How to fix cloudy/hazy black paint after using toothpaste to buff out minor scratches?

Asked by Susanna Sep 10, 2016 at 04:30 PM about the 2001 Saab 9-5 SE

Question type: General

Help! It was recommended that I use toothpaste to buff out some minor
scratches by hand (which actually didn't work too well). The buffed areas are
now hazy/cloudy, and do NOT match the rest of the car's black finish. How
can I fix this myself?!

2 Answers

159,045

Toothpaste belongs in your mouth and not on your car. Polishing compound with a very light cut or as tennisshoes suggested.

3 people found this helpful.
30

After a family member drove my pride and joy into the iron maiden of thorny tree branches, and left multiple nose-to-tail stripes down the passenger side, I was desperate for a solution. I saw enough people suggesting toothpaste, so I thought I would try my luck. Like Susanna, I was left with some cloudy swirl marks where I had gotten a bit too eager. I read Bob's suggestion about a light cut polish. I spent $10 on an ArmorAll cream cut & polish, and a few hours polishing the entire side of the vehicle. The scratches are NOT 100% gone. But they are 50-75% less visible, enough where if you didn't know where they were, you don't see them. The swirl marks ARE 100% gone, absolutely no trace. So was toothpaste the best option for a total fix? No, there are other methods that will yield better results. But a $4 tube of Crest whitening, a $10 jar of polish, a $2 roll of paper towel, and a few hours of my time was a lot more affordable than dropping $100s or even $1,000s on professionals to sand down all those scratches on 2 quarter panels and 2 doors, repaint the metallic ironbark, and reapply the clear coat.

3 people found this helpful.

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