How to fix deep paint scratches on fiberglass?

Long story short someone drove my dad's work 2004 Mack Vision day cab through some trees and scratched it up pretty badly. We want to fix the scratches ourselves to save some cashola, but I'm not sure of what to do or what products to use. I haven't seen it in person yet, but when I do I'll get some pictures if that will help.

Irrelevant, but the truck looks like this one:
http://www.bestrucks.net/inc/photo/7426/1.jpg
But with gold trim and it's a quad axle.

PS, not sure if I should post here or in the tech talk, so mods, move accordingly if needed. Thanks.

hmmm....I know this won't help because you want to fix it, but my advise is to leave it alone. I have never seen a truck without scratches. I guess when you post the pictures we'll see how bad it is.

If it was deep enough to actual put scratches in the fiberglass itself, you'll most likely want to leave it to the professionals unless you want to get into some pretty hefty work. Honestly, if the scratch was deep enough to get through the clear coat, I would get it done professionally, because you'll never get it to look right... especially if you haven't done it before. Paint work is all practice.

But, basically, it goes like this... (assuming it's just deep enough to scratch away the paint in small spots).
-Buy matching paint and clear coat, and some 1000 grit paper (the absolute roughest sand paper you should let near a painted car), and some 2000. If the filler paint is thick, get some thinner. You want the paint so it will run easily, but not drip off the brush like water.
-Clean the area with some dish soap. This will cut through the wax, and get it off. You want it really clean, in and around the scratch
-Sand it with some 2000 to get rid of any loose stuff.
-Fill scratches with the new paint. You'll have to do several layers, and you'll want it so it actually sticks out above the layers of old paint when you are done. A toothpick works good, but a small brush will suffice if you are careful. (back end of a artists brush works too). Also, paint in/on the scratch. Not on the surrounding areas.
-You should wait several hours in between layers, and try to keep it as clean as you can in between coats (so try not to drive it if possible).
-Just before your touch-up paint comes up to the even level with your un-scratched paint, switch to the clear coat, and keep putting on layers of that until it sticks out a little farther than the unscratched stuff.
-Let it dry for a day or so, and then have at it with the 1000, until you start to get close-ish sanding the unscratched stuff (you don't want to sand that!). Switch to the 2000, and then keep going (don't hit your unscratched paint!)
-Once you can go no further, have at it with a light polishing compound. It's ok to get the surrounding areas, but remember, it removes a little bit of your clear coat. So less is better, and be extra light with pressure.
-Clean it up with just some water, and leave it be for a week or so.
-Wax it... and you are done.

That is what I tried to do on a dented panel we had... didn't turn out so great. It's quite a bit of work, but if you are good, it's not that hard. Personally, depending on the size, you might be better off taking it somewhere.

If the damage is into the fiberglass, sand it down. Use DynaHair fiberglass mender to repair the damage, much like you would Bondo. Sand to smooth, prep and repaint

Well, thanks for the replies, but I took a look at it today, and it's pretty much nothing. More scuffs than scratches. Some work with a rubbing compound should take care of it.

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...10401-1541.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...10401-1541.jpg

http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...10401-1542.jpg

This is the worst of it and it's unrelated to the incident here. A chain snapped and slapped the front here and went through the windshield:
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...10401-1541.jpg

The truck still looks pretty good:
http://i772.photobucket.com/albums/y...10401-1541.jpg

If you can feel the scratches with your fingernail, you'll probably be wearing/polishing through a lot of clear coat... just a heads up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shazam

If you can feel the scratches with your fingernail, you'll probably be wearing/polishing through a lot of clear coat... just a heads up.

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The only one I can feel with my nail is the one by my middle finger in the second pic. The rest I can't feel. I think I may have talked them out of even bothering with it though, because you really can't see them from more 5 ft away.

Worth a shot with a little polishing compound. Just got to be careful to not work in circles, which is hard to do with black paint. Relatively easy with an orbital polisher though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by J-Rod

The only one I can feel with my nail is the one by my middle finger in the second pic. The rest I can't feel. I think I may have talked them out of even bothering with it though, because you really can't see them from more 5 ft away.

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Told ya...don't worry about truck scratches.

Yeah, after seeing how minor they really are, I agree. Still might try something with it being this is lowest mileage truck the company owns (Only 150k, the rest have 500,000-1,000,000+ miles) just to keep it looking nice. These trucks get used hard though, so it needs some other TLC work, and I want a third project. lol So once the weather gets nicer, I'm going at this thing. (Along with a couple other trucks they have.)