 3M and DuPont rubbing and polishing compounds, Meg Ult is vastly faster and better. Same exact setup works to restore headlight plastic!
I just want to saw thank you so much for your article! Because of your article, I chose the 3M product and my car looks brand new! Sorta! I did a number on it! But I was completely impressed and extremely grateful for your article! I even wrote a review on the product and shouted out your article on Amazon! Really appreciate this article!
Do you recommend this? By 3M: “Use one of 3M’s high quality sealants or waxes to seal the newly repaired paint. This step is very important since the paint is bare and vulnerable to the elements. 3M recommends 3M Performance Finish Synthetic Wax for its durability and deep shine.” I have a long scratch covering both doors. If I apply wax, will it stand out from the rest of the car? Most of the paint on the rest of the vehicle is OK. Honda CRV 2001. Thanks
When I owned my 20 year old m3 it had some light scratches and swirls around and the paint looked decent then I used the McGuires compound to remove all the deeper scratches I could get and actually used the nu finish to polish out all swirl marks, it turned out incredible and the paint looked as good as new!
No surprise to me. In nearly every category I’ve looked at car detailing products, Meguire’s strikes the sweet spot in performance and value. They have earned my trust around the board from wash soap, wash mits, microfiber towels, wheel cleaners, interior protectants, air fresheners, compounds, polishes, pads, and on and on.
Thanks for your hard work and effort to provide us valuable time, money and effort using worthless products. Because of this article I did try one of the products tested here and it worked amazingly. It did save me a lot of time and money having to try out different products. Thank you again Todd, keep up the great work and product testing for us.
Hey Big guy.. You need to retest these products on a black car/colour.. Do test then look at results in the sun… You need the sun for a definitive result… Also you could panel wipe or use alcohol to remove product.. This will tell you if the scratches are gone or if the product just has a filler in it that masks the scratches
I like your show. Your tests are very revealing about the products you test. I would like to know the difference between all the different “rubbing” compounds. Just the rubbing compounds, including the old dupont that is not sold in California. I found it on e bay for a ridiculous price after using turtle wax “rubbing” compound and rubbing for hours with absolutely NO effect.
Great job as always I was looking at a few of your articles trying to find a really good aluminum rim cleaner I couldn’t find any I don’t know if you made one or not but being spring I would really like to get my summer tires ready for the road just can’t find a good cleaner for the rims. The tires I use sugar and water on them after I wash them with soap and water … Yes I did say sugar and water it gives them the natural color not glossy…like a semi-gloss but more flat black.. But if you know of any please let me know thank you and keep up the great work 👍
Could you test using these products or any other products to make a Corian countertop shine. I really like my Corian countertop which has a stone like pattern. When I was searching for countertops, I saw one display of a white marble looking piece that was highly polished and looked just like marble. It was beautiful. When we purchased our countertop, we were told that we didn’t want that highly polished look. We took their advice, but I have always felt that I shouldn’t have. Corian does scratch, but the scratches can be sanded out. Anyway, I was just wondering if any of these would work and if they did, could they be worked into the corner areas or not. Thank you for your articles, very well done. By the way, we do have a black granite top on one of our bathroom sinks and it is impossible to keep it looking nice unless I polish it with vinegar any time a drop of water gets on it, so perhaps they are right about the highly polished look, but I still would love to try it if I could
Hy there buddy…oh yeah i do have an ideea for you and the products.. With scratch remover compounds Why you dont buy the kit for the drill just like the one from 3m or Meguire.. And then test each product/brand…compound paste separatly To see if each product will do an better job with the help of drill and buffing sponge… Do you think is an good ideea? Good luck…and all the best for you
You do a great, great job with your articles. Never have I been bored or more. Being a big pain in the butt, which I am often, I can be super critical. First my background. I am a polymath and one of my early jobs was the lab tech at a premiere manufacturer of electro-mechanical device manufacturer. Considering you do not get paid anywhere near the value of your articles, here is my professional critique. At the very least on any of your articles, being extremely critical, your application is at a minimum of 90%. At the other end of the spectrum you slam the 100%. More often you simply slam the 100%. Total praise and admiration for your work and your love. Blah, blah, blah!!! It’s time for me to financially support your judicious work. Great, great job doing what you do! BRAVO!!
Thanks again. Your rockin, as a young man told me recently. I already knew that WD was not going to work, so I was laughing when I saw the can. You do a great job. What a service to me. Knowledge for free. A smart man once told me, if you don’t use a another mans brain it’s a good indication you don’t have any of your own. Thanks again.
Why don’t you try and compare older compounds from safety clean, 3m, and others in the heavy compound formulas ( liquid mud) as I called them back in the day! Also possibly the “new ” liquid ebony vs other swirl removers and the original formula of liquid ebony ( pulled from market for refusing to disclose chemical components) against baking powder, and wax to remove swirl marks!
Excellent tutorial!! Years ago, I used to buy 3M liquid compound after it was rated #1 by Consumer Reports. This article demonstrates they still make a superior formula. I really appreciate the detail & extent of this article. Thank you for very much for the time/effort it must have taken to make this very helpful & instructional article. I have spent quite a bit of money trying some of the other products & did like the McQuire’s clay bar, but this article really makes the choice clear. Ironically I need the product for my silver Buick LeSabre, which I think was the same car you used as your ‘guinea pig’. Thank you again.
Clean Say what🤔 Were made in HIS image. HE made us with the power of free choice A good prayer: I’m a sinner JESUS please forgive me for all my sins I know you shed your Blood for me on the cross at Calvary. Thank you JESUS for my salvation and for shedding they Blood for me. I love you JESUS. Romans 10:5/10 ct…❤️k JESUSisLord!Amen… Amen.. If you’d like to call someone who cares 83 For Truth. bc you don’t know when you’ll die? .y r u hesitant. . 💕
I watched this article and said….Self, wtf?; WHY did you think you wanted to do your own car? HIRE it out!- this is too much work!! My recent project, a ’99 Civic, was great in every capacity for purchase, except exterior paint condition; heavily scratched. Like… it looked like a herd of cats used it for a scratch pad. Or the guy had a driveway thru a thorny rose garden. On both sides. Weirdly, Interior= mint. (110k, ALL original, owner ps: the various “fixes”, per product DOESN’T fix everything: Under the marker/tape lines is…..a SCRATCH, ….that HASN’T been fixed. Times about……nine.
This was a great article for off the shelf solutions for someone that doesn’t already have any equipment. Clearly the machine worked areas came out ahead. Perhaps you could do a follow up using each of the products with a machine, either an inexpensive DA polisher or even the drill polishing kits? I’m interested to see how all of the products work when using the same application method.
scratch out works for the right application. The label picture and product description is misleading. It doesn’t correct paint (“remove scratches”) as is in most cases, it will only enhance it by giving it a gloss/shine and remove very fine swirl marks, oxidation, scratches (smaller than a .15 MIL). The formula works for the right application but I will say that for most people the marketing is misleading. I like to use scratch out as a all in-one polish not as a compound to correct clear coat scratches. I use it when I have very find scratches and swirl marks you gotta get close to see. Will remove clear coat scratches if you use it after a 3k and 5k grit wet sand. But preferably I would use Maguire’s compound for a wet sand method.