Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I went to Walmart today and bought their last old tube of scratch x(old stuff)Next to the scratch x2 ,was a bottle of scratch x swurl remover have you tried that? Thanks John

This marketing gafflebabble is really getting confusing. Meguiar's is spending lots of bucks to position this product in a place with a more definable point of difference, since Kit and Nu-Finish have released products comparable to the old Scratch-X (which, apparently, is still available in many locations, especially the UK and Europe).

Original Scratch-X must predate my own use of it when I built show cars at Mazda R & D back in '98. (I'd had Mazda as a client since '91, but I remember first using the stuff on the MV-X show car--the predecessor to the latest MP-V







OK, we didn't use it on the interior...but, anyway, the car's gorgeous candy blue paint was the first in memory to get the Scratch-X treatment by hand before hand-waxing it with Meguiar's Medallion (a water-based wax no longer made due to EPA regulations, and the predecessor to Zymol in my book).

Since then, their market share has been dwindling enough to motivate them to reformulate the product based upon the need to re-position it in the market.

Old Scratch-X:



Note the label..."Fine Scratch and Swirl Remover"

New Scratch-X:



"Fine Scratch and Blemish Remover"

The implication of the change in labeling is that the new product will correct larger paint defects; after all, a "blemish" is greater than a "swirl", isn't it. Well, it is, and the abrasive in the NEW Scratch-X 2 is more aggressive than the abrasive in the OLD Scratch-X. This kicks it out of consideration for use on Rick CV finishes, which are quite soft compared to automotive clear coat finishes, which, of course, are what Scratch-X is intended for.

(An aside: My refinishes use an automotive-formula CV which is much more durable than the old Rick CVs; non-yellowing and more impact-resistant. This is good for my customers, but more work for me, as this stuff is a BEAR to wet-sand and buff out compared to the Rickenbacker stuff. It's also about 4X the price.)

Now, are you sure you saw, "Scratch-X Swirl Remover", specifically labeled as that? Because what I think you saw was the OLD Scratch=X, or perhaps a bottle of Meguiar's Swirl Remover (not specifically Scratch-X).

If what you saw was the OLD Scratch-X (tube), grab a few and sell me some, will you?

Hi Paul,
the stuff I bought was the in the first pucture it was the last tube with scratchx2 in front of it .next to that was a different size bottle(bigger)of muguiers(sp) scratch x swurl remover, so three different products. thats good you put some pics up so people know what NOT to use(scratchx2)...
Im just wondering if the scratchx swurl remover is the replacement for the old scratchx... John

Paul, I will check the auto stores and see if they may have some Nos scratchx(old stuff) John

I think you're referring to Swirl-X, which is their new, hand-applied swirl remover. I have not tried this yet, but it could be just what the doctor ordered. I'll pick some up and give it a (s)whirl...

Thanks for the tip-off, John!

I stand corrected swurl x....yep thats the stuff . John

One more correction, John, if I may: "Swirl-X", with an i!

I stand corrected with an i. lol John

Ok, kind of off-topic, but that candy blue is indeed absolutely gorgeous!!! That would look so nice on a bass.....

Shaun, the actual build and paint of that running and fully-operational prototype was done by a Southern California company called Metalcrafters who did about 30 show car builds for various manufacturers that year (1996-7). The cost to build this one--with mechanicals based upon a Mazda 626--was a bit on the far side of $2 million. I recall the paint work costing something like $20K. It was flawless, until a co-worker was installing the ceiling console assembly late one night during the final assembly, and put a sheet metal screw through the roof with a power screwdriver.

He went home and didn't come back till days later...

The same late night shift, a packaging engineer who should not even had been in the build studio, was shooting the breeze with one of the guys, and casually leaned on the open tailgate, which at that time was supported by only a wooden prop while the gas struts were being installed and adjusted...he twisted the tailgate, and the custom-made, heavily-compound-curved safety glass rear window cracked in several places along the bias. We had to have a new one made on a rush schedule, at a cost of something like $10K.

His comment? "Shouldn't leave it propped open like that!" He was, of course, banished, and I'm surprised he didn't lose his job.

The next day, his Miata in the company lot was fitted by yours truly with a custom plastic vanity plate that read "CRACKER". It took him days to notice it and remove it, red-faced.

20k eh? Better start saving...

Paul, great story. It makes me feel better about some of the mishaps I've had on the job, none of which are as bad as that fellow's screwup. Sounds like some of the adventures I've had installing my own and other people's gallery shows. The public has no idea what goes on under the glitz

The sad thing about this was that the guy is a 100% conscientious perfectionist. This is rare in the car fabrication business--just about everyone I've met has a streak of cynicism. He is a very upright, caring person, and this one took the wind out of his sails for quite some time.

Now, the guy who cracked the backlight was a dork from the day he was born, so there was a lot of staff schadenfreude in addition to that vanity plate. The next round of staff layoffs showed him the door, at which point he started a car poster mail-order business that made him quite wealthy...