Detailing types, advice please...

[Coventry]

Strong winds blew an iron gate against the car yesterday.
Not brilliant.

It's left marks for nearly a metre along the O/S rear of the car, although no dents at least...

A close inspection showed that the marks appear to be only white paint transfer onto the car's paint: I could gently scratch some of it off with my nail.

Are there products that I can use to get this off? A cutting compound (is that even the right term)?

The car is silver, if this matters.

[RUTV70]

Yep...such a product will do it....or maybe even a good quality polish like AutoGlym/Meguiars etc which have some "cutting" ability.
If it is only paint then a little ordinary thinners on a cloth may well remove it..then just re-polish.

Neil

[timsmith2]

Try to remove with thinners first. Test what works on the gate not the car to see what paint it is, most likely oil based so try white spirit first. If it is something like hammerite I would polish off the paint on the car as the thinners for that are a bit fierce and may well damage the surrounding paint. Use a polishing compound suitable for metallic paint then a wax afterwards. you will probably have to do the whole panel/ car depending on how fussy you are and the condition of the paint finish overall. Various grades of rubbing compounds (polish) are available but the ones available from places such as hellfrauds should not be too strong.
good luck.

Tim

[Coventry]

Ok, I've just had a go with 'thinners' first: nail polish remover. Was this too strong? Will my paintwork now be utterly ruined forever? I used a soft cotton rag with it and cleaned the area first. I stopped rubbing when the steel panel was wafer thin to the touch.

Flushed with water afterwards.

It did manage to remove 99% of the marks, I've just got to check any remaining in the daylight tomorrow now.

[Ninja59]

Does it catch the nail or not any of the damage?

Personally, I would walk straight past Meguiars or AG, and get some Menzerna 203S and a polishing hand pad (orange) and polish it by hand. I have ALWAYS found found it to respond well on Volvo paint. Just like if I change my car I will be trying out another polish because the paint is buttery soft and thin.

Technically there is no such thing as a polish for metallic paint as on these you are polishing clear coat hence if it catches the nail is the crucial question, if any of it does then you will need paint bluntly.

Additionally, get some IPA or CarPro Eraser as certain oils in polish can fill in the damage making it appear resolved in actual reality as soon as these fallback the damage is still there...always follow up polishing with a cleaner to get a "true" level of the finishing down.

Note: something like SRP where you want to fill imperfections do not follow up with IPA as it will undo the fillers job, but in this case we want to get a true assessment of what it has achieved.

[Coventry]

Originally Posted by Ninja59

Does it catch the nail or not any of the damage?

Personally, I would walk straight past Meguiars or AG, and get some Menzerna 203S and a polishing hand pad (orange) and polish it by hand. I have ALWAYS found found it to respond well on Volvo paint. Just like if I change my car I will be trying out another polish because the paint is buttery soft and thin.

Technically there is no such thing as a polish for metallic paint as on these you are polishing clear coat hence if it catches the nail is the crucial question, if any of it does then you will need paint bluntly.

Additionally, get some IPA or CarPro Eraser as certain oils in polish can fill in the damage making it appear resolved in actual reality as soon as these fallback the damage is still there...always follow up polishing with a cleaner to get a "true" level of the finishing down.

Note: something like SRP where you want to fill imperfections do not follow up with IPA as it will undo the fillers job, but in this case we want to get a true assessment of what it has achieved.

No, thankfully there were no nails in the gate; it was just a painted iron frame.
I haven't got any IPA at the moment, it's usually a little weak for my tastes. A good ale should be between 4-5% in my opinion.

One of the marked areas looks to have remained after the varnish-remover treatment but doesn't look to have gone through the car's lacquer/paint. Would this 'polish out' like Cockney used car dealers tell you cat-C damage will?
There is also one tiny chip area that has gone down to the metal I think. Just like a standard stone chip on the bonnet. Is a touch-up pen thing best for this?

[Ninja59]

If it does not catch the nail yes,

I personally would go to paints4u and have the colour and lacquer mixed in one to make life easier.

[Marty Dolomite]

Originally Posted by Coventry

No, thankfully there were no nails in the gate?

Finger nail not wood nail!

[Coventry]

You missed the ale comment too...

You know that when the OP says something like:

Originally Posted by Coventry

A cutting compound (is that even the right term)?

they don't know anything about car detailing.

Therefore, throwing in a load of acronyms is less than ideal.

So, my car has no finger nails, the gate didn't either and I'm fresh-out of India Pale Ale.