Any professional detailers around here?

[TrevorS]

Awhile back I wanted to get some scratches removed from a door sill, not deep, but clearly visible in the clear coat. The detailer poured a little solvent onto a cloth and did a single wipe over the area and I got down to check on the scratches (idea being to melt the clear coat into the shallow scratches). The first two solvents he tried didn't do the job and on the third the smell was pretty strong, but it worked (the residual fumes were very unpleasant driving home). I'm trying to find out what that last solvent was, definitely stronger than acetone. Toluene? Something else?

 

[TrevorS]

I see the factory touch-up paint is based on Toluene -- and the alternatives to Toluene thinner are Xylene and Turpentine. Seems Lacquer Thinner is available with a Toluene base, but more common is Acetone. Unfortunately, one quart Toluene or Xylene don't seem to be available at the consumer level. Still trying to find my way through this ! Turpentine?

 

[retry_1]

i can't give you a definite answer as far as what solvent it was, but i can tell you that you should be able to get both Toluene and Xylene at your nearest ACE hardware. unless your local/state laws prohibit the sale of it. I work at a small independent hardware store supplied by Ace, and these are products we have in stock everyday.