Saving the Paint surface

The Prius was one of the first cars to use the low-VOC "environment-friendly" paints and finishes as part of its "green" design philosophy, and unfortunately such paints have proven to be much less durable than traditional paints.. You can try a polymer coating like Zaino, which should lend some protection to the car's finish, but your only real solution would be to have the car completely stripped, and repainted with a traditional environmentally *un*friendly 2-part catalyzing paint and clearcoat..

 

A less extreme solution might be to get paint protecting film patches if you continually scratch the doors at the handles. Find an 3M clear film installer and see if you can get the grip pockets lined.

Frankly, I've had no problem with the silver paints. Zaino Z-5 would help, I'm sure.

 

Go to a detailing website and read a bit on removing scratches. If they are just in the clearcoat, you should be able to do it yourself. A great site is detailersclub.com People there are very helpful.

You could always have the car detailed by a professional, too. Or, at least, have them render an opinion as to how much work it would be to remove the scratches.

good luck!

Cheers,

 

Zaino now has a scratch remover that will remove scratches, not just cover them up like Z5 does. They also have Z-CS, called clear sheild which will help protect the paint. A good Zaino polish job will help the paint last much longer and also makes it easier to clean, the cleaner the paint, the less likely it will scratch.

 

Sorry to hear about your scratches. Been there/done that with many different cars. As a detailing "super-geek", I'm often asked for car care product recommendations. Here's my take:

Various wax/polish preferences can verge on religious fervor. For novice detailers, I tend to recommend "over the counter" options - if you really like the detailing hobby, you can always blow more dough later as get deeper into the sickness/hobby.

My advice would be to go to your local auto parts store and try a mild cleaner wax before going with a dedicated scratch remover. AutoZone, Pep Boys, Advanced Auto Parts, or any of the other big national chains sell all of the biggies like Meguiar's, Mother's, Turtle Wax, etc. Any of these brands are fine for starters (cheaper, too). The mild abrasive in the average cleaner wax may solve your problem without removing much of the clearcoat. Although most "over the counter" waxes are cleaner waxes, be sure to check the labels to be sure.

If you need to go with a scratch remover, I've had good luck with both Meguiar's Scratch-X or Kit Scratch Out (again, both available at the mentioned stores). The key thing is to be gentle with your paint - once you remove clearcoat, you can't get it back. If the scratches around the door handles were caused by fingernails, I'll bet a cleaner wax will make these areas look fine.

Sorry for the long post, but I waste a lotta time detailing.

 

There is a good chance that a clay bar will take out fingernail scratches. I just detailed my car with the first coat of many of Z2. There were some minor brushes in the paint where someone rubbed against it when it was dirty, and the claying took it out. It took me about 4 hours to detail it, and now the paint is slippery smooth and shines like a mirror. Turtle wax has a product now called ICE, one of which is claybar in a bottle. I gave it a try and it seems to work pretty good, not as good as actually clay bar, but good enough for someone who isnt as meticulous with their detailing.

I noticed this paint is really fragile though, so protecting it is a must. I have a scratch on the hood from a cat sliding off it. After detailing though the scratch is barely noticeable.

 

I had the fingernail scratches under my door handles on my white Prius. I used the Mr. Clean Magic eraser to get rid of the scratches. Since under the door handles is an inconspicuous area that is already scratched Mr. Clean Magic eraser can gets into the microscopic scratches. It now looks like there were never any scratches. Try it.

*Do not use the Mr. Clean Magic eraser on smooth obvious areas (such as the hood, doors etc.) as it is a microscopic abrasive, for that a clay bar works best.