3M 39071 Automotive Scratch Removal System

I used it to remove a light set of scratches over a foot long. It took a lot of sanding, but worked great. I was skeptical of using sandpaper on my car, but the finish came out looking like new! I have no experience with paint and body work and was able to finish it in less than an hour.

There is a video that #m has on their site www.3mauto.com is very informative to watch and goes by the directions. It works well but if you have little experience with car finishes-sanding, compounding, and polishing they could have been a little more specific. Here is some helpful hints: Step1 when sanding it states, "to sand until the scratches are gone". I had several small scratches on my trunk over an 18 x 12 inch area. I sanded the entire surface not just the scratches. It says to wipe and check every 10 seconds by wiping with a dry cloth. It took me about 6-10 times sanding for 10 second intervals. You have to let it dry when you wipe and it takes about 30-60 seconds for the scratches to show up. There are not going to completely go away but they will appear very light in appearance. the compounding will take care of the remaining part (step 2). Step 2 Applying the compound with the purple sponge. I put compound on the sponge 3-4 times, about the size of a dime, and rubbed it in with my finger so when I started the drill it would not splatter. I went over the area about 15-20 times with the drill (18 volt) at medium to high speed and not bearing down to hard. This took 2-3 minutes and then let it dry. Wipe with a dry cloth to remove any compound before polishing, it wipes off easily and will probably still have a little dullness to the finish. Step 3 The easy step, just keep polish on the black sponge, I added about 5-6 times. You can't add to much because you can always just wipe off with a rag. Use high speed and keep the sponge moist with polish. Go over the area about 12-15 times, a couple minutes. The polish will be on the car use a dry rag to finish the polishing. I did this over a second time because I wanted to go easy with the sanding as not to go through the clear coat. Worked great!