Marking on truck door

[MarkSingleton]

LOML had some mystery streaks on her car several years ago. Turned out she had put them there herself.

With her leather purse.

Parked in the hospital parking lot, narrow space to walk between cars, in those days, she carried a large purse, and it
rubbed/struck the side of the car here and there. Leaving work. Right shoulder carry, so leaving work the
purse would hit the car occasionally, as she walked to the drivers door. (In the morning, she probably hit
the car parked next to hers as she walked toward the rear of the cars)

Took us a long while to figure out what was going on.

I was able to buff the streaks out with a microfiber cloth and a LOT of elbow grease.

Just one of the reasons she carries far less now.

[Halfathumb]

I tried Motherr's scratch remover. t removed a lot of the scratches but not all. So I'm going to get the Clay Bar and give it a try.

Jim

[Snipe Hunter]

I tried Motherr's scratch remover. t removed a lot of the scratches but not all. So I'm going to get the Clay Bar and give it a try.

Jim

If they are truly scratches, a clay bar won't do anything. Clay bars just clean off particulate matter stuck/embedded in the cleat coat. The whole idea of a clay bar is to remove surface contaminants without affecting the clear coat.

Again, I am handicapped in helping you because I can't see or feel the damage.

To fix a scratch: You either have to wetsand down to the bottom of the (clearcoat) scratch and buff or (assuming the scratch is only in the clear and not down to the paint) wetsand and clean the area, paint new clearcoat into each scratch (there's a tool for this) and layer it up till the repair stands proud of the clear coat surface on the panel and let it cure. Then wetsand down the "proud" repairs till they are the same height as the surface clearcoat and buff. This is a I've done hundreds and hundreds of these. This is a permanent repair. But it only works if the scratch isn't into the paint layer. Option 3 is repaint and you'll be repainting (blending) into the adjacent panel too to get a color match. Sometimes on a black panel, you can repair the scratches even if it is into the paint. 

A way to see if the scratch is in the clear only or in the paint also: Put some mild solvent (I use 3M Inspection Spray) in a spay bottle (windex might work and Lacquer thinner will work bot don't let it set on the clear more than about 10-15 seconds.) and mist the area. This will mimic clear coat. If you still see the scratches, they are in the paint. If the scratches disappear, the scratches are only in the clearcoat and repairable. Sometimes I was able to fix most of the scratches and have to use touch up paint to "hide" the rest. Keep in mind, these were repairs on used cars... it only had to look good enough to sell. If it was for a an owner, it would have to look 100%. So I'd probably have to repaint the door and panel closest to the scratches.

[Halfathumb]

If they are truly scratches, a clay bar won't do anything. Clay bars just clean off particulate matter stuck/embedded in the cleat coat. The whole idea of a clay bar is to remove surface contaminants without affecting the clear coat.

Again, I am handicapped in helping you because I can't see or feel the damage.

To fix a scratch: You either have to wetsand down to the bottom of the (clearcoat) scratch and buff or (assuming the scratch is only in the clear and not down to the paint) wetsand and clean the area, paint new clearcoat into each scratch (there's a tool for this) and layer it up till the repair stands proud of the clear coat surface on the panel and let it cure. Then wetsand down the "proud" repairs till they are the same height as the surface clearcoat and buff. This is a I've done hundreds and hundreds of these. This is a permanent repair. But it only works if the scratch isn't into the paint layer. Option 3 is repaint and you'll be repainting (blending) into the adjacent panel too to get a color match. Sometimes on a black panel, you can repair the scratches even if it is into the paint. 

A way to see if the scratch is in the clear only or in the paint also: Put some mild solvent (I use 3M Inspection Spray) in a spay bottle (windex might work and Lacquer thinner will work bot don't let it set on the clear more than about 10-15 seconds.) and mist the area. This will mimic clear coat. If you still see the scratches, they are in the paint. If the scratches disappear, the scratches are only in the clearcoat and repairable. Sometimes I was able to fix most of the scratches and have to use touch up paint to "hide" the rest. Keep in mind, these were repairs on used cars... it only had to look good enough to sell. If it was for a an owner, it would have to look 100%. So I'd probably have to repaint the door and panel closest to the scratches.

You're absolutley correct. I bought clay bar and it had insignificant results. As I stated earlier, the scratch remover produced the best results. It does look a lot better than when I started but I don't think I'm going any further. I'll be selling this truck after the first of the year. I really don't think these scratches will affect the selling price. It's 2018 GMC with less than 56K miles and is well maintained.

Thanks everyone.
Jim