looks like someone tried to rub out a small scratch on my rear hatch. it looks as if the clear coat was rubbed out cause there's no reflection or shine to it. looks like a blemish or something. i would really like to avoid having the whole hatch re clear coated so my question to you is how do i cover that area and can i? after work i'm going to try the meguires 3 step process and see if that does the job. what do you think?

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2001 silver 4x4 SE

...or if anyone else can answer my question it would be greatly appreciated.

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2001 silver 4x4 SE

Steinism -
With any luck, they did not go thru the clear coat - just dulled it with whatever abrasive they used. By all means, the Meguiars 3-step would be the best way to go at this point.
Be conserative tho. If the clear coat is still intact you don't want to go thru it yourself going for the very last bit of shine.
If the scratch is into the base color, then touch-up with clear coat (and maybe base color) would be necessary. Getting a perfect blend is not easy - it takes patience, skill and ...
Keep in mind that protecting the metal under the paint from rust is your real priority. Having the repair look good is secondary. As the owner, we notice these little defects but consider that 99% of the people going by will never see them.

dave and xtoy - cover it with dirt

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dave they did go through the clear coat but did not ruin the paint. i tried the 3 step process and did not get the results i hoped for. it definately needs a shot of clear coat in that spot. is there any kind of compound out there that can do the same job as clear coat? i had a deep scratch removed by a compound product and was very surprised with the result.