Anyone use rubbing compound?

Jon O.

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I have a few small rock marks on the front of my hood, and they are starting to turn a little orange, so I figured I would do something about it before rust really sets. I have heard of using rubbing compound for small nicks and scratches, can I use it in this case? I still have original one-stage paint on my car if that makes a difference.
 
Rubbing compound will clean up the metal and paint, BUT does this by removing paint, too. Makes the nick more shallow, but NOT a fix by any means. Get the spots cleaned and then put some touchup paint on them, if possible.

CBODY67
 
Rubbing compound will clean up the metal and paint, BUT does this by removing paint, too. Makes the nick more shallow, but NOT a fix by any means. Get the spots cleaned and then put some touchup paint on them, if possible.

CBODY67
Could I use touch-up paint and use the rubbing compound to blend it in? It's metallic paint so it is hard to match.
 
With rock chips, use a toothpick to put the paint into the nick. Let it dry and you'll see that it pretty much self-levels as it dries. Use as little paint as possible. Save the rubbing compound for other things.
 
With rock chips, use a toothpick to put the paint into the nick. Let it dry and you'll see that it pretty much self-levels as it dries. Use as little paint as possible. Save the rubbing compound for other things.

The other things being like helping it blend in after you touch it up. Good Luck
 
Use something besides rubbing compound. I have had really good luck with 3M Imperial compound less abrasive. I still use a spinning buffer not the vibrating ones with the sponge pad.

I would buff it first, touch up, and they maybe a compound that can be used by hand or the less aggressive that use the sponge pads
 
Best video I've seen on touching up paint chips.



Thanks for sharing, I really like this technique, I have used the toothpick method with some success, but this seems a great way to do it
 
Best video I've seen on touching up paint chips.


That is a great idea! I also notice the paint rubbing off like he mentioned. First time I washed it, my orange cloth turned green! I put a lot of wax on her because of that. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
There are several versions of "rubbing compound". The classic "white" stuff and then some others. Meguiars used to have a "polish" with some calibrated "grit" in it. The grit dissolved after a certain amount of use, so it might not remove as much paint as the other normal rubbing compounds might. Then there's also "cleaner wax".

The "vibrating" buffers are really orbital in nature. Random orbits rather than a consistent "spinning" of the bonnet. I discovered that a thick bonnet on an orbital buffer is less effective than a hand-driven wash cloth. The thick pile absorbs almost all of the action, so a thinner pile works much better.

CBODY67
 
I discovered that a thick bonnet on an orbital buffer is less effective than a hand-driven wash cloth. The thick pile absorbs almost all of the action, so a thinner pile works much better.

Wool bonnets are a thing of the past. They are really for fast cutting with a rotary buffer and best to stay away from them. Foam pads are the way to go. Chemical Guys has a good selection.



This guy is kind of a character, but I like him. Good explanation of different compounds and how to use them. He has some other good videos too.

 
rubbing compound is harsh. at the most, i would go with polishing compound. think of it like grits of a paste-like sandpaper. rubbing compound is the harshest, polishing is medium and wax is the finest.
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If it's a chip you need to determine if it went through the paint, or through the paint and primer to metal. If it has, and the car was waxed at some point after the chip was made, you need to use a wax and grease remover first, then clean the chip as best you can of loos material, then use paint to fill the hole. Then you can use the compounds to blend. I would not attempt to remove a chip with a buffer...
 
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