Fixing deep scratches in cladding with Showroom New

I found you can successfully use SN to help cover up deep scratches in the cladding.

On the trail earlier this this year, I took the wrong line on an obstacle and my tire slipped off a rock. This caused the VX to go off camber and wedge the cladding to a nice piece of granite. I had to drive out of the obstacle which scratched the cladding a bit. Overall some terrible off road driving. :upsetgray

I was determine to clean up the damage. I used 400-1500 grit sand paper and sanded down the cladding. This caused the cladding to lighten up a lot which was more noticeable than the initial scratches. I next applied 6-8 coats of SN over a few days and the results turned out better than expected. You be the judge. :bgwb:


http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...ps666dfa38.jpg

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...psb15db0c2.jpg

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0c03fdf5.jpg

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...psc2230afa.jpg

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...psb95d82fe.jpg

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4d68a971.jpg

http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...psb0b654e1.jpg

One month after
http://i1168.photobucket.com/albums/...pseb32645f.jpg

Nice work! Can you see a difference in the texture between the area you sanded and the rest of the cladding? I don't mean the scratches but the areas between the scratches - are they smoother than the rest of the cladding?

I've got some similar damage from a trip to Moab courtesy of Biju...this looks like a good fix for me.

Nice work as always Jon...:bwgy::smilewink:bgwo::bgwb:

witchcraft! looks great

Thanks Guys, I hope it helps. I wanted to post this because MShardeman had some trouble a few years ago removing some deep scratches from the lower cladding and I figured this method would work.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vt_maverick

Nice work! Can you see a difference in the texture between the area you sanded and the rest of the cladding? I don't mean the scratches but the areas between the scratches - are they smoother than the rest of the cladding?

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You do lose some of the texture with the sanding. It's only slightly noticeable on close inspection because the SN adds an even matte color. I chose to leave some of the deep scratches visible to avoid sanding down all of the texture.


The end result won't look 100% new but will be a huge improvement over leaving deep scratches in the cladding. I've also tried heating before with little success.

The best method: Don't Scratch The Cladding!!!! :mado:

Good tip. Thanks.