Well long story short... my old man desided to drive my truck to one of my away football games. There was alot of security and police around and he actually parked 4 cars down from a city police officers car. The truck should be safe from damage right ? wrong... after the hour and a half my dad came out to the truck and there were some lets say "bad words" keyed into both sides of the bed and on the tailgate. I dont know much of anything about body work but im a do it yourselfer type of person if im able to. I ran my finger across the letters and most of it isnt deep enough to catch the finger nail. The paint itself is in pretty good shape and i dont want to take the chance of it getting repainted and have the truck 2 diffrent reds. Is this something that i could wet sand or use rubbing compound to get out ? also if i can is there certain steps i need to do ? like i said i dont know much about body or paint work but i did detail cars for 3 years so i wouldnt say its not something i couldnt do if i had a step by step. Any help is greatly appreicated! i should have pictures posted up sometime tommorow afternoon if i have time.
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95 F150 XLT Extended Cab. Short Bed 5.8L 351 Windsor 4x4 200k + and running strong! Built FORD Tough!
Next step- Bigger tires, some lift and some more ponys!
If you don't feel your fingernail dive into the scratches you're probably good to try buffing it out. I would try hitting it with a wool cutting pad on a buffer first and if that doesnt take it out by itself then try cutting first. The reason being if its factory paint, there's not a whole lot of product on there and cutting and buffing together is going to be taking an amount of it off.
Can't tell you how to get the scratches out but I can join you in hoping that the ahole that did it gets disfiguring arthritis in both of their hands. Damn I just can't understand why anyone would purposely mess with someone elses pride and hard work like that. Good luck.
This first thing to do is kill the piece of human debris that would do that, the second is get some good buffing compound, then either beg or borrow a buffer and take care of the damage. I know lots of people are scared to try buffing themselves, and take it to a pro, but here's something to think about: I bought my buffer off ebay for $50. It's good quality, although a little heavy, and has an adjustable speed dial and a soft start, both of which you need in a good buffer. I also like using 3M buffing compounds and glazes, since they aren't particularly abrasive, so you don't need to worry so much about burning through the clear. A bottle of 3M Perfect It III is about $20 and can do a couple vehicles the size of your truck. Buy a good pad for another $25 or so and you now have everything you need to fix your truck now and in the future for under $100. Some tips I would give to someone to keep them out of trouble is this:
Use a slow speed. My buffer maxes out at 1500 RPM's and has a dial marked "1 through 5", I typically use #3 setting or less.
Keep the buffer moving. Never, ever, ever hold the buffer in one spot, it WILL remove clear, paint and primer. Keep it moving in roughly one-foot passes back and forth and don't press down, let the buffer's own wieght do the work.
Keep the surface damp. Use a minimum of compound and when streaks appear, give it a shot of water with a spray bottle.
Stay away from edges. Paint and clear are thinner on edges, so do these by hand.
Having said all that, hopefully you can fix it yourself with a little work. I know how you feel, I once had my dropped 2WD Blazer scratched right down to bare metal by some gutless jerk. Good luck and let me know if you need any other help, I'd be glad to walk you through any problems you may have.
This first thing to do is kill the piece of human debris that would do that, the second is get some good buffing compound, then either beg or borrow a buffer and take care of the damage. I know lots of people are scared to try buffing themselves, and take it to a pro, but here's something to think about: I bought my buffer off ebay for $50. It's good quality, although a little heavy, and has an adjustable speed dial and a soft start, both of which you need in a good buffer. I also like using 3M buffing compounds and glazes, since they aren't particularly abrasive, so you don't need to worry so much about burning through the clear. A bottle of 3M Perfect It III is about $20 and can do a couple vehicles the size of your truck. Buy a good pad for another $25 or so and you now have everything you need to fix your truck now and in the future for under $100. Some tips I would give to someone to keep them out of trouble is this:
Use a slow speed. My buffer maxes out at 1500 RPM's and has a dial marked "1 through 5", I typically use #3 setting or less.
Keep the buffer moving. Never, ever, ever hold the buffer in one spot, it WILL remove clear, paint and primer. Keep it moving in roughly one-foot passes back and forth and don't press down, let the buffer's own wieght do the work.
Keep the surface damp. Use a minimum of compound and when streaks appear, give it a shot of water with a spray bottle.
Stay away from edges. Paint and clear are thinner on edges, so do these by hand.
Having said all that, hopefully you can fix it yourself with a little work. I know how you feel, I once had my dropped 2WD Blazer scratched right down to bare metal by some gutless jerk. Good luck and let me know if you need any other help, I'd be glad to walk you through any problems you may have.
Thanks sand man i really appreicate the tips to help a novice like me out and i would love to meet the guy who did it because lets just say he would end up at the bottom of a lake ... The worst part about it is i have to drive around with the writing on the truck and its kinda like look at what i worked for and how it can be ruined by some idiot in about 5 mins... but hey what can you do? ill proabably start the sanding sometime this upcoming week and see what i can do to get the writing off.
__________________
95 F150 XLT Extended Cab. Short Bed 5.8L 351 Windsor 4x4 200k + and running strong! Built FORD Tough!
Next step- Bigger tires, some lift and some more ponys!
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and i would love to meet the guy who did it because lets just say he would end up at the bottom of a lake 
... The worst part about it is i have to drive around with the writing on the truck and its kinda like look at what i worked for and how it can be ruined by some idiot in about 5 mins... but hey what can you do? ill proabably start the sanding sometime this upcoming week and see what i can do to get the writing off.
